I already paid enough for few carfax reports, is there a cheaper option?

I’ve been helping my dad look for a used car, and I didn’t realize how quickly the small costs would add up.
We’ve looked at a few cars so far. One looked great online but was rough in person. Another was actually decent, but the seller wouldn’t come down on the price, so we left it.
The annoying part is I paid for a history report on the one we liked before we went to see it.
We finally found another one that looks promising, but I’m starting to feel stupid paying $40 every time just to find out we’re not buying the car.
Anyone here have a cheaper way of checking VIN history that they actually trust?