qorn

Hey all,

Vancouverite here with a question for all you Ontarians. When purchasing a used vehicle in Ontario is there any way for the potential buyer to purchase a "vehicle claim history" or damage report from a company or a government agency? I am aware of the UVIP (used vehicle information package) that is available through the provincial government. While the UVIP provides a vehicle's owner/registration history, liens, odometer, etc., it does not provide any information on previous insurance claims or damage done to the car by previous owners.

Is this type of information available from any insurance companies in Ontario?
Is there some kind of public body or board that provides this information for a fee?

In BC we have public auto insurance administered by the gov't and therefore we are able to purchase what's called a "vehicle claim history report" on any car from ICBC (Insurance Corp of BC). These reports list every insurance claim made against the vehicle in question along with the dollar amount of the claim, and the type of claim (collision, comprehensive, vandalism, etc.). Is there an equivalent report available for Ontario vehicles?

The reason I ask is because there is an S2000 available for sale here in Vancouver that originally came from Toronto. The dealer claims that the car has "no accidents", but I don't believe that to be true. I managed to locate the previous owner (he was the 2nd owner) who told me that when he traded in the car (in Ontario) he was told by the wholesaler who bought it that the car had been involved in several insurance claims. That owner in question had no knowledge of these claims when he originally bought the car. Obviously, I don't want to buy a car that has been involved in several accidents and has $10K+ worth of claims against it.

As a prospective buyer how can I find out the true story with this car?
How did the wholesaler know that the car had been involved in several claims?
Is there some kind of claim database that only dealers have access to?

So what do you Ontario used car buyers do? Is it strictly caveat emptor [let the buyer beware] when buying a used vehicle? Do you just have to trust a seller when they tell you a car is accident free? If that's the case, used car buyers in Ontario must be getting fleeced on a daily basis! That seems fairly sketchy to me, but perhaps we're just lucky here in BC with public insurance and the availability of these vehicle claim history reports. Any and all info you may be able to provide would be most welcome.

Cheers,
Qorn

s2ksimon

i believe carfax may be just the thing you need

wing

There is also carproof.ca

qorn

Thanks for the replies thusfar,

Does anyone know if Carfax reports contain claim and/or vehicle damage information from private Canadian insurance companies, or do they only provide US insurance information?

If anyone on here has ordered a Carfax report for an Ontario based car please let me know what type of information it contained, specifically related to claims and/or damage.

Thanks,
Qorn

climacus

You want carproof for CDN insurance claims, although carfax is getting better these days. As far as accident history goes, a good mechanic/bodyshop will be able to point out the irregularities.

Catalyst

Your looking for what's known as "Auto Check" using UCDA's Accident reporting system. This is I believe only available to dealers. It will show time and date of claim as well as amount of the claim.
BTW; most repairs may not be done at an accredited body shop, and therefore will not ever be listed.