Tracking A Used Vehicle's History

Tracking A Used Vehicle's History FARM HOME Cars 27-4-14 If you've bought a new or used car lately, you probably know there are now two completely different ways to do it: The traditional "go-to-the-dealer-and-dicker" method and the "buy-on-the-internet" method. For me, buying on the internet is the way to go. Nearly every car dealer in the country now receives orders through the internet and many have one or more employees who only deal with internet sales. You can work out your best deal online - usually a couple hundred dollars over invoice - and then pick up the vehicle at a nearby dealer. You still receive all factory rebates and financing but you eliminate all the "let me talk to my manager" negotiating that's just a way to charge you more than you should pay. If you're buying a used vehicle online, there are services that will let you check out the background of a vehicle before you sign on the dotted line. We recently decided to test one of these services. FARM SHOW owns a rather infamous 1995 Ford Windstar, which has had five different engines (see story above). In addition to the engine problems, the van's speedometer has been replaced twice û once under a factory recall and once on our own nickel for $800. I decided to pretend that I was going to buy my own Windstar and went to one of the best known used vehicle information sites - www.carfax.com - to see what it could tell me about the history of the van. You first put in your car's Vehicle Information Number. After a brief wait, the website comes back with the type of vehicle and the number of records the site has on file about it. At this point you have to decide if you want to pay for the entire report, which costs $14.99. I paid by credit card and soon the report came rolling out. Here's what it told me: It correctly stated that this was a 1-owner van with no major accidents reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles. It also stated that no odometer rollback problems had been detected and that the van was registered as a company vehicle. It said the van had never been involved in any lemon law proceedings and that no flood, hail or fire losses had ever been reported. On the other hand, there was nothing in there about the fact that the van is currently running on its fifth engine. That's because CarFax does not have access to company warranty records. If any warranty work and repairs have been done, they can't give it to you. However, they do give you a list of the names and addresses of all owners so you can call them yourself, if you feel you should. Overall, I don't think the CarFax report was worth the money. In my opinion, your time would be better spent checking all recall and service bulletins on the vehicle, which you can do for free at sites like www.edmunds.com, and then have the vehicle inspected by a good mechanic.

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