Our tools combine your entries, public agency data and stated calculation rules. A source can have gaps or be out of date. An estimate is not a lender quote, a tax determination or a vehicle inspection.
Vehicle details and history
The NHTSA vPIC decoder supplies manufacturer-reported vehicle details. Some fields can be missing, and a VIN may not identify every option or trim.
Our VIN report does not provide title, accident, lien or ownership history. For title-history information, start with the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System. A vehicle-history report also has coverage limits and does not replace an inspection.
Recalls, complaints and safety ratings
NHTSA supplies model-year recall campaigns, owner-complaint data and 5-Star Safety Ratings.
A campaign for a model does not establish whether your particular car needs the repair. Use NHTSA's official recall lookup and the manufacturer for VIN-specific checks. Even that lookup has stated coverage limits; a missing result is not a safety clearance.
Complaints are reports or allegations. Their counts are not verified failure rates or a fair reliability ranking without information about vehicles and miles in use. We show aggregate information, not raw complaint narratives.
A rating may depend on the vehicle version. If our decoder cannot choose a version, the report shows the uncertainty. An unrated result does not mean a zero-star score or zero risk.
Fuel economy and range
FuelEconomy.gov, from the EPA and Department of Energy, supplies efficiency, range and fuel-cost estimates. When the version cannot be identified, the report can show several possibilities or unavailable coverage.
Annual fuel cost uses the source's mileage, driving mix and fuel-price assumptions. Your electricity tariff, charging habits, weather and driving can change your cost and range.
How often vehicle records refresh
We store source responses locally so repeated lookups do not need a new agency request every time. These are refresh targets, not a promise that every response is that recent:
| Record | Normal refresh period |
|---|---|
| VIN details and make/model lists | 30 days |
| Model-year recall results | 1 day |
| Individual recall campaign details | 7 days |
| Complaint aggregates | 7 days |
| NHTSA safety ratings | 30 days |
| EPA menus and vehicle records | 30 days |
If an agency cannot be reached, an older stored answer may be used. Check any source date or stale-data warning shown. Missing or unavailable data is not a clean bill of health. These periods describe vehicle-source caching, not how long we retain a contact request; see privacy for that separate topic.
ZIP areas and shipping estimates
We use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas and representative points for approximate geography. Census explains ZCTAs: they approximate ZIP delivery areas and do not cover every postal ZIP. They are not pickup addresses or tax-jurisdiction determinations.
Our current geography combines the 2026 Gazetteer with 2020 ZIP-area/county relationships. Approximate road miles use straight-line distance multiplied by 1.25, rather than a routed driving distance.
The shipping price range was calibrated on November 2, 2026 using 2,266 dispatched or delivered single-vehicle Ship A Car orders from November 2024 through October 2026. About six in ten historical prices fell within the fitted range. That is historical coverage, not a guarantee about your shipment. Pickup and transit windows remain planning assumptions, not measured delivery commitments.
Lease A Car Direct is operated by Othex Corp. Ship A Car, Inc. is a separate company under common ownership with Othex Corp. The shipping estimator gives a planning estimate, not a live carrier search or booking.
Lease costs, state rules and corrections
The lease tools calculate from your inputs and stated formulas. They do not supply live dealer inventory, lender rates or guaranteed incentives. Our methodology page explains cost scores and comparisons.
State tax and fee notes draw on revenue agencies, DMVs and legal sources. Conditions and unknowns remain important; a blank value never means no tax or no fee limit. Ask for the transaction-specific calculation and official authority.
If a number or explanation appears wrong, see corrections. A page's update date records an editorial change; it does not mean every underlying agency record was refreshed that day.