what company for best car facts reports?

[Guest rita]

I want to research a car. What company have you had most reliable reports from?

[reattadudes]

Rita,

it probably doesn't make much difference which company you use, as their information all comes from the same place, state motor vehicle departments.

not all states have opened their files to these kind of reports for the same amount of time, so the history of any specific vehicle may only go back a few years. some states still do not turn their information over to these reporting companies.

as far as which one is better, we have found the results from any of them to be laughable at best. we have sixty-nine Reattas here at our facility, and we have run a carfax (or equivilent) on each one. we have cars which have obviously been in multiple accidents, and the carfax shows nothing. we also have two cars which showed (on carfax) a "flood salvage" title, one from Alabama, and the other from New Jersey.

both cars are from northern California, and have been there since they were new. they both also have clean California titles. neither had been in Alabama or New Jersey.

contrary to the "carfax saved me from buying a lemon" stories, just use your best judgment. the information is they pass on to you is not necessarily correct. everyone seems to take this information as "gospel truth", and I can assure you, it isn't.

Mike