Auto Vehicle Values

What’s your car or truck worth? If your vehicle is deemed a total loss as the result of an accident or having been stolen, you may think your car has a value different than that given to you by your insurance company.   NADA Guides for new and used car, boat, motorcycles, RVs, manufactured homes and classic cars: http://nadaguides.com/ (The “guides” are just that, one of many sources for determining the value of your vehicle.) Another, more accurate way to judge the value of your car, boat, motorcycle or RV is to search http://www.autotrader.com , which shows you the vehicles like yours for sale in your geographic location. This site is perhaps the best way to show an insurance company the value of your car if it is declared a “total loss” by your insurance company. (Do you remember a time, pre-internet, when you had to buy the Auto Trader at the local 7-11 or other convenience store? Sheesh, doesn’t that seem like the stone age now?) Since most insurance companies subscribe to services that provide vehicle values based on proprietary data, sometimes the value assigned to your car is not what the vehicle is worth in the local market. Also, vehicle options and condition may not be fully evaluated by the service used by the insurance company to set a price or settlement amount. What is your boat worth? For boats there is boattrader.com.

“Carfax” is to the background or history checking on a car or truck, what Kleenex is to nose tissue. The difference is that everyone uses Kleenex. If you’re curious about what Carfax has to offer in a vehicle history report, take a look at a sample Vehicle History Report. (Personally, I’ve never used Carfax to research a potential vehicle purchase, but in this day and age I’d certainly ask a seller to provide a Carfax report, or the equivalent, before I buy a used vehicle. With all the recent natural disasters, and in particular floods, I want to be sure my new car was not someone else’s insurance salvage or soaked up to the seats before I bought it.) There is criticism of vehicle history reports, so don’t solely rely on a history report. Check out this Consumer Reports article from June 2009: “Don’t Rely on Used-Car-History Reports”. Remember, when you sign up to use any service on the internet, you check that “agree” to the terms and conditions of use? CarFax’s order page promises “No risk – money back guarantee if not 100% satisfied!”, however in much smaller print the company asks to to “(M)ake sure you read our Customer Agreement before you ask us to process your order”. The terms include the following:

CARFAX REPORTS ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OTHER THAN THOSE WARRANTIES WHICH ARE IMPLIED BY AND INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION OR MODIFICATION UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

IN NO EVENT WILL CARFAX, OR ANY PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DISTRIBUTING THE CARFAX REPORTS, BE LIABLE IN CONTRACT, IN TORT (INCLUDING FOR ITS OWN NEGLIGENCE) OR UNDER ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING STRICT LIABILITY) FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SIMILAR DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS OR REVENUES, LOSS OF USE, OR SIMILAR ECONOMIC LOSS, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF CARFAX REPORTS. IN NO EVENT SHALL CARFAX'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING ITS OWN NEGLIGENCE) OR UNDER ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING STRICT LIABILITY) EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU, IF ANY, FOR OBTAINING ANY REPORTS OR OTHER INFORMATION FROM www.carfax.com.

Caveat Emptor: Let the buyer beware.