Playbooks

Beginner · short stepsExpert · spec · code · mm

Pick the situation. Read the left column. Say that at the window.

Twelve owner scenarios. Beginner script + genius measurements. SaferCar patterns — not a pirated TSB book.

WhoAudience: Owners in a named jam — brakes, noise, a light, a quote.Anyone who wants both altitudes on one card.
ClickControl: A playbook card. Then the beginner script.Playbook → steps. TSB desk and counter card live next door.
SayCounter: The left-column sentence. Then ask for the number on the right.Measurement first. Campaign lookup second. Parts last.

Playbooks · Jacket · Buyer / PPI

NHTSA file + a link we do not own

History jacket — not a Carfax

We assemble vPIC identity, SaferCar campaigns, complaints, and stars. Accident, title, and odometer tape are a consumer Carfax / AutoCheck / NMVTIS purchase. We do not scrape them and we do not own that file.

You are looking at a used car. Someone said “Carfax is clean.” You still need open inflators, complaint piles, and a PPI. A clean consumer report is not a clean car.

Beginner steps

What you do

0 / 4 beginner steps

01Run SaferCar on the VINnhtsa.gov/recalls. Open inflators and campaigns close on the VIN, not on a year/make/model pamphlet. Our /history jacket is YMM plus a link.Say: I want the SaferCar VIN result, not a screenshot of a clean Carfax.
02If you want wrecks and titles, buy them thereCarfax consumer portal, AutoCheck, NICB VINCheck, NMVTIS. We deep-link. We do not pull XML and we do not invent wrecks.Say: A clean Carfax is their file, not ours. I still want a PPI and the inflator lookup.
03Read the SaferCar pile by component/reliability counts who filed, by component. That is not Consumer Reports. A pile is a question for the PPI.Say: What are the top SaferCar components on this nameplate? I will ask the inspector about those.
04Walk the car anywayThe used-PPI playbook is 30 minutes. Frame rust, SRS lamp, and a scan beat a PDF stamp.Say: I am still doing a walk-around. A report is not a lift.

Do not

Do not treat a consumer Carfax as Open Hood’s file.
Do not skip SaferCar because a report said clean.
Do not buy a used airbag.

Expert notes

What the number means

Carfax / NMVTIS
Outbound only. We do not host their report, we do not scrape HTML, and we will not paint a green “clean” badge we did not buy.
Open inflator
A clean history report does not close a Takata campaign. VIN on SaferCar. Do not buy a yard airbag.

Open a live desk

SaferCar buckets this card answers: airbags · structure · not CR

Related patterns

Common failures by symptom. SaferCar pointers — not pirated TSB PDFs.

04 AT

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