Carfax worth it?

Well, about 18 months ago, my wife decided that she wanted to get something a little more fuel efficent, and we traded her 99WJ in for a 02 Chevy Malibu. She's now bored with it and want's a different vehicle. We looked at the lot we got her Malibu and there's an 01 XJ that we looked at when we bought the Malibu. We both agree that it's been on the lot that long because it's solar yellow

I did a 'free' check on CarFax and it came up with 9 records. Should that be something to be worried about? What do the records contain? Is that just 9 warranty repairs? Any help would be appreciated.

Chad

04 LJ 3"BDS 33's and a car seat 02 TJ RIP 99WJ RIP 95 YJ RIP
Reply to
Chad Fraker
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Go back to the lot and ask them.

Reply to
Steve Foley

Ask the salesman for a copy of the CarFax. There should be no resistance or fee (to you)

You will notice a big difference between the XJ and WJ.

How long has the XJ been sitting on the lot?

Reply to
Billy Ray

If they won't supply you with the Carfax, they're hiding something. Trust me, they've run one. _____________________________________________________________________

2003 TJ Rubicon * 2001 XJ Sport * 1971 Bill Stroppe Baja Bronco

"There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'."

Pronunciation: 'jEp Function: noun Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 > Well, about 18 months ago, my wife decided that she wanted to get something

Reply to
twaldron

carfax may show damage but its not necessarily complete. for example, last month my wife was driving down a busy city street when some ass-clown pulls out of a bank parking lot without stopping and t-boned her.

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as i was complaining about depreciation value when i go to trade it in, i was "reassured" by both the insurance adjuster and the body shop that the wreck would never show up on carfax. i told them that was dishonest, but thats beside the point. it shows me that even carfax isnt dependable.

Reply to
Nathan W. Collier

Reply to
L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

Hi Chad, An example of a CarFax, I ran on my Thunderbird to see if it would pick up a little problem, it did. This shows four hits in ten years, I'm betting with nine, yours was Salvaged.

The Vehicle Identification Number submitted was checked against the Carfax® database of over 1.14 billion vehicle records. The Carfax database includes U.S. and Canadian title and registration activity, rental and lease usage, odometer readings from emissions inspection stations, auto auctions and other sources. The results of this search are displayed below. Vehicle ID: 1FAPP6044KH134133 Yr/Mfg: 1989 Ford Model: Thunderbird Body: 2D Sedan Mid-size car Engine: 3.8L V6 TBI OHV Fuel: Gasoline Driveline: Rear-wheel drive Aspiration: Normal Country Mfg.: United States RESULT: CLEAN TITLE HISTORY GUARANTEED FOR THIS VEHICLE

The VIN submitted was checked against the Carfax database to determine if any title document for this 1989 Ford was designated or marked with any of the following types of problems:

Salvage/Junk Title Checked. No Problem Title Found. Rebuilt/Reconstructed Title Checked. No Problem Title Found. Flood Damage Title Checked. No Problem Title Found. Damage Disclosure Title Checked. No Problem Title Found. Manufacturer Buyback (LEMON) Title Checked. No Problem Title Found. Exceeds Mechanical Limits Title Checked. No Problem Title Found. Not Actual Mileage Title Checked. No Problem Title Found.

For information on the Clean Title History Guarantee, see section 5. RESULT: No odometer rollback detected in the Carfax database.

The VIN submitted for this 1989 Ford was checked against the Carfax database to determine if any reported odometer reading is less than a previous reading. The Carfax database contains the following information about this 1989 Ford:

DATE ODOMETER INFORMATION GENERAL REPORTED READING SOURCE COMMENTS 01/18/1991 44,892 California Passed emissions inspection Inspection Station San Diego, CA 01/18/1991 44,891 California Failed emissions inspection Inspection Station San Diego, CA 01/21/1993 46,970 California Passed emissions inspection Inspection Station San Diego, CA 02/06/1997 89,106 California Passed emissions inspection Inspection Station San Diego, CA 02/04/1999 113,338 California Passed emissions inspection Inspection Station Oceanside, CA NOTE: You have significantly reduced your risk of purchasing a vehicle with a hidden problem. However, Carfax has not inspected this vehicle. There could be other potential problems with this vehicle that have not been reported to Carfax.

