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In this Discussion
- [Deleted User] January 2012
- Jon B January 2012
History Report
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Ok, I'm new at this .....where can I find a history report on a pre 1980 car.
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Two such companies are CARFAX and INSTAVIN.
carfax http://www.carfax.com/
INSTAVIN https://www.instavin.com/learnMore.php
They say, about older cars:
instaVIN™ does provide reports on Classic Cars (vehicles older than 1981) by means of NMVTIS, however each state DMV varies as to how far back their vehicle records extend. NMVTIS provides the current state of title and last date for Classic Cars, additional title events are included where available. If instaVIN™ is unable to produce any data on a Classic Car, an alert message appears and you will not be charged for a report.
Generally, it will be harder to get a history on an older car but you can sure try! -
Don't ever trust a report 100%. They can be misleading.
I have used carfax. A big issue I had was that they only report when a vehicle passes its emission in testing. Here in California how a vehicle does on its test is important. Carfax only showing the vehicle when it passes can give someone the wrong idea. I then checked with the states DMV web site and saw that some of the vehicles carfax showed as always passing had indeed failed tests as well.
Also keep in mind that these services only get reports that have been made. Not all insurance companies will report an accident and if a person paid for repairs out of pocket then there may be no report in that case as well.
I have also used Autocheck.com as well. Basically the same as carfax but I think a buck or two cheaper.
Best thing to do is if you're buying a vehicle, make a deal with the owner to have a shop do a pre-purchase inspection. Usually it could run 1-2 labor hours. That should give you the best idea of a vehicles condition to date. I have been trained in Auto Body and mechanical repair so when I would do inspections for my customers it was complete.
