About CarWorthIt

Why we built it

Most free valuation tools ask for the year, make, model and trim, then give you a national average. That is not what your car is worth. A car's value depends on its mileage and where it is being sold, and the gap between a national guess and a local reality is routinely thousands of dollars.

So we do it the other way round. We start from the VIN, ask for the odometer reading and your ZIP code, and price the car against comparable cars listed near you. Paid reports start at $2.99, and the VIN report covering specs, open recalls, safety ratings and running costs is free for any valid VIN with no signup.

Who writes this

David Skillett, Founder and Analyst. David Skillett founded CarWorthIt after building CarCostCheck, a UK vehicle-data service that analyzes more than 62 million government MOT test records. He works with public vehicle datasets from NHTSA, the EPA and the FBI, and writes CarWorthIt’s data studies and buying guides.

Press and data inquiries: media@carworthit.com. See our methodology for exactly which dataset produces which number.

Where our data comes from

• A licensed US vehicle-pricing provider, for market values calculated from comparable cars currently listed for sale near your ZIP code.
• The factory build record for your exact VIN, for the original sticker price, dealer invoice price, fitted options, standard equipment and warranty terms.
• NHTSA, for VIN decoding, open safety recalls and 5-star crash-test ratings.
• EPA fueleconomy.gov, for official MPG figures and annual fuel costs.

Editorial policy

• We do not quote competitors' prices. They change them without notice and a stale figure is worse than none, so we rank them instead and tell you to check their site.
• We never invent a number. If a dataset does not cover your car, the report says so rather than estimating and presenting it as fact.
• Estimates are labeled as estimates, with the assumptions stated on the methodology page.
• If we cannot value your car, we refund you.
• We correct errors on the page rather than quietly deleting them. Found one? Email media@carworthit.com.
• Any paid link is labeled a paid link, in the text, not behind a tooltip.

What we are honest about

We value the specific car you asked about, at its mileage in its local market, and we measure it against what comparable cars are currently listed for because that is the only evidence a valuation can be built on. It is still a statistical estimate rather than an appraisal. Condition, service history, accident damage and local demand can all move a real sale price either side of our figure, and no data feed can see the state of a clutch or the quality of a past repair.

We do not sell a vehicle history report. Accident and title-brand data in the United States sits behind licenses we do not hold, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a thin substitute. For that, use an approved provider. Always pair any report with a test drive and, for anything expensive, an inspection by an independent mechanic.

We are independent and not affiliated with Carfax, AutoCheck, Experian or Kelley Blue Book. CarWorthIt is not an approved NMVTIS data provider.

Learn before you buy

Our buying guides cover pricing a car properly, spotting a bad deal, diminished value after an accident, and what to check before you hand over money. All free.