[DML] Re: Carfax and invalid VIN's

["David Teitelbaum" <jtrealty@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have seen a few Carfax reports and some of the data is flat out 
wrong or in many cases conflicting with known correct data. I would 
not base a decision to buy a car based on Carfax data alone. It seems 
especilly prone to error the older a car is. There is no substitute 
for the chain of ownership which can usually be obtained from Motor 
Vehicle records of the States the car was registered in. If you start 
seeing too many owners of a particular car, that in itself is a 
danger sign. The other big thing to watch for is any inconsistancies 
with the stated mileage. The ideal case is an owner that kept records 
of all the services which you find more often than not, particularly 
on a collector car. If you get the chance you can also call the 
nearest Delorean parts vender, they all try to keep records of the 
parts and service by vin #. BTW Carfax makes no representation that 
any of it's reports are correct. There are disclaimers about the 
accuracy.
David Teitelbaum
vin 10757

Congratulations on becoming Vice President, James!




--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "James Espey" <james@xxxx> wrote:
> A few weeks ago someone asked why a particular VIN number would 
come up as
> invalid, when they were *sure* the VIN was correct.
> 
> I've recently run into the same problem with a car we are 
considering
> buying, and Carfax has confirmed that if they do not have any data 
on a
> particular VIN, it will be returned as "invalid". The particular 
car I had
> the problem with is a never registered "MSO" car. MSO 
means "manufacturer's
> statement of origin", the document that is used to get a title when 
a car is
> first sold.
> 
> Hope this helps...
> 
> James Espey
> 
> ------------------------------------
> DeLorean Motor Company
> Vice President
> james@xxxx
> 15023 Eddie Drive
> Humble, Texas 77396 USA
> tel: 800/872-3621
> tel2:281/441-2537
> fax: 281/441-2813
> http://www.delorean.com
> ------------------------------------
> 
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