On Sep 27, 9:43*pm, jim beam <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
> *it can't be relied on for proof of condition, either good or bad.
> * why would you spend the money on carfax when you can spend it on
> something reliable i.e. physical inspection?

Perhaps you may not believe a Carfax (or autocheck.com) report that
shows either (1) five owners in ten years (though the seller says he
is the only owner); or (2) odometer tampering; or (3) a salvage
vehicle. I would rely on such information. Hence for my purposes, any
of these would rule out the car for me. If the Carfax comes up clean
on these points, then there is still doubt in my mind, but less so.
Remember how KBB values a vehicle as well, and that KBB tends to be
the standard for valuing a vehicle. Any title that is a "salvage"
title or shows odometer tampering means the car cannot be valued in
KBB's eyes. You can call people ridiculous for not being interested in
a salvage vehicle or a vehicle with unknown mileage, but these people
are a large part of the car buying market. What they say rules when it
comes time to sell a car.

On insurance, the premium goes towards more than just damage to one's
vehicle. Sure consider the value of the car, and your deductible, when
reviewing that part of the premium going towards paying for damage to
one's vehicle. But one cannot just compute the annual premium, note it
will exceed the value of the car in X months, and say one is
overpaying for insurance.