NOTE: Not all titles issued represent a change in vehicle ownership. For example, a title could be issued to reflect an address change or correction.

Reply to
L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

"Records" would include such things as title transfers, warranty repairs, recalls, & accidents. You'd have to look them up to find out.

Reply to
Matt Macchiarolo

This seems redundant. Every state I have lived in, has been satisfied with police reports for this sort of thing. Police are, theoretically at least, professionals who can be trusted to judge whether a report needs to be filed and to fill one out properly. Not so with civilians.

"Each driver must make a report to DMV within 10 days, whether you caused the accident or not and even if the accident occurred on private property." Imho, if the accident occurs on private property and the parties agree to settle it between themselves, then it is none of the state's damn business. Or if you own two cars, and do something really stupid, on your own property...

Earle

Reply to
Earle Horton

The XJ was there when we traded in the WJ about 18 months ago. I remember it being there because I commented to my wife that we could have 2 solar yellow Jeep. We had a good laugh about that. When we saw what they wanted for it at the time, we decided that it was out of our budget.

The only thing keeping me from moving on it right now is that we're upsidedown on the Malibu becuase of the WJ. I'd hate to roll over about $4000 into the XJ.

As far as the big difference...yeah, that's for sure. She had a WJ limited-loaded with everything. But she's ridden in an XJ. And to quote her "The XJ would be a lot more fun than my boring car"

Reply to
Chad Fraker

Carfax offers you your money back within 30 days if not satisfied. I was going to take them up on their offer but lost track of the time and it was past 30 days when I remembered :(

...

Reply to
noneyabusiness

Reply to
L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

Well........... 18 months eh? That is an awfully long time for a vehicle to be sitting on a dealer's lot. They generally wholesale them after a few months.

Talk with the dealer and ask why it is still there, ask for the previous owner's name and phone. Be suspicious if there is resistance or evasion to your requests.

Have YOUR mechanic inspect the vehicle. If it were a 'reject' (requires cash to make salable) it would probably be gone by now.

As for pricing... the dealer did not pay more than wholesale 18 months ago and that value has dropped. You know or can find the wholesale value of the Malibu so the only real discussion is the price difference. You can not do anything about being upside down with the Malibu, that is how things go. Even with that amount you will probably end up with lower payments.

Finally: If your bride is unhappy with her car situation and she sees an alternative.... well..... how much is her happiness worth to you...

Reply to
Billy Ray

Sure it's the *same* one? They do make more than just one in that color and it's entirely possible that dealer has seen more than one of them. But otherwise, yeah, it's odd to see a vehicle sit that long. It must be getting used as a loaner or something. It's hard to imagine a dealership carrying the note on something for anything more than a year's time.

Reply to
wkearney99

Yeah it's the same one, the salesman confirmed it. Why it's been there so long? I have no idea. The sales manager called me back on it yesterday. It seems like since I called about it on Monday and haven't been in, they send the boss to "check on the experience" I had with the dealership. The sales manager told me, "It's on the lot, because someone will want it, and it just has to be the right time for this vehicle". He did his best to convince me to some in and take a look at it. I told him that I might stop by after the holidays. Like a good closer, he asked if he could call back on the 27th.

Reply to
my02tj

Figure out how much you want to pay for this vehicle, and make that offer. If he refuses, walk away.

Earle

Reply to
Earle Horton

Offer the wholesale price or a bit less. If it has been sitting 18 months they should be happy to jump at selling it.

Reply to
billy ray

Reply to
L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

Bill, how many CarFaxes have you ever purchased? On the ones that I did, title transfers did in fact show up. I have one laying around on a TJ, when I have time I'll post all the records on it.

Reply to
Matt Macchiarolo

Why buy it? The dealership will gladly supply it if they have nothing to hide.

Reply to
billy ray

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