CarFax Egregous Pricing

[Wilywilly]

Since selling my 911 and 356 last Summer I've been living in regret-land for too long. Tomorrow I am going to see a G50 Carrera and in preparation thought I would run a Carfax. $39.95 for a single report!!! Last time I ran one, albeit several years ago, it was unlimited reports for 3 days for $9.95. Where's the rationale?

Anyone here able to run one for free? I don't get their pricing strategy.

1987 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA
VIN:WPOAB0918HS120316

[BE911SC]

Because capitalism.

[Rick Lee]

There's a guy on my local CL that has an unlimited account and runs them for $8. If Carfax were totally accurate, it might be worth $40. But it's not even close to accurate. If it says there was an accident, then there was probably an insurance claim. But saying there was no accident does not at all mean there was none.

[stealthn]

Car proof is better

[Dantilla]

In my opinion, there is no better example of effective marketing over product value than Carfax.

I wouldn't spend $0.02 on a Carfax report.

[Wilywilly]

Originally Posted by BE911SC

Because capitalism.

Yes very alive. CL has many deals. Thanks for the tip Rick.

Bill

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

In my opinion, there is no better example of effective marketing over product value than Carfax.

I wouldn't spend $0.02 on a Carfax report.

Amen! Amazing how many are fooled by the marketing though. Sheep.

[Wilywilly]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Amen! Amazing how many are fooled by the marketing though. Sheep.

So what do you do then One Whipped. Seems to me to be another tool in the bag. Some places seem to record all maintenance items, others don't. Carfax was the first such service, is anyone actually better or are they all BS? Stealthn says to use CarProof which may be OK for Canada but worthless here. Just looking for some help in the purchase decision.

[fanaudical]

Not a great VIN check, but it is free and legit (have used it previously):

https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck

[Tervuren]

The thing about carfax. Say a family members runs their SUV and bulldozes the 911. There would likely be no report of this incident anywhere. The 911 has been in a hard wreck, yet the title is "Clean".

A Car Fax only effects the honest, and lots of sellers have motivations to move things in such a way as to not be honest.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Wilywilly

So what do you do then One Whipped. Seems to me to be another tool in the bag. Some places seem to record all maintenance items, others don't. Carfax was the first such service, is anyone actually better or are they all BS? Stealthn says to use CarProof which may be OK for Canada but worthless here. Just looking for some help in the purchase decision.

You are far better off spending the $40 towards a quality inspection by an independent shop. Carfax is never complete and frequently incorrect, yet so many treat it as the gospel. I can't tell you how many cars I have bought with a clean Carfax that had obvious paintwork.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by stealthn

Car proof is better

Not when I did mine...

It did not return just about half of the "event" listed on the Carfax. When I e-mail to complaint in a typical Canadian Company they did not respond even though they were quite chatty before I paid the overprice report.

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

From my experience CarProof was a big disappointment and not worth the $ wich is more than the multiple Carfax.

Being atypical Canadian company, once they got your money you are SOL

Carfax results; 13 entries:

5 from MOT (ON) 3 with mileage

6 from MVD (QC) none with mileage

2 Service Recording (QC) with mileage

CarProof; 7 entries:

4 from MOT (ON) none with mileage

2 from MVD (QC) none with mileage

1 Insurance Recording (ON) no mileage

They did answer questions before I bought their service but did not even bother to answer my complaint E-mail which went something like this:

I used CarFax unlimited report ($40) to narrow down my offers on cars. Once I selected the car, I made it conditional to a clean report from CarProof even though I had a clean report from CarFax.

I was quite disappointed when the CarProof missed the following: 1st owner registry with the Ontario MOT, 1st registry with the Quebec MVD, 3rd, 5th and 6th renewals with the Quebec MVD, two odometer readings at repair facility in Quebec and finally three odometer readings on the last three Ontario MOT renewals (on the report).

Worse $52.45 I have ever spent.

[wdfifteen]

I'm no expert at selling cars. When I sold off some stuff last fall I looked at Carfax as a selling feature. When people asked for the vin so they could run a Carfax I told them I had one right here. A couple of guys wanted me to email it to them. I said no, it's right here ready for inspection along with the rest of the car. Neither of them showed up.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I'm no expert at selling cars. When I sold off some stuff last fall I looked at Carfax as a selling feature. When people asked for the vin so they could run a Carfax I told them I had one right here. A couple of guys wanted me to email it to them. I said no, it's right here ready for inspection along with the rest of the car. Neither of them showed up.

What's the upside in not emailing the Carfax? You've got someone interested in your car and you're refusing to cooperate and forcing them to come see you? I'm not surprised they moved on.

[wdfifteen]

^^
First, understand I'm talking about local buyers here. No one had to come more than 20 miles to look at the car and the Carfax.
I'm not sure what the downside would be, but I am suspicious of someone who would want a copy of the Carfax to a car they aren't going to take 30 minutes to come and look at. I told them what was in the Carfax by email just like I told them about the rest of the car, and I was prepared to answer any questions they had. If they weren't interested enough to take the next step and come look at the car and the Carfax in person, I figure they weren't really interested in buying - or maybe they were up to something worse. I dunno. I don't sell cars often.