1. CARFAX no longer has an unlimited plan for individuals. It costs $40 for 1, $60 for 3, and $100 for 6.

2. If you know someone at a dealership, you might convince them to run a CARFAX for you.

3. CARFAX doesn't report everything, so just because there's no negative history reported doesn't mean there's no negative history.

4. On such an "old, high-mileage" vehicle, ask yourself how important a vehicle history report really is. You'd be better served by performing a visual and mechanical inspection and immediately performing all maintenance assuming nothing had ever been done.

5. $40 for a report is cheap for either the false sense of security it provides if it's clean or helping you avoid a vehicle with a negative report.

6. Search the internet for the VIN. On rare occasion, you'll see something useful. For example, I published the VIN of the new Accord I bought a few months ago with undisclosed hail damage on a forum. If someone searches for that VIN, they'll see my post and learn of the hail damage and haphazard repairs, which were never reported to CARFAX.

Don't trip over a dollar to save a dime!

 

you could try this... Vehicle History Good ol Google...

 

It's a good thing that website is free.

I checked my Civic Si's VIN. It didn't show the vandalism the vehicle sustained (CARFAX does from a police report, though).

I checked the hail-damaged Accord I bought and returned. The hail damage wasn't reported, but days later the car sideswiped another car.

I checked my 2014 Ridgeline which had thousands in repairs after it got hit. It shows nothing reported.

I checked my 2010 Ridgeline which got a new tailgate, bumper, and paint resulting from a recovery attempt. It shows nothing reported.

I checked my 1994 Escort which was almost totaled. It shows nothing reported.

 

Thanks guys, for the replies and info so far. And thanks to Carsmak for the link. I am pretty knowledgeable and savvy about checking cars in person. That being said, I purchased my current vehicle used 12 years ago when I worked in service at a Honda dealer. I was able to see a complete service history. I asked about the options to gather as much info as possible. I Know none of the databases will show a complete history, but some info is better than none. Here is what i've found so far:

I was able to check the Honda site but it shows no service history, but upon entering the VIN, it indicated that this RL is a 2007 instead of a 2006.
The link that Carsmak provided came up with one accident and some recalls. I attached a link to the report. Let me know what you guys think.
https://www.vehiclehistory.com/vehicle?a2FyeHFHNE9ra2QwNk1kaElaWUpudS9ISDZBWEkzY2Y5SjY0Qkp5NWs2RT0=

 

My search for alternatives came up with these instructions I found on reddit to get a free autocheck report. I tried it and it gave me a good bit more info. Part of which reported that the RL I was considering had at least 245,000 miles instead of 130,000. Glad I did this and thought I would share for anyone this might help. Instructions are as follows (copied and pasted):

It's always a good idea to run a car report when purchasing a car. It helps find any red flags or simply gives you a piece of mind.

I came up with this solution after not wanting to pay CarFax $39.99

For this to work all you need is an eBay account or someone with an eBay account.

Get a hold of the vehicle VIN.

Go to eBay.com, click on Sell. (Top left hand corner)

Click on vehicles.

Enter VIN from step 1.

Now click Browse Categories -- > eBay Motors -- > Cars & Trucks -- > Your Make -- > Your Model

Click continue.

Select Auction as the format.

You will now need to enter in some information so that we can get the listing posted.

Here's what you need to enter:

•Descriptive listing title

•Condition

•VIN from step 1

•Year

•Trim

•Engine

•Drive Type

•Mileage

•Vehicle Title

•Describe your vehicle

You DO NOT need to add pictures or fill out any information other than the ones listed above. Don't worry, those fields will be marked with a green asterisk.

If you follow the steps above the listing should be free. Double check to make sure!

Once you've double checked and you're ready to rock you can publish it!

After you've published the vehicle you can visit the listing right from the "view your listing" link.

On your listing you will see "This listing includes a free full vehicle history report | view report"

Click and on it and BAM!

Once you've viewed the report you can then go back and end the listing.

Don't worry though. Ending the listing won't get rid of the report. Simply go to unsold in the seller section of your eBay account. From there you can click on the listing and retrieve your report again.

I just used this method to find a good car for my girlfriend.

It works up to 7 times for a single account.

I think taking 10 minutes to use the method above is much better than paying CarFax $39.99 for the same report.

Enjoy!

 

@McChizzle oh the things you can find on reddit. Thanks @PJP71

 

Private message sent

 

If you download the myCarfax app, iOS myCARFAX - Car Maintenance by CARFAX, Inc.https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mycarfax-car-maintenance/id552472249?mt=8 you can Add a vehicle, enter the VIN and see the service history for any shop that is in their system. No accidents or other details, but a good starting point.

I used this for lots of vehicles before landing on my CPO 2017 RTL.


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This is great! Thank you for sharing. I wanted the maintenance history on my RL and Civic but didn't want to pay for a Carfax.


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