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FAQs

Have questions about DataOne Software or our products and services? Below, we've answered some of the most common questions we receive on a regular basis, as well as questions that may arise while evaluating or implementing our products.

Most Popular

Does DataOne sell their data?

We license our proprietary database and software products for use by other companies. However, we retain ownership of our IP. So to be precise,  no we do not "sell" our data and products, but we license them for use across many industries.

What kinds of companies does DataOne license vehicle data to?

DataOne provides vehicle data and VIN decoding solutions for most sectors of the auto industry. Clients range from dealerships and their service providers, portals, and research sites to insurance and warranty, fleet, transportation, auto parts and service, and government agencies.

View our solutions pages, blog, and case studies to get an idea of how our data is used by our diverse customers. 

What is your pricing structure?

You may have noticed that our pricing is not listed. We serve a very diverse customer base, each of which has specific data needs and use cases.  We work with prospects and customers to understand their needs and intended use and then provide a custom, accurate quote.

Major pricing variables include:

- Your intended use of the data
- The type and amount of data needed
- Volume of VINs decoded per month
- Number of endpoints serviced
- Monthly unique website traffic

We'd be happy to provide a quote based on your data needs and use case. Fill out the form here.

Does your VIN decoder work for vehicles destined outside of the US?

The quick answer: Yes, if it's Canadian, Eh!

The long answer: The geographical scope of DataOne's vehicle data and VIN decoding solutions is the US and Canadian markets. These two markets have near-identical VIN standards that require more details than most other countries. At this time vehicles intended for sale in other markets (Europe or China for example) are not included in our data collection.  

If your curious as to why we focus on the North American market, check out our blog article The Market's Effect on a VIN

Can you decode vehicles outside of the passenger and light-duty markets?

DataOne decodes passenger, light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as motorcycles, scooters and some off-road vehicles like dirt bikes, ATVs and UTVs. Our passenger and light-duty vehicle datasets are the most detailed and extensive, capturing standard and optional equipment, vehicle specs, warranty, color, MSRP and invoice pricing, safety data, and more. Click on the embedded links to learn more about our VINBasic VIN decoding solutions, as well as our extended vehicle data.

Do you source vehicle parts data?

DataOne does not capture vehicle parts data, however, we provide VIN-referenced mapping to the Aftermarket Catalog Enhanced Standard (ACES). This allows users to easily decode a vehicle's VIN and be returned the appropriate ACES IDs for that vehicle. Learn more about our vehicle service data.

Does DataOne provide vehicle history or registration data?

Our data offerings strictly capture details and specs at the time the vehicles were built. Our data solutions are much different from those offered by vehicle history report providers, such as Carfax and Experian. Interestingly, vehicle history or registration data providers will utilize a commercial VIN decoder, such as ours, to identify the vehicle and standardize their vehicle descriptions. Check out our blog article, "VIN Decoder, VIN Check, and Vehicle History Reports: How Do They Differ?" for more info. 

Why should I choose DataOne?

There are many areas in which we stand out from our competitors. Here are some of the main reasons why our customers love working with us:

1. Our consultative approach and partner-based relationships with each of our customers.

2. Excellent support from the very beginning during product evaluation and throughout the life of our customers.

3. Cutting-edge APIs and excellent supporting tech documentation for simple and timely integration.

4. Optimized and clean data that is easy to work with for a number of different applications.

Product Evaluation

Why is there an error message for most of my VINs?

There are a number of reasons why you could receive an error message when attempting to decode VINs during your evaluation of our products. 

Here are some of the common reasons:

1. Commerical truck, Powersports, and Canadian data are not turned on by default with our free trials.  If you are attempting to decode these vehicle segments, contact us to request activation of these datasets.

2. You are attempting to decode VINs from a market outside of claimed coverage (US and Canada).

3. Your VIN might have a missing or illegal character. All VINs should be 17 characters long and should not include the letters I,O, or Q.

4. Your VIN might have failed the checksum test. This could be a typo or an indicator that your vehicle does not have a VIN that follows the US or Canadian VIN standards.

5.  Your vehicle is too old and does not follow the modern VIN standard. This would include vehicles manufactured before 1981.

Learn more common reasons for unsuccessful decodes in this blog article.

Why can’t I log into the customer portal?

There are two reasons why you might not be able to login to the portal: 

1. You've plugged in the wrong username or password.

2. The trial has expired.

If your trial has expired before you got a chance to use it, reach out to customer support at support@dataonesoftware.com to request an extension. 

