Accidents happen. This year, they happened a lot.

CARFAX Canada’s 2025 Year in Rear View report, a compilation of trends found in analyzing millions of vehicle history reports from Sept. 30, 2024 to Oct. 1, 2025, showed a 21% year-over-year rise in accident damage claims, totaling $9.2 billion during that span.

Overall, CARFAX Canada said, 678,120 vehicles currently on Canadian roads have had accidents in their past.

According to the report, Feb. 18 was the year’s most dangerous day, with more than a thousand incidents reported, but the most expensive day was Jan. 28, when accidents spawned claims costing more than $12.2 million.

In addition to accidents, the report also studied weather-related damage, finance and other factors influencing the used-vehicle market and impacting Canadian car buyers.

“Our data reveals critical issues buyers should be aware of when shopping in the used-car market — from accidents and weather damage to money owing and fraud,” CARFAX Canada president Shawn Vording said. “One of the first things buyers should do is check a vehicle’s history and lien status before purchasing or they could risk ending up with a major headache.”

For example, the report found more than 50,000 vehicles with severe weather-related damage.

That scenario is far more common in Alberta than in any other province. More than $454 million worth of weather-related claims were made in Alberta — 91% of them ($414.8 million) the result of hail.

By comparison, the province with the second-most weather damage claims was Ontario at $50.3 million, followed by Quebec at $1.6 million. Alberta also led in wind damage claims at $39.9 million, followed by Ontario ($11.8 million) and Nova Scotia ($1.16 million).

Financially, the report said liens on vehicles are a major concern for used-car buyers, noting 40% of lien checks conducted revealed outstanding debt on vehicles.

It also warned of the dramatic rise in VIN cloning, a form of fraud in which car thieves copy the VIN of a legitimately registered vehicle and put it on a stolen vehicle to make it look legal.

Vording said CARFAX estimates there are more than 372,000 vehicles in Canada potentially cloned VINs.

“Canadians should remain vigilant against VIN fraud, as this continues to be an issue in the country affecting the entire auto industry from used-car buyers to vehicle owners, dealerships and insurance providers,” he said.

Among the less alarming facts revealed by the report, the study found white, black and gray are the most popular vehicle colors for Canadians, and the highest odometer reading discovered this year belonged to a 2015 GMC Savana that has driven a staggering 995,761 kilometers.