Car proof or carfax reports

[calimedeiros]

Ok I'm looking into buying my first 911 and found a nice 81 targa Marron in colour with a full service history etc
I pulled up a car proof and carfax and on both the first report only starts in 1988 as mto renewal

Would these reports not show the first owner when they bought it brand new ??

[calimedeiros]

Anyone ? Just trying to figure out why there was no records from when the car was made until 1988

[Matt Monson]

Carfax wasn't even in business before 1984. My '85 Carrera had a similar gap not showing up until some time in the early '90s.

[metzger]

Definitely typical. I believe '81 was the first year that VINs were standardized, let alone tracked in any way.

[calimedeiros]

Ok good to know that explains the gap
Thanks guys

[Stonestreet]

I didn't do a check on mine. I don't think it's a big deal.

Good luck with your search!

[mpi115]

Yeah, I just went through a 4 month search for my first, bought car faxes etc..Truth is when buying a 30 plus yr old vehicle its hard to really find a lot of history, several car faxes I ran showed nothing till 1991 and later, Only way around that is finding a 1 or 2 owner vehicle who knows all the history..Lol..good luck

[Icepack]

When I was looking I would copy the VIN from each car and check the carfax or autocheck when I got home. I came across a mid-80's targa that I could find no carfax or autocheck history on before about 2001. When I went back to view the car a second time and was looking through some of the paperwork, I noticed that the VIN didn't match what I had written down. If I recall it was a "0" in place of an "O" or a "6" in place of a "G", something like that. The way the VIN is printed in dots on the door jam kinda lends itself to that. When I got home I ran the incorrect VIN from the paperwork and there was the car's history from the 1990's. The car had three or four previous owners and had moved back and forth between two states. At one point, it had been registered under an incorrect VIN.

[JJ 911SC]

I did both for mine, I did get the owner location with Carfax.

Af for CarProof ripoff... well here is my previous post;

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.

[trader220]

Originally Posted by Icepack

When I was looking I would copy the VIN from each car and check the carfax or autocheck when I got home. I came across a mid-80's targa that I could find no carfax or autocheck history on before about 2001. When I went back to view the car a second time and was looking through some of the paperwork, I noticed that the VIN didn't match what I had written down. If I recall it was a "0" in place of an "O" or a "6" in place of a "G", something like that. The way the VIN is printed in dots on the door jam kinda lends itself to that. When I got home I ran the incorrect VIN from the paperwork and there was the car's history from the 1990's. The car had three or four previous owners and had moved back and forth between two states. At one point, it had been registered under an incorrect VIN.

The letter "O" is not ever used in a VIN number on any post 1981 car for the US market. I cant speak for years older then 1981.

[whiterabbit]

Not sure why carfax and co over any value on a 30 year 911. Who cares what they say as long as the car checks out good. No one cares for the longhoods and it should be the same for impact bumper cars.

[NewfieMZ3]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

I did both for mine, I did get the owner location with Carfax.

Af for CarProof ripoff... well here is my previous post;

JJ. I just purchased a 2008 Cayman S, ran a Carproof before hand, o records, not even the original registration. Had impeccable service history from the original owner so didn't bother me much.

[Icepack]

I checked back through my notes from when I was looking. It was a “G” in place of a “6” at the 13th digit of the VIN. As of two years ago this particular car was titled, registered and insured with an incorrect VIN. Autocheck showed Massachusetts title and registration records for this car under the correct VIN from 1985 to 2000. In 2001, it showed up in New Hampshire under the incorrect VIN. Then, a year later, it reappears in Massachusetts with the same incorrect VIN. It’s all in Autocheck if you run both VINs.

Carfax or Autocheck is just one additional piece of data to use when searching for a car. What’s it cost… 20 bucks? Well worth it to me. And while you may not care what’s in the Carfax, the guy who buys your car might care. You need to know what’s in there before you buy the car, because it can affect the resale value even if it contains false information.

Another thing to note: when I bought my 911 I sold my previous toy. It was a low mileage 1988 that I bought in 2001. It was obvious when I looked at it that it had been in a minor accident, but nothing showed up in Carfax. When I went to sell the car in 2013, and ran the Carfax, a minor accident showed up from 1994. By the way, when I was selling the car I would let each potential buyer view the Carfax along with the other records associated with the car.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by NewfieMZ3

JJ. I just purchased a 2008 Cayman S, ran a Carproof before hand, o records, not even the original registration. Had impeccable service history from the original owner so didn't bother me much.

Yes Carproof sucks the big one...

Kevin, are you going to drive it down to Calabogie? I'll be ready to go as soon as the *&^%$# winter is over.