Auto Use history

CARFAX Reports are available for vehicles manufactured since 1981, when the 17-character VIN was standardized.

Before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, eastern Europeans zipped around in 3 million ugly little cars called Trabants (or "Trabis"). They were cheap and cheerful—even cool in some ways, with recycled plastic body parts that lasted nearly 30 years.

By 1994, he was forced to file for personal bankruptcy, in the process losing $15 million, a private prop jet, and houses in Bel Air, Aspen, and Palm Springs.

Ellis traveled to New York to meet with executives of Prodigy, an online service, and very quickly convinced them to put Auto-by-Tel to the test. It debuted on Prodigy in March 1995 and, although Ellis projected that at the outset Auto-by-Tel would likely generate 50 purchase requests per week, on the fourth day it received more than 1,300.

In April 1996, Auto-by-Tel entered the Canadian market, and Ellis was already talking about overseas expansion.

Also in the early months of 1997, Auto-by-Tel began to offer low-cost car insurance through a partnership with AIG, financing through Chase Manhattan Bank and leasing through GE Capital.

Auto-by-Tel launched its first overseas operation in 1998, entering the United Kingdom.

In 1999, the company continued to aggressively pursue plans for expansion.

In 2000, Autobytel searched for a more diversified source of revenue.

Early in 2002, Schwartz announced his intention to broaden Autobytel's marketing services to better support car dealerships and manufacturers.

2021 Flood Damage Notification to NMVTIS Reporting Entities