Term - State Title Brand

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - A "branded title" is an official designation assigned by a state agency to associate a particular history with a vehicle. The branding system was put in place to warn potential owners about damage or other alterations to a vehicle that they might otherwise have been unaware of. The brands checked in this section are Fire, Hail, Flood, Junk/Scrapped, Lemon, Salvage, Rebuilt/Rebuildable, Odometer Brands (not actual miles, broken odometer, exceeding mechanical limits, mileage discrepancy, or suspect miles). Please note Grey Market and Insurance Loss or Theft brands are not checked in this box and can be found on other corresponding boxes.

Term - Auction Issue

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This section summarizes any issues if reported such as damage condition from seller's disclosure or during the inspection process including required structural damage disclosure, title brands, odometer issues, etc. as outlined by the 2023 National Auto Auction Association Policy.

Term - Accident/Damage Check

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This section summarizes vehicle history events that may indicate an accident or damage and associated details such as point of impact, severity or airbag deployed if provided. These damage events will include collision damage information, police-reported accidents, salvage auction, recycler records, crash test vehicles, collision damage claims etc. including our exclusive auction announcements from two major auctions that may include damage events. There is also a clearly delineated section that includes non-collision damage events such as fire, hail or flood. Damage-indicated title brands will be in the state title brands section.

Term - Insurance Loss/Title Transfer

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This box checked to see if there is an insurance total loss or if a title has been transferred to an insurance company name as that event usually signifies that it is a total loss when showing after an accident.

Term - Additional History

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This section lists any other significant events that may not be a damage event or brand, but does give additional insights of the vehicle's history. These include abandoned, grey market, lien check, repossessed, theft etc.

Term - Odometer Check

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This section verifies if there are rollbacks, rollover or tampering has been reported to AutoCheck from state Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or auction sources. AutoCheck also examined the sequence of reported odometer readings to determine if there are any potential discrepancies.

Term - Open Recall Check

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This section lists any open safety or emission recalls on the vehicle that may need to be fulfilled.

Term - Manufacturer Buyback

Section Location - State Title Brand

Definition - Manufacturer Buyback sometimes are used interchangeably with Lemon depending on the state. Lemon Law Buyback is a term used to describe a vehicle which has been reacquired by the automaker due to specified warranty defect that essentially impairs its use, safety and value. If a vehicle is branded with lemon law buyback title it means that the car in question was/or still is a lemon. Specific state lemon laws can be found here. Lemon laws may not exist in all states.

Term - Major Damage Incident

Section Location - Auction Issue

Definition - When a (i) State agency or third party reported an event that did or may have resulted in vehicle frame or mechanical damage, such as a collision or incident such as vandalism or theft, or (ii) a third party reported that an inspection indicates that a vehicle appears to have sustained frame or other damage. Not all damage events are reported to AutoCheck and the damage severity of reported events will vary. In all events AutoCheck recommends that prospective vehicle purchasers conduct a detailed vehicle inspection prior to purchase of a pre-owned vehicle.

Term - Structural Damage or Structural Alteration

Section Location - Accident / Damage

Definition - "Structural" or "Frame" damage refers to a vehicle's structure or a specific structural or frame component, and may apply to a conventional frame, "Unibody", and "Unibody on Frame" structures. Structural Alteration -An alteration to the vehicle's structure including a lengthened or shortened frame, a modified suspension, or the installation or removal of after-market accessories. For additional information on these types of reported information, please see the 2021 National Auto Auction Association Policy.

Term - Auction Lemon/Manufacturer Buyback

Section Location - Auction Issue

Definition - Auctions are required to disclose title brands such as Lemon/Manufacturer BuyBack brand (these terms are used interchangeably depending on the state) whether the information comes from the state title information or seller's disclosure. Lemon Law Buyback is a term used to describe a vehicle which has been reacquired by the automaker due to specified warranty defect that essentially impairs its use, safety and value. If a vehicle is branded with lemon law buyback title it means that the car in question was/or still is a lemon. This law was put in effect to counteract the growing problem of reselling lemon law buybacks without disclosure. Every state has different criteria for Lemon/Manufacturer BuyBack - State Lemon Law.

Term - Loan/Lien

Section Location - Additional History

Definition - A loan/lien is the legal right to take and hold or sell the vehicle of a debtor as security or payment for a debt. Normally, a vehicle will have a lien due to a loan or unpaid repair bill against the vehicle. Check with the seller to ensure that the lien has been satisfied.

Term - Personal Use

Section Location - Owner Type

Definition - This vehicle was driven for personal use.

Term - Open Recall

Section Location - Open Recall Check

Definition - A recall is considered 'open' for a vehicle when it has not received the required service to correct the identified recall. The vehicle will need to be taken to a repair center that has been authorized by the manufacturer to correct any open recall conditions.