This describes damages that did not result from a collision with another vehicle. Examples are hail damage, vandalism etc.

Before you buy a used car, we recommend that you get a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report, take a thorough test drive and have the vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic and/or auto technician to make sure the vehicle is functioning properly.

A data record reflecting accident and/or damage details contained on a collision report filed by law enforcement.

Police reported accident records will normally reflect the following:

• Incident date
• Province (or state) in which the collision report was filed
• Brief description of the incident
• Damage severity (as recorded by law enforcement)

Not all police reported accident records will contain all of the above information. Police reported accident records will not contain a dollar value associated with the damages.

If you believe that a police reported accident record reported about your VIN has been reported incorrectly or contains incorrect information/details, please see: I believe information on my CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report is inaccurate. What do I do?

Before you buy a used car, we recommend that you get a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report, take a thorough test drive and have the vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic and/or auto technician to make sure the vehicle is functioning properly.

Indicates damage has occurred, however the claim amount shows as zero dollars because:

• The claim has not yet been paid or settled. It’s possible that the claim is new and the information is not yet updated. Be mindful of the claim date and the CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report purchase date
• The insured did not follow through on a reported claim. Typically, they either decided to pay out of pocket or did not follow through with any repairs, as damage was minimal
• The insurance company denied the claim (i.e. the insured was under the influence while driving or did not have comprehensive coverage)
  
• The insurance company recovered the cost of repairs from another insurance company after initially paying for the repairs
  • If the insurance company did not pay for the repairs but another party's insurance did, the claim amount may be reported as a negative dollar amount
• In instances of a total loss claim and/or vehicle being branded Salvage by ICBC, a $0.00 claim will be reported by ICBC
  
• In rare circumstances, the insurance company offsets the claim amount by the amount recovered through the sale of the vehicle 
  

We are not able to obtain nor provide further details pertaining to the claim amount.

Before you buy a used car, we recommend that you get a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report, take a thorough test drive and have the vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic and/or auto technician to make sure the vehicle is functioning properly.

The estimate or estimate repair on a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report represents the estimated value associated with the damage, while the claim amount represents the total dollar value paid out by the insurance company to repair or replace the vehicle (see: Total loss), or the recovery amount.

The insurance claims identified in the Vehicle History Report do not include any medical payouts, damage to other vehicles, damage to property, towing, rental cars or any other incidental damages.

For more information, please contact the seller/owner of the vehicle. They may be able to provide additional information.

Before you buy a used car, we recommend that you get a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report, take a thorough test drive and have the vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic and/or auto technician to make sure the vehicle is functioning properly.

Some owners will visit multiple estimate facilities to evaluate the damage before sending the final number to their insurance company. 

The appraiser may have also found additional damage and completed a supplemental estimate.

Please note we are not able to obtain nor provide further details from our sources pertaining to the estimate records.

Before you buy a used car, we recommend that you get a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report, take a thorough test drive and have the vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic and/or auto technician to make sure the vehicle is functioning properly.

While we are the most comprehensive vehicle history reporting service in Canada, a report is based only on information supplied to CARFAX Canada by participating data sources. There may be other information about this vehicle that has not been reported to CARFAX Canada.

Accident records without a dollar value included may occur when:

• The vehicle is/was an American vehicle and there is no estimate data available
• For insurance claims when no dollar value was reported to us, please see:
  • What is a zero-dollar ( $0.00 ) claim?
  • Not reported (insurance claim amount)
• When the information about the incident was provided to CARFAX Canada through a police report
  • Police Reported Accident
• When the record is a "Damage Event" record

Please note we are not able to obtain nor provide further details from our sources pertaining to the damage records.

Before you buy a used car, we recommend that you get a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report, take a thorough test drive and have the vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic and/or auto technician to make sure the vehicle is functioning properly.

It is possible to see an indication of “Total Loss” on the report without the vehicle being branded.

Total loss is an insurance company term noting that the cost to repair the vehicle is nearing and/or exceeds the vehicle’s current market value.

When the estimated cost to repair the vehicle meets this threshold, the estimate facility will flag the vehicle for Total Loss consideration. This would also occur if the estimate facility is appraising the vehicle in instances where the insurance company is considering/has determined that they will be replacing the vehicle for the insured.

It is up to the insurance company and/or province whether the vehicle is branded.

We are not able to obtain nor provide further details pertaining to the damage records.

Before you buy a used car, we recommend that you get a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report, take a thorough test drive and have the vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic and/or auto technician to make sure the vehicle is functioning properly. We would also recommend speaking with your provincial vehicle registration authority to further ensure vehicle can be registered with and operated in your province.

This can happen when a waiver of depreciation endorsement (i.e.,OPCF 43 or 43r) is attached to the insurer’s policy. When applied, it will result in a total loss claim, meaning the insurance company will either replace the vehicle with a newer model or repay the MSRP value of the vehicle. Coverage is granted for a period of time designated by the insurance company.

For more information, see:

• Total loss
• Why does the estimate show "total loss," but the vehicle was neither branded as "salvage" or "rebuilt"?

Before you buy a used car, we recommend that you get a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report, take a thorough test drive and have the vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic or auto technician to make sure the vehicle is functioning properly.

We also recommend speaking with your provincial vehicle registration authority to further ensure the vehicle can be registered with, and operated in, your province.

The insurance company’s head office location can sometimes appear as the estimate location. This does not necessarily mean that the vehicle was in that location.

While we have access to billions of records, there may be other information about this vehicle that has not been reported to CARFAX Canada. Our reports are a snapshot in time, reporting all the information available to us from our data sources at that time. We receive new records from our data sources every day – some of which may be for an event that occurred in the past. 

It is our position that displaying all data records available to CARFAX Canada including damage records that we receive years after the actual event, is in the best interest of Canadians as it helps to inform consumers of potential problems with used vehicles that they may consider purchasing. Hiding accident/damage (or any relevant) information from potential purchasers just because we did not receive the data immediately after the damage event is not in the best interest of consumers because it prevents them from making more informed decisions.