How verification works
Trust you can check.
Every record on IsCarTi says how it was verified. Here is exactly what each label means, how the score is worked out, and where verification stops.
The three levels
Added by the owner and not independently checked. It is always labelled, never hidden, and counts for the least.
The record has a real uploaded document, and the database has confirmed three things: the file exists for that car, the same document isn't already used on another record, and the odometer doesn't contradict the dates of the car's other records. It does not prove the document is genuine.
A signed-in workshop confirmed the job, either through a one-time link the owner sent or by sending the job to the owner's car. The owner cannot confirm their own records, and cannot set this label from their browser. The database sets it.
Workshops
- Any workshop can confirm a job. It signs in with an email address and gives a business name, which is then fixed so it can't change from record to record.
- A workshop only shows as Registered, and only appears in the directory, after we approve it. We check its company details and contact the business.
- Only owners of records a workshop confirmed can review that workshop, once per job, on an account at least three days old.
- A workshop can dispute a record. A dispute is shown on the record and lowers the car's score.
The trust score
Each car gets a score from 0 to 100. It is deliberately simple, so you can work it out yourself.
- 1. Give each record its weight above.
- 2. Average them across all the car's records.
- 3. Subtract 15 points for each place the odometer goes backwards in time, and 10 for each disputed record.
- 4. 75+ is Strong, 50+ is Fair, anything lower is Basic.
Example: two workshop-confirmed records and one owner-added record average (100% + 100% + 25%) / 3 = 75%, so the score is 75.
Timestamps
Each record's one-way fingerprint (a hash, never the record itself) is sent to the free public OpenTimestamps service, which anchors it in the Bitcoin blockchain. Anyone can later prove the record existed at that time and hasn't been quietly changed since. Download the proof from a record and check it with the open-source OpenTimestamps tool. Bitcoin confirmation takes a few hours.
What verification cannot tell you
We'd rather you know this than find out later.
- It is not an inspection. IsCarTi has never seen the car. A clean history does not mean a car has no faults.
- A well-made fake document that is consistent with the rest of the history can pass the document check. That is why workshop confirmation counts so much more.
- A workshop can be wrong, or dishonest. Reviews, disputes and our approval process reduce that risk. They do not remove it.
- The score is an indicator, not a valuation, a warranty or advice. Always inspect a vehicle yourself and check ownership and finance status before you pay.