Web3 Use Cases - Vehicle History Reports

The Problem

When buying a used car, it’s essential to know its history.

Was it involved in a car accident?

Did the current and previous owners maintain the car?

The current owner that is selling the car wants the car sold. They may hide information about the vehicle if that hurts it getting sold.

The car could have been in an accident. The owner may have taken some shortcuts to repair the vehicle. Maybe they use aftermarket parts instead of parts for the car manufacturer to fix the car?

There could be deferred maintenance on the car.

The prospective buyer thinks they may be getting a nice car at a reasonable price, but if you add in the deferred maintenance, shortcut repairs, and possibly not knowing the vehicle was in an accident. This can add up to more money later on. The buyer may be forced to get another car because the used car they just bought became a money pit.

Many buyers of used cars use CarFax to get their vehicle history. The history that CarFax provides would be previous accidents and car title history. But that history could be wrong.

There could be data errors. Not all accidents get reported, or not all accidents get recorded by CarFax.

So how can we solve this problem?

The Solution

1. Imagine a web 3 application that will store a car’s VIN # (or a unique ID) on the blockchain. It will also record any repairs or accidents that occurred with that car.
2. There are multiple ways the repair data can be recorded onto the blockchain.
3. One can be a web app that the repair technician can record what repairs are being done for the car.
4. Another way is to have APIs for common auto repair software that will auto record all repairs being done to a car onto the blockchain.
5. If a car gets into an accident, the driver reports the accident to their insurance. The insurance company’s software will record the accident. Their software will also integrate with the blockchain to document the accident.
6. When prospective buyer decides to buy a used car, they can go on a web app and enter the VIN #.
7. The web app will search for the VIN # on the blockchain and return all repairs and accidents that may have occurred for that used car.

Issues

Now the issues can be similar to CarFax, where not all the data is getting to the blockchain. The blockchain itself cannot solve that problem. It requires the insurance and repair shop’s software to update the blockchain.

But the developers and maintainers of this CarFax blockchain can work with the Insurers and auto repair shops to integrate their software into the blockchain.

Not a perfect solution, but this is a step to prevent data errors and have more accurate data on the car’s repair and accident history.

Also, this solution can be an easy way for car owner’s to track the repairs and maintenance they have done on their car. And auto mechanics look to see what recent repairs have been done on the vehicle they are servicing.