About The Lane Check

The Lane Check shows people buying a used car what owners of the same year, make and model reported to NHTSA about the engine, transmission and fuel system, before they buy.

Who built it

Eyal is not a mechanic, and The Lane Check is not a mechanical inspection. It does not look at any car. It reads the public complaint and recall records that the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) publishes, and scores every model year with the same code. How we score sets out exactly what that code does, including what it cannot tell you.

Independent

The Lane Check is not affiliated with NHTSA, with any carmaker, or with any dealer. NHTSA is where the data comes from, not a partner, and it does not review or endorse anything on this site.

Where the data comes from

• Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, for each year, make and model.
• Recall campaigns NHTSA lists for the same year, make and model.
• vPIC, NHTSA's VIN decoder, which turns a VIN into its year, make and model.

Complaints are reports written by owners. NHTSA does not verify them, and neither do we. That limit, and the others, are on the methodology page.

How it makes money

• The 30-day pass. Your first VIN report is free, with no credit card. After that, a 30-day pass is $12.99, paid once, for unlimited VIN checks for 30 days. Nothing renews.
• An affiliate link to EpicVIN. Car pages and reports link to EpicVIN for a vehicle history report (accidents, title brands, odometer records), which The Lane Check does not provide. If you buy through that link, The Lane Check may earn a commission. The link is marked as sponsored wherever it appears. Before you pay: EpicVIN’s $1 offer is a 3-day trial (up to 5 reports) that renews at $49.99 a month unless you cancel. Other plans are listed under “View all our packages” at checkout.

Neither one changes a score. Every model year is scored by the same code from the same NHTSA records, whether or not anyone pays.

Who operates it

The Lane Check is a trading name of Vent Pro NYC Inc., which operates the service and bills the pass. The details are in the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.

Contact

Email support@thelanecheck.com. If a number on a page looks wrong, send the link to the page and we will check it against the NHTSA records. The Lane Check is also on Instagram.