This is a friendly warning notice to all you fellow MB enthusiasts. As you probably know AutoCheck is similar to CarFax and both companies provide VIN history lookups. I used AutoCheck a few times in '05 and '06 and recently purchased another 60-day membership because I wanted to look up two other cars, one of which I was considering to add to my stable. Not only did their database lack any records for these cars (they were both '82 300SD) they also rudely accused me of using their service for commercial reasons (which is totally untrue and baseless) and they canceled my account with no refund. What a bunch of scumbags. I'm in the process of filing this as a disputed transaction with my credit card company. That and giving you guys a heads-up is all I can do for now. I don't know if CarFax is this bad too. Has anyone else had this problem with either company?

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

You can report them to the Better Business Bureau......Carfax is pretty good, I used them with good results.

__________________
"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

the only problem i had with carfax is on my 86 Pontiac fiero the records only go back to 04/17/1998 and on my 81 240D it only goes back to 03/14/1996.

now im not saying this is totally carfax's fault maybe the states did not report info back then or something

__________________
06 VW Jetta TDI

Carfax did the exact same thing with me,,,, stopped the account after I had done 250 searches during my one month subscription. I called them and they asked me a bunch of questions to make sure I wasn't a dealer,, then re-instated access.

What can I say,,, I like to get my money's worth!

I have never had any luck using them with older cars. Mid 90's or newer and I'd run the vin. But for 1980's vintage its to old, doesn't matter.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

They make mistakes sometimes. On one of my cars the smog tech obviously transposed the numbers and 113,000 became 131,000 and all entries on the CARFAX after that showed mileage as "possible odometer rollback" on future entries and corrupted the report.

The actual data entry error wasn't of CARFAX though.

CARFAX is generally helpful and I like it. The lawyer/privacy issues prevent more detailed information about prior owners and shops that worked on the car from being disclosed, unfortunately. Most shops and old owners don't really mind talking about the history of the cars a little.

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

carfax is just as bad... when my brother bought a new(to him) jeep we put the vin in for my 02 ranger which i have had since new... carfax said it had been wrecked twice and the the odo had been rolled back... when we contacted them they called us liars

You must be kidding right..You've owned it since new, and they called you a liar about your own vehicle's history..? I don't know, maybe it snook out at night a few times and got wasted, wrecked, fixed itself, then rolled back the miles so you wouldn't know it snook out over night....LOL

I think one of my 300CD's has been doing this sort of stuff at night lately. I mean, the other night I caught her sneeking into the garage. She doesn't know it yet, because she didn't see me in the window as she pulled up the driveway. Tonight, she's getting a new boot I bought for her. Her name is Sarah.

You may have seen her aunt Christine, in that Stephen King movie, her father and uncles and even grandparents in that movie "Maximum Overdrive".

Yep, she's a real Byatch sometimes with all of this sneaking out stuff. Maybe she's been meeting up with your Ranger, and they're getting wrecked every night together..

__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

"when my brother bought a new(to him) jeep"

that means he bought it used

__________________
06 VW Jetta TDI

Carfax sucks big time. I had same problem as the other poster as I was running a lot of vins and Carfax cancelled my acces and said I was a dealer, even when I pointed out that they were all the same model (300E/320E)...

They also called me a liar, verbally and by email, and AMEX backed me and reversed the charges. Carfax also gave me 6 months free access after my lawyer served them with paper for slander/defamation (cost me nada as the lawyer is family).

Trouble is I have found an incredible amount of inaccurate info (either accidental or deliberate) being foistered off on the public as "gospel".
Example: I looked at a 95 320E that had 94K on it. Carfax swore it was "mint" ..turned out it was a flood car from Katrina that hyad been passed thru 5 "wholesalers" and then sold at a PA auction to a sucker who installed new carpet/dash, etc... There was NO WAY they could have missed the flood salvage report (the car was from Western Mississippi) since Nationwide Insurance had totaled the car and ordered it sold for scrap!

So I think Carfax has more holes than a wheel of swiss cheese and has the integrity of a cheap bar hooker!

I didn't get much use for Autocheck for those MB that manufacturered for oversees. They do send you a warning after 25 searches, but all you have to do is check a box saying it is not for commercial use. Nto sure if that was your case or not. Never really ever "talked" to anyone. Good luck.

__________________
1990 300d 2.5 new to me.

No I never got any warning regarding my search count, and I don't think I ever looked up that many cars on any particular membership that I purchased. I'm starting to think that these VIN look-ups are pretty useless. Most accidents, especially those that don't result in a salvage title are probably never reported. I think the most important thing to do when buying a used car is to inspect it in detail and maybe see if the title is clear. You can probably tell a lot from the seller too. Some sellers have that obvious scumbag look to them.

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

Here's an update. I ended up filing a complaint with the BBB and surprisingly AutoCheck caved in and issued a refund to me (though no apology). This was after my credit card company already reversed the charge for me. Apparently my credit card company didn't even bother negotiating with AutoCheck and just swallowed the expense. I just notified them today that they can reverse the charge reversal so I don't end up with a double refund. I'm glad AutoCheck didn't get away with this evil and that I got my money back. I almost feel they got off too easy though.

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL