2025-01-28
carVertical’s 2024 in review: Big steps towards a better market
![Karolis Bareckas](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/v2r3zeun/production/b4f8e58ecb2847b0b61b0f9e64bc0d5855644b03-1000x1000.jpg?w=2048&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Karolis Bareckas
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/v2r3zeun/production/fd4961e69bd07d2ed59a083ae52efec05a4aa618-1920x1080.jpg?w=3840&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Every car has a story, but not all of them are easy to uncover. That's why we’ve spent 2024 making our reports smarter and easier to use, all while helping drivers and dealers navigate the used car market with insightful research.
Want to find out more about our key achievements in 2024? We’ve prepared a review of what we’ve been up to last year. Check it out!
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/v2r3zeun/production/36f55424f1caed0688ecf321ed11da1a41259edb-1024x240.png?w=2048&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Looks can be deceiving!
Don't risk your safety - check it with carVertical first
Report features and improvements – beyond vehicle history
There’s more to VIN checks than just car history. 2024 has brought us closer to building a report that gives users a much deeper understanding of the cars people buy and sell. Here are the new features we introduced last year.
AI Damage
We’re always eager to integrate new technologies into our services, and the AI Damage feature is a great addition to the vehicle history report. Our team created an AI model that analyzes the car’s historical photos and notifies users about potential damage. You can find the AI photo analysis under the Damage section in a report.
Our Damage section also got another upgrade: car models were updated from 2D to 3D, making it easier to evaluate the damage the vehicle has suffered.
Natural disasters
Due to climate change, more and more countries are devastated by floods each year that affect thousands of cars. A vehicle that suffered water damage is the last thing you want in your garage, and they should be avoided at all costs.
If the vehicle was located in an area impacted by flooding, you may learn this through our Natural disasters feature. While this feature doesn’t necessarily imply the car was affected, it could suggest when a thorough water damage check is necessary.
![natural disasters in carVertical report](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/v2r3zeun/production/b0c72843554a749cd540a0e6108a075f6c493dbf-1856x1260.png?w=3840&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Safety
Ever heard about car safety ratings evaluating how safe a specific model is for the driver, passengers, and road users? From now on, when checking a car, users can see the safety rating from car assessment tests like EURO NCAP.
![safety section in carVertical report](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/v2r3zeun/production/ebb1cd0b9cc9760c32e283e595be704a4f6d3379-2462x1244.png?w=3840&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Additionally, the Safety section also contains information on recalls: when a recall was issued, its status (solved/unsolved/unknown), the date, and a short description.
Maintenance schedule
Even for experienced car owners, proper maintenance can be a hard nut to crack (not to mention those who have just gotten their driver's license). That’s why we decided to help car owners with maintenance planning and introduced a new section called Maintenance schedule.
This section suggests when the upcoming maintenance should be performed and which parts should be serviced. When buying a car, it’s essential to understand how the vehicle was serviced and what should be done in the near future. Otherwise, this can lead to unexpected additional costs after purchasing the car.
![maintenance schedule in carVertical report](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/v2r3zeun/production/533a96852a6ddcfdcfa87f73f2664ad616787dc4-2228x1092.png?w=3840&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Typical mileage and Vehicle inactivity
We try not only to provide customers with basic information about a car but also share our insights. Under the Odometer section, you can compare the vehicle’s mileage with the typical mileage of that model. For example, cargo vans typically have high mileage. And if the one you’re willing to buy has much lower mileage, this should raise your suspicion.
![odometer in carVertical report](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/v2r3zeun/production/affa8be520dd0b28e9c92b94eab368b00b7188af-2102x1016.png?w=3840&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Vehicle inactivity is another insight, suggesting that a car may not have been used for a while. You can then clarify this information with the seller, who may shed some light on the car’s condition: whether it wasn’t in use due to damage or other reasons.
We’ve made carVertical easier to use for individuals and businesses
Last year, we also introduced many changes that enhanced user experience and made navigating carVertical easier for both individuals and businesses. Here’s a glance at the latest improvements.
- Developer portal. Allows you to generate a report in PDF format using carVertical’s API.
- carVertical subscriptions and My subscription page. Instead of manually reordering when credits run out, you can choose a subscription plan that renews automatically every month (or sooner if needed). Subscription details and management are now conveniently accessible from the sidebar and drop-down menus. A brand new My subscription section was also introduced, including the ability to cancel, reactivate, and edit payment methods and enable auto-refill from the same place in the user zone.
- Saving card details in checkout. From now on, you can save your credit card details at checkout so that you won’t need to fill them in again next time.
- Account security by using OTP. Users now have added protection to their accounts because of the one-time password feature that ensures only account owners are able to use their account.
- New report header. Reworked header introduced the ability to pack more with less footprint, offering our customers valuable and, oftentimes, decision-making information before and after purchasing a report.
- New user zone. The revamped user zone finally has a fresh new look, reimagining how our returning users use the product.
- Multiple VIN check. Ever wanted to check multiple cars at once? Now you can! Enter up to 10 VINs and get all the reports with one click.
What we’ve learned about the used car market – a year of research
Since we work with piles of automotive data, this provides us with invaluable insights into the used car market. It would be a shame not to share these insights with our readers, wouldn’t it? After all, we process data from millions of history reports, giving us a thorough understanding of driver habits, market trends, and transparency in different countries. Here are the most important pieces of research we presented last year.
- Market Transparency Index 2024. The carVertical Market Transparency Index ranks 30 countries based on the transparency of their used car market, considering factors such as odometer clocking, damage, and import rates.
- Most clocked cars. This research explores the issue of odometer tampering in the used car market, revealing that some models are more likely to have their mileage altered than others.
- Data sources. The article explains how carVertical creates vehicle history reports by using the VIN to gather data from over 900 sources across 40+ countries.
- Clocking fines. A brief overview of how penalties for odometer fraud vary significantly across countries, with some imposing hefty fines and prison sentences, while others having minimal penalties or no specific laws
- Average mileage per year. Examining average annual car mileage across different European countries and the US.
What’s next?
While last year was a blast, we’re not stopping here. carVertical’s team constantly searches for new ways to communicate with our users through data. This year, we’re planning to offer even more data-driven insights in our reports that will greatly benefit car buyers and sellers. Combined with hard facts from over 900 data sources, this will make our services even more convenient.
We work hard to turn the report into a better advisor for our individual and business users and increase transparency in the used car market. After all, this business was born out of frustration – there were just too many people getting scammed every day.
Buying or selling a car shouldn’t be a headache, yet there’s still a long way to go in this uneven battle.
![Karolis Bareckas](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/v2r3zeun/production/b4f8e58ecb2847b0b61b0f9e64bc0d5855644b03-1000x1000.jpg?w=2048&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Article by
Karolis Bareckas
Karolis is an automotive writer focusing on the industry part of things. His goal is to educate readers and foster transparency in the used car market. With a passion for storytelling and extensive experience writing in a variety of fields, Karolis enjoys sharing his knowledge and spreading the word about automotive and tech topics. He’s also a a big fan of muscle cars and long road trips.