Is carVertical worth it? The honest 2026 review

Short answer: carVertical is worth it for a car whose history crosses borders — an import, a suspiciously cheap listing, or a seller who will not show official records. It is not worth it for a car that has spent its life in one country: one report costs €32.99 in its French store and $34.99 in its US store (prices checked 21 October 2026), and the free official register for that country — HistoVec in France, historiapojazdu in Poland, DVLA MOT history in the UK, RDW in the Netherlands — already answers most of the same questions at no cost.

carVertical is the best-known vehicle-history brand in Europe — and one of the most complained-about. Here is what it actually delivers, what it costs per country store, and when a cheaper or free route serves you better. Prices and copy checked 21 October 2026.

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In one sentence

carVertical (€32.99 French store, $34.99 US store as of 21 October 2026) is worth it for imported cars and suspected hidden damage, but coverage varies by car — run the free official register for the car’s country first, and use a €7.90 identification-and-recalls report if identity, recalls and value are all you need.

TL;DR

One report: €32.99 (French store) or $34.99 (US store); 3-packs cut it to €19.99 / $19.99 per report — checked 21 October 2026
Strong for imported cars from well-covered countries; auction photos when they exist
Trustpilot ~2.3/5 — the top complaint: preview promised records, paid report was thin
Free official extracts (HistoVec, DVLA MOT, historiapojazdu, RDW) cover single-country cars; Automano covers identification + recalls + value for €7.90

Common questions

Is carVertical worth it?
For an imported car, a suspiciously cheap listing, or a seller who refuses to show official records: yes. For a car that has lived in one country with a free official register — HistoVec in France, historiapojazdu in Poland, DVLA MOT history in the UK, RDW in the Netherlands — usually no: the free extract answers most of the same questions, and a carVertical report costs €32.99 in its French store and $34.99 in its US store (prices checked 21 October 2026).
How much does a carVertical report cost?
One report is €32.99 in the French store and $34.99 in the US store. Packs cut the per-report price: €21.99 per report for a 2-pack and €19.99 for a 3-pack in France, $24.99 and $19.99 in the US. carVertical prices per country store, so the UK and other markets differ — check the total shown at checkout. All figures read from carvertical.com’s own pricing pages on 21 October 2026.
Is carVertical free?
No. The free check is a preview that shows whether records exist for a VIN. The full report is paid: €32.99 in the French store, $34.99 in the US store (21 October 2026).
Is carVertical legit?
Yes — it is a real Lithuanian company drawing on 1,000+ data sources, and its checkout, delivery and report format are professional. The criticism in public reviews is not about fraud; it is about paying €33 / $35 and receiving a thin report when coverage for that specific car turns out poor.
Does carVertical show accident and mileage history?
It shows recorded damage and odometer readings when a source — insurer, registry, workshop, auction — actually holds them for your VIN. It cannot promise them: coverage varies by country and by car, which is why the same report can be detailed for an imported Polish car and nearly empty for a car with an unrecorded past. Always run the free preview first and read what it says is available.
Can I get a refund from carVertical?
Their terms grant a 14-day right of withdrawal on unused reports, and the pricing page advertises a report return guarantee. Once a report is generated, public reviews describe mixed outcomes — do not count on a refund because the report was emptier than the preview implied.
What is the cheapest alternative to carVertical?
For identification, official recalls, market value and guidance to the official registers, Automano costs €7.90 — £5.90 in the UK, $6.90 in the US — with a free, unlimited VIN decoder included. For full accident and mileage history, the free official extracts (HistoVec, MOT history, historiapojazdu) cover single-country cars at no cost.

Last updated: 2026-10-21

Worth it when: the car crossed borders (imported from a well-covered country), you suspect hidden damage, or the seller resists showing official records. Not worth it when: the car has lived in one country with a free official extract (HistoVec in France, historiapojazdu in Poland, MOT history in the UK), or your budget is tight — a report costs €32.99 in the French store and $34.99 in the US store (21 October 2026), and coverage for YOUR specific car is not guaranteed. The single most repeated complaint in public reviews is paying for a report that turned out nearly empty.

Service	Price (1 report)	What you actually get	When it is the right buy
carVertical (French store)	€32.99 · 3-pack €19.99/report	Aggregated damage, odometer, theft, import and photo history from 1,000+ sources; depth depends on the car’s country.	An imported or cross-border car, or a seller who hides records.
carVertical (US store)	$34.99 · 3-pack $19.99/report	Same aggregated report scope and source network, priced for the US market.	US buyers checking a European import or a car’s US title and odometer trail.
autoDNA	€24.99 · 3-pack €16.66/report	Aggregated theft, lien, odometer, damage and registration history from 26+ countries, plus archive photos and inspection validity.	A cheaper aggregator, strongest on Polish and German records.
Free official register	€0	Country-specific official data: HistoVec (France), historiapojazdu/CEPiK (Poland), DVLA MOT history with mileage (UK), RDW (Netherlands), KBA recalls (Germany).	Any car that has lived in one country — always the first step.
Automano Essentiel	€7.90 · £5.90 UK · $6.90 US	Official data only: confirmed identification, manufacturer recalls, market value, consistency checks, and a pointer to the official register. Never accident, mileage or owner history.	Confirming identity, recalls and value before you pay for history.

