Cardentity Reviewed: Is the VIN Check Really Worth It?

What Cardentity actually does

In short: you enter the 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN), pay, and get a report on the vehicle. It includes things like damage and repairs, service history, factory equipment, and a check for possible odometer tampering. At the end there is also a current vehicle valuation, if you provide mileage and first registration date.

According to Cardentity, you can find the VIN in the vehicle registration document (field E) or directly on the car, for example at the bottom of the windshield on the driver's side. That worked for me right away.

What I noticed

The data really seems well-founded

Cardentity is a German company that specialises in used cars from Germany. According to their own figures, they cover over 90 percent of all VIN queries. For my car (an Audi), actual service entries including the workshop came up. This kind of data is apparently also used by dealers and appraisers, and you can tell from the report.

The damage and repair section

This was exactly what I was after. For roughly half of all vehicles there are entries here, often nothing yet for newer cars. In my case an old repair entry showed up that the seller hadn't mentioned. That was extremely helpful when negotiating the price.

The money-back guarantee

For the most important brands (VW, Audi, Porsche, Skoda, Mercedes, BMW and Opel) there is a guarantee: if no detailed data is available, you get your purchase price back or a new voucher. The car must not be older than 20 years for this and must have been built in Europe. A fair offer, I think, because you're not paying blind.

Where it falls short

Honestly, a few small things stood out to me:

• For very new cars the report can be thinner, because there simply aren't any damages or repairs yet.
• Processing time for a guarantee claim takes up to five business days, which isn't instant.
• For the full vehicle valuation you have to enter mileage and first registration yourself, otherwise that section is missing.

None of that was a real problem for me, but I wanted to mention it honestly.

My verdict

For less than a tank of fuel, I got a report that genuinely saved me money on the purchase. The damage and service section was the deciding factor for me, and the guarantee removes the risk. If you want to buy (or sell) a used car from Germany, you should try Cardentity. I would do it again.