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free carfax or DMV report?

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BOATN70

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
looking at a newer, used vehicle....
i did the "free" online carfax and it says there are two "records" not sure what it means or if its worth while doing the check for 25 bucks...

ive heard that the DMV is like an anual fee to look up the VINs.

does anyone have access to do this??? just looking to find out anything i can.

thanks
kevin
 
#2 ·
It's usually inaccurate!!! it's not required by a body shop or insurance to report!!!! it might come back with a clean bill of health, but could've been close to a total....best bet is to really check it out good or have a shop guy take a look at it for you.........
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
that was my thoughts too!!
weve gone through it pretty good and will probably buy it. but when i ran the VIN, it said that there was two "records" and i was kinda wondering what they were.
thanks for the input Agressor...

anyone else got experience here?
 
#4 ·
We do run them periodically for customers. The "records" are most likely how many times it has been titled. Carfax now has the info on accident where the police was involved. Example is if i was in a accident and the police was called to the accident and there was more than 500.00 damage it is reported on the VIN. I hope this helps ya :)
 
#5 ·
I've used them on my last to vehicles purchases and glad i did...

We ran 6 of them 150 bucks, on 6 different cars / trucks, found that two of them were in rear end accidents and that the car was totaled, then salvaged and fixed.

The one had been in a flood and was red flagged by car fax.

150 bucks is nothing when your spending thousands on a used car or truck.... I am glad i did it..

But with only two records, chances are that they are just inspection notes.. but who knows..

Just my two cents...
 
#8 ·
For 25 bucks you can sleep well at night. Just do it. We do the Carfax's on every vehicle we sell. Gives peace of mind to customers. It is 100% and does not replace having a good look at it though. Chances are the records are licensing items or insurance renewals. But again, $25 isn't alot.
 
#10 ·
Pay the $25 to Carfax!

If you get a clean report from them and then find something that should have been in the report, Carfax will buy the car back from you.

Most reputable dealers already have a Carfax report run and posted on their used inventory.

If you buying from a private owner you really need to run the report!
 
#15 · (Edited)
Not Right said:
Thanks, looks like some odometer discrepencies, can these be plugged in at a dealer and verified?
Click to expand...
Generally odometer discrepancies are from Emissions testing. When emissions are checked the odometer is recorded. If the odometer is tampered with or the speedometer replaced it may read lower than the last known recorded number, the emissions test in this example.

Unless the car has a on-board computer system that records the mileage, it is doubtful any dealer can verify anything.

Take the information and confront the seller.

This kind of information from Carfax is worth every penny of the fee they charge!
 
#16 ·
well, if the carfax info is correct, I dont want the car. The seller said he bought it w/ 12K miles and the current odometer is 29K. Carfax shows odometer records of 8500 miles in 7/05, 41K miles in 8/05 and 12K in 10/05.

The car also has new tires which seemed odd for a car w/ 29K miles.

plenty others out there
 
#17 ·
Carfax records numbers and events based on information generated due to specific events, emissions, body shops, recalls, etc.

Like you said, too many out there to take the chance!

There are still loads of sleazy people in the car business still operating like it is 1985!
 
#18 · (Edited)
In order for that odometer issue to be rectified in new york state. The seller would have to take the information to a local law enforcement agency to verify vehicle history, as well as a certified dealer to obtain an actual readout of internal computer odometer with all documented paperwork history, then to the dmv (if all paperwork is verified and can prove a mistake was made the dmv will make a note on the vehicle history and show that odometer rollback was not the case.
You may want to check with your local dmv to find out if the processes are different.

Regardless- that vehicle is worth much less to any buyer considereing there may be a problem with its history.

Remember if you buy it like that it then is your problem. Meaning when you trade it in it will be worth much less to the next buyer if you know what i'm saying...youll lose $$
 
#19 · (Edited)
ghart said:
Carfax records numbers and events based on information generated due to specific events, emissions, body shops, recalls, etc.

Like you said, too many out there to take the chance!

There are still loads of sleazy people in the car business still operating like it is 1985!
Click to expand...

Fortunately, not all of us (car dealers) are like that!! :winker: Like me for example!
 
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ghart
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