Why am I getting bounced/logged out of the portal?

Each login is good for one user. Might you have provided your login to a colleague? If so, you will not be able to access the portal at the same time. If you would like to provide access to others within your company, contact support at support@dataonesoftware.com and they will provide individual logins.

Why wasn't my trial request approved?

If your trial request was not approved, you will receive an email explaining why. Some of the most common reasons why we do not approve trial requests are:

1. We do not cover the data you are seeking. For example, you may be interested in vehicle markets outside of North America, vehicles older than 1981, or boats and other watercraft.

2. You have not provided enough information (ie. business email address, legitimate business name, business website, full name). If you registered as "Mr. Yo Momma," "the CEO of NoneYa Business," or our personal all-time favorite "Princess Consuela Bananahammock," you may get a chuckle out of us... but check your spam folder for a rejection email.

3. Duplicate request. You've already evaluated our vehicle data or someone else in your company has recently requested a trial. Contact support to reactivate your company's existing trial account.

4. You want a VIN Decoder trial to decode your '89 Camero. While we know how much you love your ride, and realize that you really want to know every last detail about it, our trials are for legitimate business use only. If you want a free decode without a trial, we provide one here.

When does the 15-day trial officially start?

Your 15-day trial starts once it's been approved internally. Each trial request is personally reviewed to assure our data appears to be the right fit and will be evaluated for use within your business. 

Can I get an extension on my trial?

Towards the end of the 15-day trial, customer support sends out an email with the option to extend for another 10 days by filling out a brief satisfaction survey.  (Your ratings will not affect your ability to get an extension).

Additionally, if you need more then the 10-day extension, contact support with your request. We can be pretty flexible if you are working towards implementing our data solutions, but it will involve a conversation so that we understand what you are trying to accomplish.

Can I get additional data points with my trial?

As you may have noticed, not all of our data is enabled in the trial by default. However, we can enable additional data packs upon request. Some of these might include decoding for commercial trucks, Powersports and Canadian vehicles, mapping to other data standards like ACES, additional data points such as EPA MPG or images.

How can I review your web service API documentation?

After your technical trial has been approved, you will receive a greeting email with login credentials and web service API documentation attached. If you haven't received this email, make sure you check your spam folder as well.

Additionally, you can access the tech docs within our client portal. Contact support at support@dataonesoftware.com if you cannot find them.

Technical

Is there a benefit to your web service API over your delivered flat file?

The web service API includes advanced VIN decoding logic that can help improve the match rate of details that are sometimes not encoded within a VIN, such as transmission or trim.

DataOne has been working with vehicle data for many years now and has a wealth of information available at our fingertips from historic VIN decodes that will help improve the 17-digit VIN decode. We are also able to accept additional inputs such as the OEM Model Numbers, Package Codes, and Option Codes. The VIN decoding web service can be implemented quicker than a delivered file as well.

However, if your business does not have a need for our business logic and would prefer to host the data locally, we do give that option.

I would love to use your web services, however, I am concerned about uptime and performance. How reliable is your service?

DataOne guarantees a 99.95% uptime via a strong, industry-competitive service level agreement (SLA). Our APIs are used by some of largest companies in the auto industry to power their most critical business processes.

What kind of programming languages do you support?

The DataOne VIN Decoder API is a REST-based HTTPS Interface that can be returned in JSON or XML. Our delivered data is a delimited, FTP file with daily/weekly updates.

PerfectFit® Software Suite can be delivered as either a CORS Plugin (a few lines of JavaScript) or a Web Service API with the same delivery as the VIN Decoder API.

What is the difference between a CORS Plugin and an iFrame?

To spare you a long detailed answer -- a CORS Plugin is a fully built-out, responsive UI with content that lives on your site and is considered "native" content by search engines. Whereas, an iFrame is literally framed in content from another website that does not live on your site, contribute searchable content to your root domain, or have the capability for customization. With a CORS Plugin, you have the ability to customize styling to match the look and feel of your website.

Does DataOne have a VIN scanner SDK or code base for mobile apps?

Though we do not offer an out-of-the-box scanner SDK or code base, our customers are able to create a VIN scanner that works seamlessly with our VIN decoding.

Didn't Find What You're Looking For?

Whether the answers were unclear or you need a more elaborate and customized answer, we are here to help. Reach out to one of our DataOne Software product specialists to clear up any questions or concerns.

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