Consumer Electronics introduced
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#2 written by SkyDog 1 year ago
A Carfax report is not free, it costs $ 34.99 per report, less if you look up 5 or more VINs.
There is nothing wrong with requesting the VIN of a vehicle and any reputable dealer will not be insulted or offended by this in any way. A vehicles VIN is not some top secret thing to be closely guarded… worse case scenario you could personally copy it down (the most prominent location is on the driver’s side dash usually visible from outside through the windshield) and run it. In some cases the dealer can print up the Carfax report themselves and have it available upon request since bulk purchasing power a dealer has for running multiple reports make it cheaper per report. One major issue to be aware of is Carfax is not the end all for the history of a vehicle. Carfax will report only things it knows about – repairs done by shops that report what repairs they completed on the car. A Carfax report can’t tell you if someone decided to try a do-it-yourself repair job in their backyard or took it to a small repair shop that doesn’t keep computerize records or submit any files… and most of the time those are the types of repairs that should case concern.
Look at all the maintenance completed by the dealer, but I HIGHLY recommend and encourage a good inspection by your own mechanic if you use one in particular or like stated – an independent mechanic with no hand in the selling of the vehicle. This will give you an idea as to what sort of condition the vehicle is in and what repairs or routine maintenance issues you will encounter after purchasing. Being that the vehicle you are looking at is an ’06 there shouldn’t be too much mechanically wrong with it yet. If so, suspect the previous owner wasn’t too caring with the upkeep of it and either steer clear or use it to drive the price further down.
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#3 written by Stupid Flanders 1 year ago
You have every right to ask a dealer to provide you with a VIN # and a free Carfax report.
If they refuse to provide either, I would likely assume they are trying to hide something.Carfax reports are not free for anyone, including dealers, but you are going to pay more money for a vehicle from a dealership and if they are not going to provide you with a free Carfax or Autocheck report, then they are not worth doing business with.
As a side note, you should never trust any car dealership. The only person you can trust when buying a car is you and your own knowledge of what you are doing.
I am not saying all dealers are unethical, because most aren’t, but like anything and anyone, when you are selling something, you are going to try to make as much money as you can on it.
Definitely get your own independent mechanic to look at the vehicle despite what the dealership says about the car’s condition.
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#5 written by designergenes 1 year ago
Yep, they’ve raised the price of a Car Fax report to $ 34.99, or five reports (if you’re considering several cars) for $ 44.99. Like anything else, I guess it’s what the market will bear. Try asking for the Car Fax from the dealer. He’s not obligated to give it to you, although many will. You don’t need to ask for the VIN … take a paper and pencil and copy it from the car. It’s the tag on the dashboard, visible from outside the car, at the very bottom of the glass, in front of the driver’s position.
If there’s a window sticker on the car, it’ll often also list the VIN.
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#6 written by David G 1 year ago
There should be no problem asking the dealer for the VIN and you can just look at the car and write it down as well.
I don’t offer Carfax because it costs more that its worth. If its something that new, I don’t see a reason why they wouldn’t give you one if you ask though. Remember Autocheck is just as good.
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Although I have never done this myself, I have heard that most car dealers subscribe to Car Fax and will call it up for you if you ask. If they refuse, then there may be a problem. Also, car dealers are quite used to people not trusting them. Hardly anybody does.