Need help to check vin number :(

Autocheck, an Experian company, shows a clear record but indicates an accident with this vehicle was reported on 12/13/2006 in California.

Lists vehicle as 2004 Honda but gives no other information regarding make, model, etc. Does not indicate whether car or motorcycle.

Contact me at this address, off usenet, and I can forward a copy of the page to you in HTML

Ditto with Carfax, big red 'ALERT!'. Supposedly has a Salvage title, which means it was probably totalled by an insurance company and rebuilt by someone. I'd pass on it if I were you.

Dan D '07 Ody EX Central NJ USA

A look at the title would verify if the one you are looking at has been salvaged. Carfax reports often don't square well with documented history, including one contributor (here?) owning a car that was reportedly totalled in a high speed police chase. My daughter's Accord was reportedly a fleet car, but the official title history shows we bought it from the original owner who acquired it with a handful of miles on the odometer... and the report didn't have anything about the time it was stolen and recovered.

That said, few people regret *not* buying a specific car. The safe thing to do is to keep looking.

Mike

Yeah, don't buy it.

I was looking at a '98 Accord a couple of weeks ago, for my son (first car). I didn't get the VIN till we actually looked at and drove the car. When I got home turned out it had a salvage title. When I called the woman back, she swore she didn't know, and claimed her title didn't say salvage. Didn't buy that car.

Did put a deposit down yesterday on a '98 Accord EX with 92k miles. Have one more car to look at (Subaru Legacy) and a decision will be made!

Dan D '07 Ody EX Central NJ USA

I hope it wasn't just because the Carfax report said it was a salvage title? Carfax reports are often incorrect on this sort of thing, and it could have easily been confirmed by simply looking at her title. If the car was a salvage, it would say on the actual title.

Perhaps, but because the accident occurred in New York State, and the car is registered in NJ, it could be that the accident info never made it from NY to NJ. So, I decided not to take a chance on the car, if the car HAD been totalled and rebuilt.

I have found that carfax's errors tend to be those of omission vs having info in there that is untrue. For example, when I was selling my '95 Jetta a few years ago, it had been in an accident - wasn't totalled, but had 12k worth of damage. That info didn't show up on Carfax. (I did tell the eventual buyer, however). Same with another car I looked at late last year - owner told me it had been in an accident that required fairly significant bodywork, but no mention of it in Carfax. So, I tend to believe what is in Carfax but don't believe that it is necessarily the entire story. But that's why they have their buyback guarantee, I guess.

Dan D '07 Ody EX Central NJ USA

My experience is about 50/50. I am certain my daughter's Accord was never a fleet car as Carfax reported; the official title made that clear enough.

Mike