Straight answers to common questions.

Yes. We write in plain English. You walk in knowing what to look for, what it costs to fix, and who can put it on a lift.

A PDF briefing for one listing: what the photos show — and don’t, known problems for that year and model, whether the asking price is fair, private-sale tax as we add it, and a lift shop with a real phone number when we’ve confirmed one. Last page is a checklist you take with you. Not a history report.

Yes. That’s the product. Paste the listing URL (or tap Paste link on your phone). We read the ad, the price, the city, and the photos. Facebook, Marketplace, Craigslist, and Autotrader. If a photo didn’t come through, add it under extra details.

If you already live in chat tools and can wrangle prompts, photos, year/model failure lists, local tax, and a lift booking yourself — you might not need us. For this Marketplace or Craigslist listing, a chat tab won’t hand you a PDF, won’t price the expensive jobs in shop dollars against these photos, won’t name a checked lift shop, won’t spell state title/tax steps in plain language, and won’t give you a last-page driveway checklist you can take to the seller. That’s the product.

No. Those are built to be fast. This is a document you can hand a partner or a technician — with a named local shop when we’ve checked one, not a blurb in a tab.

No. Get the vehicle on a lift. We name a shop when we’ve checked one so you can book. If the seller refuses, don’t buy it.

We only print shops we’ve checked. If that city isn’t on the list yet, the PDF says so and still tells you how to book a lift inspection.

No. Carfax®* is a vehicle history report — the paper trail for a VIN. We don’t sell history reports. IsThisCarOK is a pre-viewing briefing for one private-sale listing (photo red flags, known failures in shop dollars, fair price, tax, lift shop when confirmed, driveway checklist). Buy Carfax yourself if you want the paper trail. Still get a lift inspection. See /pricing/ for the side-by-side.

* CARFAX® is a registered trademark of Carfax, Inc. (a Mobility Global company). IsThisCarOK is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or connected to Carfax, Inc., Mobility Global, or their affiliates. Mentions of Carfax® are for comparison only. Vehicle history reports and pre-viewing briefings are different products; IsThisCarOK does not provide Carfax® reports or Carfax® data.

Private-sale tax is a state rule, not one national number. We spell out what usually applies and what to confirm when you title it.

The briefing works on a US listing today. Named lift shops and tax detail land state by state, starting with Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. We do not invent a Tacoma shop phone.

One update is included for a week. We refresh price and tax. We don’t start the research over from scratch.