Carfax Report by VIN (PDF) — Carfax VIN Lookup, Carfax VIN Check & Vehicle History Report

🚗📄 Purchase and download a carfax vehicle history report PDF (single VIN or bulk), and use carfax vin check to check report availability when needed.

What you get after each run 🎁

• PDF storage: delivered reports are saved in the run’s Key-Value Store (download via reportFileUrl or reportFileKey)
• Dataset: 1 row per VIN 📊 (FOUND / NOT_FOUND / DELIVERED + fields you can export to JSON/CSV/Excel)

Support 🤝

For issues, use the Actor page Ask questions or send email artur.novikk@gmail.com

Modes ⚙️

• CHECK_ONLY — paid availability check only 🔎 (this is not “free carfax by vin” / “check carfax free”)
• AUTO_PURCHASE — purchases a report 🧾 only when it’s found and delivered (no purchase for NOT_FOUND)

Built for carfax used cars workflows: dealers, importers, marketplaces, and buyers who want scale without paying for missing reports.

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What this Actor does (carfax report by vin number) 🧠

For each VIN, the Actor can:

• Validate VIN format (17 characters; letters/digits only; normalized to uppercase).
• Perform a carfax vin check (availability-only): whether a report exists for that VIN.
• In AUTO_PURCHASE mode: purchase the report and store the carfax vehicle history report as a PDF in Key-Value Store.
• Write exactly one Dataset item per VIN so you can export results to JSON/CSV/Excel.

If you’re comparing a carfax report by vin number workflow vs doing it manually — this is the automation piece.

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Quick start (UI) 🚀

1. Open the Actor page. 🌐
2. Paste VINs into vinCodes (single VIN or multiple VINs). 🧾
3. Choose mode:
   • CHECK_ONLY — availability check only
   • AUTO_PURCHASE — check + purchase PDF when available
4. Run the Actor. ▶️
5. Get results in the Dataset (one row per VIN). 📊 If a PDF is delivered, use reportFileUrl or the run’s Key-Value Store with reportFileKey.

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Pricing & Run policy (Carfax cost / Carfax price) 💸

⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT PRICING

• CHECK_ONLY never purchases PDFs.
• AUTO_PURCHASE charges only when a report is found and delivered.
• If a VIN has no report: no purchase is made.

Prices

• CHECK_ONLY: $0.99 per 100 VINs checked.
• AUTO_PURCHASE: $4.99 per delivered PDF report (availability check included).

This is designed for people comparing Carfax cost and looking for a carfax cheap / low cost carfax way to run checks at scale.

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How it works (check → buy → PDF) 🔁

1. Normalize VIN input (single VIN or list; de-duplicate; keep first-seen order).
2. Validate VIN format.
3. Perform availability check for each VIN.
4. If mode = AUTO_PURCHASE and a report exists:
   • charge for that VIN,
   • fetch PDF,
   • store PDF in Key-Value Store,
   • output status = DELIVERED with reportFileKey and reportFileUrl.

VINs are processed sequentially.

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Input (check VIN / carfax vin lookup) ⌨️

Fields

• mode (optional): CHECK_ONLY | AUTO_PURCHASE (default: AUTO_PURCHASE)

Provide VINs via vinCodes (string, optional) — flexible bulk input:

• newline-separated
• comma-separated
• JSON array encoded as a string (e.g. ["VIN1","VIN2"])

Input examples

1) Single VIN PDF (AUTO_PURCHASE):

{
  "mode": "AUTO_PURCHASE",
  "vinCodes": "1HGCM82633A004352"
}

2) Bulk availability (CHECK_ONLY):

{
  "mode": "CHECK_ONLY",
  "vinCodes": "1HGCM82633A004352
WBA8D9C50JA123456
SALWG2SU4MA775654"
}

3) VIN list as a JSON string (vinCodes):

{
  "mode": "CHECK_ONLY",
  "vinCodes": "["1HGCM82633A004352","WBA8D9C50JA123456"]"
}

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Output (Dataset + PDF) 📦

Dataset item (one per VIN)

{
  "vin": "SALWG2SU4MA775654",
  "status": "DELIVERED",
  "checked": true,
  "reportFileKey": "carfax_SALWG2SU4MA775654.pdf",
  "reportFileUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/KEY_VALUE_STORE_ID/records/carfax_SALWG2SU4MA775654.pdf?download=1",
  "errorCode": null
}

Output fields

• vin — VIN code
• status — final processing status
• checked — availability result (true found, false not found, null unknown/error)
• reportFileKey — PDF key in Key-Value Store (only for DELIVERED)
• reportFileUrl — direct PDF download link (only for DELIVERED)
• errorCode — short error code (if any)

Where the PDF is stored

When status = DELIVERED, the PDF is saved in Key-Value Store under reportFileKey.

How to download the PDF

Use reportFileUrl from the Dataset Output to download the PDF, or open the run → Key-Value Store → find the record with reportFileKey → download the PDF.

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Statuses & error codes 🧾

Statuses

• INVALID_INPUT — VIN failed validation.
• FOUND — report found (CHECK_ONLY).
• NOT_FOUND — report not found.
• DELIVERED — report purchased and PDF saved.
• FAILED_AFTER_CHARGE — PDF could not be delivered due to a service error (contact support with Run ID).
• API_ERROR — upstream API error.
• BUDGET_EXCEEDED — spend limit reached (run stopped).
• SKIPPED_BUDGET — skipped due to spend limit.
• SKIPPED_FAILSAFE — skipped due to a safety stop.

Common error codes (errorCode)

• CARFAX_CHECK_FAILED — /check request failed
• CARFAX_CHECK_INVALID — invalid /check response
• CARFAX_HASH_FETCH_FAILED — failed to fetch hash
• CARFAX_HASH_INVALID — missing/invalid hash
• PDF_INVALID — PDF too small / invalid
• PDF_RENDER_FAILED — PDF rendering failed
• CONFIG_INVALID_API_KEY — invalid API key
• CONFIG_INVALID_MONETIZATION — monetization configuration error
• CHARGE_FAILED — charging failed

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FAQ ❓

How do I check Carfax with VIN?

Run mode = CHECK_ONLY to do an availability-only carfax vin lookup / carfax vin check.
You’ll get FOUND or NOT_FOUND per VIN in the Dataset. This works well as a bulk carfax vin finder.

Is this a “free carfax by vin” / “check carfax free” / “free car report carfax” tool?

No — it’s not a free Carfax product.

People often search for free carfax by vin, check carfax free, free car report carfax, or free carfax vin check. This Actor provides a low-cost automation flow:

• CHECK_ONLY = availability check only (paid, but inexpensive)
• AUTO_PURCHASE = buys PDFs only when available and delivered

How much does it cost (Carfax cost)?

• CHECK_ONLY: $0.99 / 100 VINs
• AUTO_PURCHASE: $4.99 per delivered PDF report

Do I pay if a report is not found?

No. In AUTO_PURCHASE, you pay only when the report is found and delivered (DELIVERED).

Where do I download the PDF?

Use reportFileUrl from the Dataset Output, or the run’s Key-Value Store with reportFileKey.

Can I use this as a “car fax vin checker” for used cars?

Yes. Many users run it as a car fax vin checker for carfax used cars pipelines: first check availability (bulk), then purchase only the VINs they need.