CarFax

[Moss]

Hi there, can anyone run a carfax report for a Porsche I'm looking at? Thanks.

[SilberUrS6]

Wouldn't that violate the terms of use for CarFax?

[Moss]

I'm not sure. The last time I bought a car was back in 2006 and a fellow Pelican here on the board was kind enough to run a CarFax report for me. But then I don't want to be perceived as the type of person that would rip labels off of mattresses and find myself posted on the post office wall either.

[JJ 911SC]

Yes and it also give grief to Wayne... which he does not need.

If you are in a buying mood, get the 5 shot CarFax for about $50 and its good for 2 months.

You can ask a MOD to delete the thread by cliking on the litte red triangle which is in line with you posting time.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by Moss

I'm not sure. The last time I bought a car was back in 2006 and a fellow Pelican here on the board was kind enough to run a CarFax report for me. But then I don't want to be perceived as the type of person that would rip labels off of mattresses and find myself posted on the post office wall either.

I was very much trying to be nice about it.

I will try again:

CarFax is a for-profit service, and it depends on the subscription fee to work. In order for it to be there when I need it next, it would be super-great if folks would actually pay for the service.

[McLovin]

Actually, I don't think it violates the current rules for Carfax.

In the old days, you bought an "open" carfax account for one fee. Something like $30.

For that $30, you could run unlimited carfaxes. You could see the disaster that could be. Someone could go on line, give their account, and have hundreds or thousands of carfaxes run for $30. That would drive their revenue down to something like 10 cents per carfax run.

Carfax during those years did try to stop the sharing - they'd monitor accounts for "excessive use," cancel accounts, etc.

That was a ton of work for them, and not always effective.

So a few year ago they completely changed their biz model. No more "unlimited" carfaxes. Now you pay a set amount for a set number of searches. And, it's expensive (something like $30 for 5 searches?).

With that biz model, the concern about "sharing" is gone. You've paid (a lot) for your one or 5 searches. I don't think they really care anymore what you do with those few searches that have been "paid in full" for.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by McLovin

Actually, I don't think it violates the current rules for Carfax.

It was as of last October when I purchased a 2-month unlimited.

[67flat4]

the only time I've ever seen a car fax report is when my wife bought our last car. The car fax came back clean yet I know there was a prior collision and repaint on the veh with aftermarket parts etc. IMHO carfax = wast of money.
Go look at the car if you don't know what to look for find someone who does.
I work for an insurance co. and the company I work for does not report any veh damages to anyone. Unless its been totaled and then it's to the DMV and a lean holder if there is one.
Also know that a repaired car is still OK as long as its repaired correctly.
So car fax is just a piece of paper and who know how current it is. GO LOOK AT THE CAR.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by SilberUrS6

It was as of last October when I purchased a 2-month unlimited.

You're right, it looks like they've made yet another change to their biz model.

Now they have an "unlimited" plan for $50, and a single report for $35.

But, the "unlimited" isn't really unlimited. "The Unlimited Plan allows you to run unlimited reports by license plate and 5 reports by VIN."

Not sure how useful a report by license plate is. For very late model cars that have only had one plate in their life, probably is fine. But my guess is if a car has ever been replated, you are only going to get partial info.

I don't know what affect this has on Carfax's policy re sharing. Even with the limited value of license plate reports, my guess is Carfax again is going to take a hard line on sharing of info from the "unlimited" accounts.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by 67flat4

IMHO carfax = wast of money.

It isn't a waste of money.

A clean carfax is of course not a guarantee that the car has never been involved in an unreported accident.

But a "dirty" carfax is a guarantee that the car will be harder for you to sell down the road.

So if you are ever planning on selling it, it is best to know if the carfax is dirty before you buy it. Because that should be factored into your purchase cost (and should be used as a negotiating tool).

[djantlive]

i had carfax that someone on the forum ran for free last year. if you can't or won't help, the least you can do is stop preaching.

bank fee and credit card charges fees too. i suppose you don't have a problem with that either because banks are for profit?

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by djantlive

i had carfax that someone on the forum ran for free last year. if you can't or won't help...

Yeah but

Quote:
Originally Posted by stomachmonkey
Wayne forbids asking for open Carfax's.

Yep. No asking for 'free' carfaxes. That's stealing. Thread closed.

-Z-man.
__________________

[Jack Olsen]

Closed.