Understanding the rating in your report and how to use it
Your report comes with a simple rating. This guide explains what each level means and what to do about it.
VIN Analyser
Alongside the numeric condition score, every report carries a letter grade from A to E. The grade is the fast read; the number is the precise one. Between them they let you scan a shortlist in seconds and then zoom in where it counts. This guide explains where each band sits and, more importantly, what to do when you land in it.
The grade bands
We deliberately keep five bands rather than ten, because finer distinctions imply a precision the underlying data rarely supports. The gap between a 71 and a 73 is mostly noise, and pretending otherwise would invite false confidence. Each band maps to a recommended action, not just a colour.
- Grade A: clean history, strong retention, proceed with routine due diligence.
- Grade B: minor flags worth a question or two, generally low risk.
- Grade C: mixed signals, inspect before committing.
- Grade D: material concerns, negotiate hard or walk.
- Grade E: serious unresolved risk, avoid unless you understand exactly why.
The bands are anchored to outcomes, not to a smooth split of the scale. We set the boundaries where the data shows a real change in how cars in each group tend to work out, so crossing from B to C means something concrete, not just a few points lost.
Why a grade can disagree with your gut
A car that looks immaculate can still grade a C if its paperwork has gaps, because the grade weighs evidence rather than appearance. That gap between polish and proof is precisely where many bad buys hide, and it is what the grade exists to surface before the deposit is down.
The grade is not impressed by a showroom shine. It cares whether the history holds together, and that is exactly the part you cannot see on a test drive.
The edge cases
Low-data vehicles, imports, and very new cars can sit oddly because there simply is not enough history to grade confidently. In those cases we widen the confidence band and say so, rather than forcing a verdict the data cannot support. A cautious B on a thin record is not the same as a confident B on a rich one.
Reading the grade with its confidence
Always read the letter together with the confidence indicator beside it. A grade is a summary of evidence, and a summary built on little evidence deserves more of your own inspection, not less. The grade tells you the verdict; the confidence tells you how much weight to put on it.
Why a D is not the end of the conversation
A low grade is a warning, not a wall. A D often reflects a specific, fixable concern rather than a doomed car: a documentation gap a seller can close, or a market-position flag that simply means the asking price is too high for the evidence. Read alongside the pillar that dragged it down, a D can become a negotiating lever rather than a reason to walk, provided you understand exactly which pillar pulled it there.
Turning a grade into a decision
Use the grade to triage a shortlist in seconds, then open the breakdown for anything that grades B or below. The letter tells you how much scrutiny a car deserves; the pillar detail tells you where to point it, so your time goes to the cars and the questions that actually matter.
A grade is never the last word. It is a structured starting point that puts every candidate on the same scale, so your judgement goes where it is actually needed instead of being spread thin across cars that never warranted a second look.