// VEHICLE INTELLIGENCE · X402 NATIVE
What is Vindex?
Vindex is a pay-per-call vehicle-intelligence API for AI agents and developers: decode any 17-character VIN, read safety recalls merged across the US (NHTSA) and Canada (Transport Canada), pull LLM-clustered known failure modes with reliability aggregates, and itemize used-vehicle closing costs in both countries. It is priced per call in USDC on Base over the x402 protocol — no accounts, no API keys, no subscriptions — which makes it directly callable by an autonomous agent that needs vehicle facts before advising a purchase.
What you get
- $0.01
GET /v1/decodeNormalized NHTSA vPIC VIN decode
- $0.01
GET /v1/recallsMerged US (NHTSA) + Canada (Transport Canada) recalls + full decoded vehicle
- $0.05
GET /v1/known-issuesLLM-clustered named failure modes with verified ODI citations + reliability block + full decode
- $0.02
GET /v1/purchase-costsItemized US + Canada used-vehicle closing costs (country=CA|US)
- $0.25
GET /v1/prepurchasePre-purchase report: decode + recalls + known issues + ownership costs in one call
Free /v1/sample/* endpoints return every response shape for one fixed sample vehicle. Prices start at $0.01.
How agents pay
Call a paid endpoint with no payment and Vindex answers HTTP 402 · PAYMENT REQUIRED with the exact price. Your agent signs a USDC transfer authorization on Base and retries the same request with the payment header; the JSON comes back after on-chain settlement. Stock x402 clients handle the round-trip automatically.
$ curl "https://api.vindexapi.dev/v1/decode?vin=1FTFW1ET5DFC10312" HTTP/2 402 · PAYMENT REQUIRED { "x402Version": 2, "endpoint": "/v1/decode" } $ # agent signs a USDC authorization on Base and retries HTTP/2 200 · OK — SETTLED AFTER COMPUTE
Alternatives
Free NHTSA vPIC decoder. The public vPIC API decodes US VINs at no cost and is the right choice if all you need is a raw US decode and you can host the plumbing. Vindex normalizes that same data, folds in factory-warranty terms, and — critically — merges Canadian (Transport Canada) recalls that vPIC does not carry.
API-key commercial VIN services. Established providers offer deep US coverage but gate access behind accounts, contracts, and monthly minimums. Vindex trades that depth for a merged US + Canada view, warranty and closing-cost layers, and per-call payment an agent can settle without any signup.
Vindex is informational vehicle data only — not a vehicle-history report (no liens, accidents, or odometer readings). If you need title or accident history, a full vehicle-history provider is the right tool.
FAQ
- Does Vindex need an API key or account?
- No. Vindex has no signups, no API keys, and no dashboards. Any HTTP client — including an autonomous agent — can call an endpoint directly; paid routes answer with an x402 payment challenge that a wallet settles per call.
- How does an agent pay for a Vindex call?
- Paid endpoints return an HTTP 402 challenge describing the exact price. The agent signs a USDC transfer authorization on Base and retries the same request with the payment header; the response comes back after settlement. Stock x402 clients do this automatically.
- What coverage does Vindex have, and is it a vehicle-history report?
- Vindex merges US (NHTSA) and Canada (Transport Canada) recall data in one response, and covers used-vehicle closing costs across all of Canada plus all 50 US states and DC. It is informational vehicle data only — NOT a vehicle-history report: it makes no liens, accidents, or odometer claims.
- Can I try Vindex before paying?
- Yes. Free /v1/sample/* endpoints return every response shape for one fixed sample vehicle, so you can learn the exact contract before signing any payment.
// MACHINE SURFACE