CARFAX vs Bumper vs TrulyCar: which vehicle history report is worth it?

Three ways to pay for a car's past. One charges per report, one charges per month, and one charges $16.99 once.

People who search "is Bumper as good as CARFAX" usually have a specific car in mind and about forty-five dollars they would rather not spend. This page puts the three models side by side, with TrulyCar's column stating what our reports contain and the other two columns saying only what is public on those companies' own sites. Where we cannot verify a competitor's coverage, we say so and point you at their sample report. The things our report does not contain are listed further down, in plain words, because a comparison that hides its author's gaps is not worth reading.

TrulyCar

That's us

$16.99 once, or packs

CARFAX

Per report, published in the mid-$40s

Bumper

Monthly plan, price on their site

Side by side

Our column states what a TrulyCar report contains. The other two say only what is public on those companies' own sites.

What you get	TrulyCar	CARFAX	Bumper
Price and payment model	$16.99 for one report, $7.90 each in the 10-pack, no subscription	Single reports have been published around $44.99; check their site	Subscription; their site has listed plans from $27.99 per month
NMVTIS title and brand records	Yes: salvage, junk, flood, rebuilt, and buyback brands from the federal title system	Yes, per their public description	Yes, per their public description
State title events with dates and odometer	Yes: each state title issuance with its date and the mileage recorded at it	Yes, per their sample reports	Compare their sample report
Salvage auction photo sets	Yes, when the car passed through a salvage auction, with the damage photos taken at the lane	Not shown in their public sample reports	Compare their sample report
Odometer trail with rollback detection	Yes: title, auction, and listing readings in date order, flagged when a reading goes backward	Yes	Yes, per their public description
Factory maintenance schedule with typical costs	Yes, read against the car's mileage, with costs where the manufacturer publishes them	Not part of the report	Not part of the report
AI read and report chat	Yes: a Buy, Negotiate, or Walk Away read grounded in the records, and a chat that answers questions about this car	No	No
Free VIN decode and plate lookup before paying	Yes, both, with no account	Free VIN decoder on their site; history is paid	Plate lookup is part of the paid plan
Report comes back with nothing on file	A credit comes back to your account automatically	No published equivalent	No published equivalent
Buying for a lot	10 reports for $79.00, credits never expire	Dealer program on their site	Plan tiers on their site

Price and payment model

TrulyCar: $16.99 for one report, $7.90 each in the 10-pack, no subscription
CARFAX: Single reports have been published around $44.99; check their site
Bumper: Subscription; their site has listed plans from $27.99 per month

NMVTIS title and brand records

TrulyCar: Yes: salvage, junk, flood, rebuilt, and buyback brands from the federal title system
CARFAX: Yes, per their public description
Bumper: Yes, per their public description

State title events with dates and odometer

TrulyCar: Yes: each state title issuance with its date and the mileage recorded at it
CARFAX: Yes, per their sample reports
Bumper: Compare their sample report

Salvage auction photo sets

TrulyCar: Yes, when the car passed through a salvage auction, with the damage photos taken at the lane
CARFAX: Not shown in their public sample reports
Bumper: Compare their sample report

Odometer trail with rollback detection

TrulyCar: Yes: title, auction, and listing readings in date order, flagged when a reading goes backward
CARFAX: Yes
Bumper: Yes, per their public description

Factory maintenance schedule with typical costs

TrulyCar: Yes, read against the car's mileage, with costs where the manufacturer publishes them
CARFAX: Not part of the report
Bumper: Not part of the report

AI read and report chat

TrulyCar: Yes: a Buy, Negotiate, or Walk Away read grounded in the records, and a chat that answers questions about this car
CARFAX: No
Bumper: No

Free VIN decode and plate lookup before paying

TrulyCar: Yes, both, with no account
CARFAX: Free VIN decoder on their site; history is paid
Bumper: Plate lookup is part of the paid plan

Report comes back with nothing on file

TrulyCar: A credit comes back to your account automatically
CARFAX: No published equivalent
Bumper: No published equivalent

Buying for a lot

TrulyCar: 10 reports for $79.00, credits never expire
CARFAX: Dealer program on their site
Bumper: Plan tiers on their site

Competitor details are taken from their public pages on the review date and change; verify current pricing and features on their site before buying.

Who each one suits

CARFAX

Choose CARFAX when shop service records matter more than price, or when a lender or buyer will ask for that name on the deal file. It costs the most per report and it holds the largest network of reporting shops.

Bumper

Choose Bumper when you check dozens of cars every month for a long stretch, so a monthly plan spreads across many lookups. Put a reminder in your calendar to cancel when the search ends.

TrulyCar

Choose TrulyCar when you are checking one to five specific cars, want to see the auction photos if there are any, and want to pay once and keep the PDF. Dealers and flippers use the 10-pack for the same reason: a fixed cost per VIN.

What we don't have, and what we do

Two things a TrulyCar report does not contain. It has no shop service records, because no data source licenses them to anyone but the company that collects them. And it has no lien check; for that, ask the seller for the title and a lien release, or ask the state. Anyone comparing us to CARFAX should know both before paying.

What it does contain, for $16.99: the federal title record with brands, every state title event with its date and odometer reading, auction sales with the photos taken at the lane, dealer listings, theft records, an odometer trail with rollback detection, open recalls, the factory maintenance schedule read against the car's mileage, and a plain-English read with a verdict you can question. If a VIN has nothing on file at all, the credit comes back on its own.

Most buyers seriously consider three to five cars before choosing one. At a published single-report price around $44.99, five checks cost more than $200, which is why the search for an alternative exists. A monthly plan looks cheaper until the search runs past the month, and most car searches do. TrulyCar charges $16.99 for one report, $29.99 for three, $44.99 for five, and $79.00 for ten, which is $7.90 per VIN, and the unused credits wait for the next car. All three services read the same federal title system for brands. The differences are in what sits around it: shop service records on one side, auction photos and an AI read on the other, and the payment model in between. Compare a sample report from each on the same VIN before paying anyone.

Run a free VIN check · report $16.99

One on one: CARFAX alternatives and TrulyCar vs Bumper.

CARFAX vs Bumper vs TrulyCar: common questions

Is Bumper as good as CARFAX?

They are different products. CARFAX sells single reports and is known for shop service records. Bumper sells monthly access and is built for people who look up many cars. For the title and brand record itself, all three services, TrulyCar included, read the same federal system. Judge each on its sample report for the car you are actually buying.

Is CARFAX worth $45?

It can be, for a car whose service history matters to the price, or when the other party asks for that name. For a title, brand, odometer, and damage check on a car you are about to buy, a $16.99 TrulyCar report covers the same federal records and adds auction photos where they exist.

Can I get a CARFAX report cheaper?

Sites resell CARFAX reports for a few dollars. Those reports come through accounts that are not meant for resale, the sellers can vanish, and we are not one of them. TrulyCar reports are our own, built from licensed sources, and $16.99 buys one outright.

Does TrulyCar show service records?

No. Shop service visits are not licensed to any provider except the one that collects them. TrulyCar shows the manufacturer's maintenance schedule read against the car's mileage, so you know which intervals were due and which receipts to ask the seller for. That is the honest substitute, and we say so on the report.

Which is best for a one-time purchase?

For one car, one payment, and a PDF you keep, TrulyCar at $16.99 is built for exactly that. There is nothing to cancel, a VIN you re-run within 30 days is free, and a report that comes back with nothing on file returns its credit automatically.

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