Vehicle accident history available in TransUnion verification reports

TransUnion Auto Information Solutions is enhancing its Vehicle Verification Reports to include vehicle accident repair quote data. The enhanced reports will be available to enquirers from next month (June).

According to TransUnion Auto CEO Mike von Höne, this data is designed to indicate to a prospective buyer, finance house or insurer of a used vehicle whether or not a specific vehicle has been in an accident and the extent of the damage.

“TransUnion Auto is in the business of providing factual, up-to-date, transparent vehicle information to the market in order to help the user make better informed decisions,

“TransUnion continuously searches for new sources of data and products that it can provide to the market to further enhance the decision-making process. The inclusion of accident repair data in the TransUnion Vehicle Verification Reports is the first of a number of enhancements planned over the next few months,” said von Höne.

The enhanced, objective reports will include information on accident repair quotes, such as the date of the quote; the Rand value of the quote; the vehicle code (M&M code), if known; and the value of the quote as a percentage of the retail value of the vehicle at the time of the quote according to the TransUnion Auto Dealers’ Guide. This latter data will give an indication of the seriousness of the damage to the vehicle.

If the Vehicle Enquiry Report returns a “no history”, that simply indicates that TransUnion currently does not have any information recorded against this vehicle in relation to previous accident repair quotes.

Von Höne, however, emphasised that the report will not give an indication of the nature of the damage suffered by the vehicle, nor does TransUnion attempt to express an opinion on whether the vehicle in question is a “good buy” or a “bad buy”.

“The addition of accident repair quote data to the Vehicle Enquiry Report will allow the decision maker to have all relevant information at their fingertips prior to making a decision. This new information is important because buyers, insurers and financiers should know whether the vehicle has an accident repair history,” he explained.

In addition to the accident repair quote data, the TransUnion Vehicle Verification Report enables users to verify the following information:

• the vehicle’s identifiers as originally specified by the manufacturer;
• security alerts on the vehicle – whether the current owner has placed an encumbrance on the vehicle;
• the vehicle’s financing status - whether it is financially encumbered (and therefore possibly subject to dispute or confiscation by a bank);
• the vehicle’s legal status in the country – that it is not an in-transit or illegal import and therefore subject to confiscation by Customs & Excise or SARS); and
• any SAPS inquiries, due to it either being stolen, or sought for other reasons such as being seen at the scene of an accident or allegedly involved in a crime such as a hijacking or hit and run.