Sources, all read on 21 October 2026: carvertical.com/fr/pricing and carvertical.com/us/pricing (carVertical notes VAT may apply) · autodna.com/packages · automano.com/en-gb/pricing. Official registers named on this page: HistoVec (histovec.interieur.gouv.fr), historiapojazdu.gov.pl (CEPiK), DVLA MOT history (gov.uk), RDW (ovi.rdw.nl), KBA recall search (kba.de). Public-review figures are the Trustpilot score as read on 28 August 2026.

What carVertical is and what it really costs

carVertical is a Lithuanian company selling vehicle-history reports across Europe and the US. It aggregates damage records, odometer readings, theft databases, import traces and photos from a large network of sources, and packages them into a polished report.

Pricing is per country: €32.99 for a single report in the French store and $34.99 in the US store, read from carvertical.com’s own pricing pages on 21 October 2026. The 2-report packs work out at €21.99 per report (France) and $24.99 (US); the 3-report packs at €19.99 and $19.99 per report. The UK store bills in pounds and is priced separately, so check the total at checkout. There is no free report — the free VIN check is a preview that shows whether records EXIST, not what they say.

What it does well

For imported cars, carVertical is genuinely useful: it is one of the few services that stitches together records across borders, and when the source country is well covered (the Baltics, Poland, Germany, the US), the damage and odometer sections can be detailed — sometimes including auction photos the seller never showed you.

The report design is clear, the checkout works in most European languages and currencies, and their terms grant a 14-day right of withdrawal on unused reports — more consumer-friendly than most digital-goods sellers.

What the reviews consistently criticise

carVertical holds roughly 2.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot across thousands of reviews (August 2026). One theme dominates: the free preview suggested the car had history ("records found"), the paid report then contained little or nothing for that specific vehicle. Coverage varies enormously by country and by car — and you only find out after paying.

The second theme is refunds: the withdrawal right covers unused reports, but reviewers report inconsistent outcomes once a report was opened and turned out thin. Factor that risk into the €33 / $35 price.

What the free official sources give you first

Most European countries publish official vehicle data free: HistoVec (France) shows the full administrative history of French-registered cars, historiapojazdu.gov.pl covers Poland, the UK MOT history service shows every test with mileage, and the RDW register covers the Netherlands. For a car that has lived in one of those countries, the free official extract answers most of what a paid report would.

The official route has one gap: cross-border traces. A car imported from outside those registers is exactly where aggregators earn their money.

The cheaper path for most buyers

If what you actually need is to confirm the car is what the seller says it is, see its official recalls and its market value, and know WHICH official register to pull before you buy — that is a €7.90 job, not a €33 one. Automano’s report does exactly that scope, honestly labelled: confirmed identification, official recalls, a market price range, and a step-by-step guide to the official extract for the car’s country. It does not claim accident, mileage or owner history — for that, use the official extract or an aggregator like carVertical where coverage justifies it.

A sensible order for any used-car purchase: free VIN decode first, the free official extract second, and a paid aggregator report only when the car’s history crosses borders or the seller’s story does not add up.

Is carVertical worth it?

For an imported car, a suspiciously cheap listing, or a seller who refuses to show official records: yes. For a car that has lived in one country with a free official register — HistoVec in France, historiapojazdu in Poland, DVLA MOT history in the UK, RDW in the Netherlands — usually no: the free extract answers most of the same questions, and a carVertical report costs €32.99 in its French store and $34.99 in its US store (prices checked 21 October 2026).

How much does a carVertical report cost?

One report is €32.99 in the French store and $34.99 in the US store. Packs cut the per-report price: €21.99 per report for a 2-pack and €19.99 for a 3-pack in France, $24.99 and $19.99 in the US. carVertical prices per country store, so the UK and other markets differ — check the total shown at checkout. All figures read from carvertical.com’s own pricing pages on 21 October 2026.

Is carVertical free?

No. The free check is a preview that shows whether records exist for a VIN. The full report is paid: €32.99 in the French store, $34.99 in the US store (21 October 2026).

Is carVertical legit?

Yes — it is a real Lithuanian company drawing on 1,000+ data sources, and its checkout, delivery and report format are professional. The criticism in public reviews is not about fraud; it is about paying €33 / $35 and receiving a thin report when coverage for that specific car turns out poor.

Does carVertical show accident and mileage history?

It shows recorded damage and odometer readings when a source — insurer, registry, workshop, auction — actually holds them for your VIN. It cannot promise them: coverage varies by country and by car, which is why the same report can be detailed for an imported Polish car and nearly empty for a car with an unrecorded past. Always run the free preview first and read what it says is available.

Can I get a refund from carVertical?

Their terms grant a 14-day right of withdrawal on unused reports, and the pricing page advertises a report return guarantee. Once a report is generated, public reviews describe mixed outcomes — do not count on a refund because the report was emptier than the preview implied.

What is the cheapest alternative to carVertical?

For identification, official recalls, market value and guidance to the official registers, Automano costs €7.90 — £5.90 in the UK, $6.90 in the US — with a free, unlimited VIN decoder included. For full accident and mileage history, the free official extracts (HistoVec, MOT history, historiapojazdu) cover single-country cars at no cost.

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