It looks like I am going to have to replace a fleet truck this year, even though I would rather wait to see how the economy/war thing shapes up. I just got back from a truck dealer who makes piano dealers look like poster boys for the Better Business Bureau.

They have a truck I was interested in, but something about their presentation just didn't set well. I decided to write down the VIN number and run it on CARFAX when I got home. It is the first time I have ever used the service. Costs $15 for the first report, or 30 days unlimited reports for about $20. Worth every dime, at least this time.

The report shows that someone has rolled back the odometer on that truck about 15,000 miles, and it was done in the last two weeks - right after they bought it. I didn't think this happened any more; I had heard that electronic odometers were impossible to roll back. Obviously it can be done. Maybe they changed the whole instrument cluster.

CARFAX is pretty slick, and it definitely saved me a few bucks. Has anyone else ever used it? Have you turned up anything interesting?

Steve,

I found that carfax is slick in its ability to tell you things that might not otherwise show up, but it too doesn't always tell the whole story. My own vehicle has seen two accidents. Both were minor, non-structural incidents, but because one cost the insurance co over 4k$ it was classified as "major". Oddly enough, this one that cost about 5K did not show up on my current Carfax subscription, while a much smaller one did by virtue of a police report having been filed (by me).

I got the month subscription and have used it 71 times, I think. We just bought a high miles '97 740iL BMW. Its carfax wasn't perfect, either, but the work was exceptional. I personally don't hold used car salesmen to what they say. Its an inspection and/or very clean records (beyond carfax) that count, IMO.

As to rollbacks, I saw about three of them but reconciled to believe that they were merely clerical errors becuase the miles difference was small and the dates very similar. If 15k miles, why not rollback much more is my theory.

Chris W

There used to be a town in Alabama where the local folks were so good, even professionals had a hard time telling if a vehicle had been wrecked or not. The paint guys were great, and the body guys were unbelievable! I once saw a car at auction that had a unibody frame - but the car was made from two other cars cut and welded together. And the job was so good, if you didn't rip up the mats, or crawl under the car and run your hand down the bead line, one would have never seen it, plus the car drove well. The FBI tore the town up pretty well, but they of course weren't the only ones in the biz, just the best.

As has already been said, the problem I have with Carfax, is that one should not rely on the info one gets as gospel. Accidents may, or may not show up on your report. We recently had a gentleman at work buy a 2001 Ford pick-up, who used the service. When looking at his new truck I asked him, "James, were you told this truck was wrecked?" He told me the dealer has not said anything, and the Carfax report was clean.

I showed him where the bed, the driver's door, and one front fender had been replaced, plus where the screwheads did not match on the doorsteps. To my less than professional eye, it was obvious the truck had been side-swiped.

As for odometers, you could be totally right. The electronic ones can be swapped, and any manual model can be "picked" by the right person.

Even with Carfax, "caveat emptor".