Quote:
Originally Posted by stomachmonkey
The real issue here is why should Wayne and or the mods here be expected to try and determine which request may or may not fall inside cafax's acceptable use?
Allowing people to share them on his site has no upside for him.
The only thing he gets out of it is a hassle at best.
If it were my site I would not allow it either.
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Well put. The "...intended for my personal use only" is pretty clear in my book. As for the dealers using them -- they purchase a commercial license to use Carfax, which has a different set of rules.
As for the usefulness of Carfax: I feel it is a useful tool in buying a used car - but it is not the only tool which should be used. When I bought my 944, I used the following tools during my search and eventual purchase:
- Carfax on several cars.
- A checklist that I developed based on my research.
- Test drive & interview with seller
- A pre-purchase inspection.
The checklist I used has stuff like:
- check for a froth-like substance on top of the oil cap -- this is a sign of oil/coolant mixing
- accelerate and lift off the throttle -- if there is a clunking noise, that means the rubber clutch hub is shot)
- On 914's: sit in passenger seat, open and close passenger door - if it doesn't close properly, chances are the frame of the is sagging due to rust / battery acid leaking.
The carfax report helped me weed out the obvious problem cars: ones with many owners, accidents..etc. Carfax also helped me confirm what the seller was saying. For example, the car I eventually purchased was a single owner car -- and Carfax verified that.
"Buyer beware" is a fact. The more tools a buyer uses, the more equipped he is to buy the proper car.
BTW: I will be selling my 944S2 soon. I think the ad is going to read something like this:
"For sale - 1989 944S2. Slightly modified; Special Porsche color: Matte Red; Carefully driven only on weekends short distances typically in clockwise direction and in parking lots; upgraded seats; religiously maintained, never driven fast.
Translation:
Slightly modified: drive it on the street if you want your fillings to fall out! (400lb springs up front)
Porsche color: faded red.
Weekend driver: at autocrosses and DE's.
Religiously maintained: I pray a lot while on the track!
Slowest person in group: Cause there's too many pesty GT3's in my run group.
Any takers?!?
-Z-man.