Car fax?

Anyone have an account? I don't really want to spend $35 on a car that I have mostly already agreed to buy,but I am curious as well. I imagine it won't have much info being an 85,but who knows.

It will have NO info being an 85. Don't waste your money.

Thanks Michael I didn't think it would have much,but when I went to carfax it did show 26 records when I typed in the VIN. I am sure they aren't much help though.

I have reservations about the accuracy of Car Fax, it only works if things have been reported, when I sold my 2004 Chevy Colorado the purchaser pulled a Car Fax, it showed the battery was replaced under warranty at 5000mi but didn't have anything about being at the bodyshop after being rear ended, or the motor being replaced under warranty at 17,000mi. I do however like the ownership history info.

for an '85 those entries will probably be 26 years of registration. useless!

A carfax is the most useless tool available. Grab the VIN, head to the nearest associated dealership service dept and get the service records for the vehicle.

Carfax sucks.

red5_02 wrote: A carfax is the most useless tool available. Grab the VIN, head to the nearest associated dealership service dept and get the service records for the vehicle.

While I agree with the first sentence, the OP is looking at a vehicle that's 25 years old. How long do you think since it's seen the inside of a dealership?

Carfax or Autocheck might also come in handy if there were any reported accidents, which is probably something the dealership won't be able to tell you anyway.

DMV will tell you totaled accidents for free.

I used car fax when looking for my wifes car mainly to make sure it was never registered in the rust belt.

So I got the fax,and now I am seeing a junk title listed from NC from when the car had 420 miles on it,but a clear TX title. I don't know how that happened,and I also wonder why a car with 420 miles would be issued a junk title. Any help here guys? Can someone get title info from an out of state DMV easy enough?

Chris

Didn't we have a discussion about this sort of thing a little while back? Someone buying a bent car and 'washing' the title through another state?

I would think that a car with a junk title at 420 miles has been in a serious accident so unless there's evidence of a good repair I'd start wondering if the VIN has migrated to another vehicle...

Maybe call or email the NC DMV and see if they have any more information?

Nevertheless I'd be tempted to leave that one alone, this whole thing smells of headache.

Carfax isn't perfect and will often miss a lot. It is, however, better than nothing. If an accident has been reported, well then you know. And I've seen some very good repair jobs that I'd have missed if it weren't for the carfax, and I catch quite a bit.

spitfirebill wrote: I used car fax when looking for my wifes car mainly to make sure it was never registered in the rust belt.

That is a damn good idea. Of course, living in the rust belt, most of our cars come from it anyways.

What car are we talking about here and what's its intended use? Frankly if it got a junk title in 85/86 with <500 miles on it and has been running around ever since with what looks like a washed title and the price is right I probably wouldn't worry about it -- but I'd look for repairs to see if there's something hidden that was never fixed or fixed properly. To junk a car with <500 miles I would think flood or fire.

So I just got off the horn with NC DMV,and the woman on the phone told me the title was junk,but not in 85 when the car only had 420 miles on it. She told me she cannot give me the date of when it was junked,but that it wasn't in 1985 like CF shows. She also didn't have a reason for the junk status other than sometimes people in NC will junk the car/title if they don't plan on using it anymore. I have had a member on here look the car over,and the seller seems like a real stand up guy,but this has me a bit perplexed. Anyone in NC able to shed some light on a junk title?

Chris

I think NC taxes every year on cars you own so perhaps it's a way to skirt the taxation, but a NC resident would know better. That's the only reason I could think of somebody "junking" a car just because, but that still sounds weird.

Bryce

Can anyone help me with the VIN on my "new" Challenge Shelby Dakota?