Will I get more info from purchasing Carfax/Autocheck than using the free one on Autotrader & Carmax? Or is the free Carfax/Autocheck report from Autotrader.com and Carmax.com the same as if buying the service?

The report will be the same, so if the dealer provides a history report on a vehicle that is money saved.

However,,, a report can be altered or a vital page missing, it comes down to how much trust you got in seller.

Personally for the few bucks involved I would purchase AutoCheck to confirm my own findings.

Are the free Carfax and AutoCheck reports on Autotrader.com and Carmax.com generated straight Carfax and Autocheck or are they dealer copies? If the former, it's probably not alterable, right?

Tim,,, here is an article I posted about free history reports a few years back in a magazine,,, read and please comment if something don't seem right.

Whom ever is the CEO for CARFAX " congratulations " you rate as the second biggest scammer in the auto industry today, the number one spot belongs to the oil company's whom regulate the price of gas at the pumps to empty consumer pockets.

I know I am making nasty comments, but consider the way how CARFAX advertise their service to the consumer, I find that revolting
Enter any 17-digit used car VIN for a free CARFAX Record Check! "
FREE ? What you get for free you already know " year - make and model " I guarantee 100% where the line says " records found " you will find several that you can only obtain with money, go ahead goggle carfax and enter a vin number and prove me wrong, by that I mean I have yet to enter a vin number where there have not been an issue.

Carfax was the first to capture the market for history reports on vehicle's, since then others have entered the game such as Auto Check and Car Proof,. all 3 offer their free service to confirm the vin number you entered is correct as it matches year - make and model, beyond this information have your credit card ready.

I am a firm believer that a consumer should not buy any vehicle without a full history report, how you obtain these reports for a fee or free now becomes the question.

If your buying a used car from a dealer, the dealer will have a complete history report on every used vehicle in inventory available for you to look at unless they don't want you to see a true report, therefore no need to waste your money buying one.

if your buying privately seller may have in hand a history report, it's very rare this happens, but if sellers does have a report you rest assured seller is most likely up front with facts, if sellers does not your money will be well spend to obtain a history report if you want to buy the car being offered for sale.

The # 1 choice by Thousands of Dealerships is Auto Check compared to Carfax and Car Proof , having had to deal with thousands of history reports in my time I must agree that Auto Check comes out on top, without going into long detail , one factor is the consumer get a much better time frame for bucks to investigate options, and their report card is very easy to understand.

SUMMARY. A history report is a must when buying a used car, but why do these 3 advertisers lead us into thinking were " stupid " getting something for free when in fact were not getting anything for free except what we already know, when I see something for free on the Internet I never look twice, the only thing that's totally free with no obligations in this world is the air we breathe, and my personal wish for you having read this article to the end that you will enjoy it for a very long time to come..

Ray, does this Carfax report look legit/complete?

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/4130/25021658.png

The screenshot couldn't capture the entire report, but that's the entire history.

I got the free Carfax report here:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=277675711&dealer_id=586934&car_year=2008&engine=&fuel=&lastStartYear=1981&color3=&color2=WHITE&sort_type=priceDESC&systime=&default_sort=priceDESC&drive=&style_flag=1&body_code=0&seller_type=b&min_price=&color=SILVER&model=ECLIP&keywords_display=&advanced=y&distance=50&doors=&keywordsrep=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&awsp=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&rdm=1277743545970&marketZipError=false&keywordsfyc=&search_type=both&transmission=Automatic&max_price=&max_mileage=&end_year=2008&make=MIT&start_year=2006&certified=&num_records=25&make2=&address=92122&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&cardist=15&standard=false

Yes, it looks legit, however any history report can only report what has been reported and should be used as a guideline only.

This vehicle was a former rental and have traveled through a few states, I am not saying that becomes a major issue, but if I was to consider purchase an independent inspection by a body shop and mechanic would be a condition before the deal will be sealed.

Thanks, Ray. Really appreciate your website and the tremendous help you provide to the public!