Re: Vin# lookup
Not really.
Even the "services" you pay for, will have little or no info on boats.
Unlike carfax, which relies on insurance company participation to get the info (which makes carfax almost worthless), the boat history providers have even fewer resources to glean info from.
I have carfaxed several of cars that I know had sustained over $10k in damage, and they came back clean.
If the ins co doesn't give the info, or if the auto doesn't get a salvage title, carfax usually comes back clean.
And while most states registration records are public, they are not free.
