Every year, millions of used cars change hands across the United States. Most of those transactions go fine. A significant number do not, and the buyers who get burned often had no idea what to look for.
VINvestigators exists to change that. We are an independent editorial publication covering used-car fraud, title washing, odometer rollbacks, VIN cloning and buyer protection in the US market. We are not owned by any dealer, manufacturer or data company.
Our mission
We protect used car buyers from fraud, hidden damage and bad deals. We investigate how each scam works, explain the rules that protect buyers in every state, and build free tools so buyers can check a car for themselves.
Our vision
A used car market where every buyer knows exactly what they are buying.
Our Principles
Sourced
We rely on statutes, court filings, government databases and other trusted sources, such as industry bodies and established news organisations. Every figure and legal citation is checked against the original document before it is published, and the source is named, so you can read it yourself.
Independent
No undisclosed advertising, sponsorship or paid coverage.
Fair
Every case we cover comes from the public record: the charges filed, the court documents and the authorities’ own announcements. We do not call anyone guilty before a court has, and private individuals in our case studies are not named.
Current
Laws and rules change, so our articles do too. Every article shows when it was last updated. Every state guide also shows the date of the next review.
What We Do
On the site today: plain-English guides to VINs, vehicle history reports and the buying process; investigations of specific frauds, from odometer rollbacks to curbstoning, with the records behind them; case studies of real schemes; news on busts, rulings and new laws; a glossary of trade terms; a free VIN check; state guides to used car law, published one state at a time; and a yearly statistics page, the numbers on used car fraud and buyer risk from official sources, with a new edition every October.
Everything here is written for the buyer first. It is read by dealers, inspectors and investigators too, and we write with them in the room.
Who Writes This
VINvestigators is run by a small independent editorial team. We publish under one shared byline, and the same standards apply to every piece, whoever drafted it. The people behind the site have spent years writing about the automotive industry, the used-car market, VIN checks and car scams, and have worked in licensed used-car sales, so the dealer side of a transaction is familiar ground, not theory.
Nobody on the team is a lawyer, and nothing here is legal advice. Where the law matters we quote the statute and link it, so you can read it yourself.
Artūras Andriušaitis
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Artūras started VINvestigators in May 2026 after two years of freelance research and writing on the used car market. The idea grew out of that work. Used cars change hands in enormous numbers, a lot of money is made and lost in those sales, and the same frauds keep catching buyers who had no way to see them coming. Most of what a buyer needs to know is already public, spread across statutes, court records and government databases. He wanted it in one place, written for the person about to pay. He chooses the topics and edits every article before it goes live. Before that he spent more than a decade in operational and management roles.
How Our Articles Are Made
Every article starts from primary sources: statutes and court opinions, FTC and NHTSA guidance, state attorney general releases and the federal title database, each linked in the text where we rely on it. We use AI tools to help with research and drafting. The editor chooses every topic, checks every fact, figure and legal citation against the original source, and edits and approves each article before it is published.
Laws change. State guides carry the date we last verified them and the date of their next review, and every article shows when it was last updated. If we get something wrong, tell us and we will correct it. The full rules are in our Editorial Standards.
How We Make Money
We run no advertising, and nobody pays for coverage. The site has one commercial relationship: a vehicle history report partner. When a reader buys a report through our link, we earn a commission; the reader pays less, not more, and we say so beside every such link. That commission is what keeps the free VIN check and the guides free. It does not change what we write.
We do not recommend a paid report for every car, and our Resources page lists only official databases that pay us nothing. The details are in our Disclaimer.
Where to Start
Pick the reading path that fits you on our Start Here page: first-time buyer, experienced buyer, or professional and investigator. When you have a specific car in front of you, run the free VIN check.
Our community, r/VINvestigators, has over 1,500 members, buyers and trade among them. Post a listing that looks off or a report that does not add up. New guides and fraud alerts go out by email a few times a month, no more.
Get in Touch
Have a tip, a correction or a partnership inquiry? Reach us at hello@vinvestigators.com or through our contact page.