iyzmi

I'm helping my friend look for a car and I want to get a report on:
3N1AB51A34L739331
Thanks in advance for the help.

iyzmi

Anybody? Pretty please?

Edit: My friend decided he didn't want it but now I'm seriously considering buying it. The car sells on Monday, 1/15/07, so I need a report ASAP. I'm hoping sombody here has an unlimited CarFax account and can help me out.

awesometc

Here is what came up on the free check, not sure if this helps you or not

VIN 3N1AB51A34L739331
Year/Make/Model: 2004 NISSAN SENTRA 2.5S/SE-R
Body Style: SEDAN 4 DR
Engine Type: 2.5L L4 SFI DOHC 16V
Manufactured In: MEXICO
Search Results: 6 records found in our database
IMPORTANT! The 6 records on this 2004 NISSAN SENTRA 2.5S/SE-R may confirm a clean title history or uncover potential problems. Find out by ordering the complete CARFAX Vehicle History Report .

matt_a

Dude! You found my car! I was planning to go back for it after the flood waters had gone down but the National Guard would let me in the 9th Ward for a while. By the time I got there it had been stollen.

iyzmi

lol, great I'll sell it back to you! MSRP sound fair? $19.8k and its yours! Seriously though, nobody has an unlimited account of carfax?

awesometc

Just sent you a pm

tCTaco

iTrader: (1)

I dont believe in car fax.....My friends s-10 was totaled twice.....YES TWICE!...and he ran a car fax on it and it came back with a clean record.

ricktoyota73

Even though I work at a dealer, I think they told me it runs around $10 for each vehicle we get the full report on.

scionofPCFL

Exactly. It only reports to you what's been reported by the agencies involved with the vehicle. Some folks won't report accidents to their insurance companies, and just fix it themselves. Shops are under zero obligation to report to them as well. It's not like a credit report. However, it will let you know who owned it (rental?), if it's ever been declared a lemon, and it might lend clues as to whether or not the title is fishy. Some states are very very lax about issuing lost titles. Buy a flood/totaled car in Louisianna, title it in Mass, then retitle it in New Mex, and a lot gets lost in the translation.

Nothing beats a thorough investigation. You can always tell if a vehicle has been wrecked.

iyzmi

Can you tell me what to look for because I'm probably gonna' go check it out this Saturday. Thanks.

scionofPCFL

Park the car next to white lines like in a parking lot. Check out the reflection of the line in the paint, it should be smooth and consistent. If you see a break, or abrubt inconsistency, then it's probably had paint work.

Open the hood, and observe the screws attaching the fender to the car. They should be fresh looking. If you see scrathes or anything like that on them, then it's probably been in a front end collision.

Rub your fingers on the metal that folds into the front and back windshields, and other places that would be difficult to paint. If the metal feels rough, it's been painted.

Check on the plastic near metal parts, like around the hood area. You're looking for dots consistent with overspray from being painted.

These are the big ones and they are fairly easy to spot. It's difficult to describe it in this media without hand gestures and specific examples to point out, but there you have it.

This does not mean that if you don't see these things that everything is fine. It simply means either your lack of experience on what to look for exactly failed you, or it means that whoever rebuilt it was just really really good at covering his tracks.

Also, I have no idea as to how to explain here what to look for in case the car was flooded. It is much more difficult to see a flooded car, because they tend to put them back together so well, knowing that buyers are educated on odd smells/stains in the trunk and other obvious tell tell signs.

iyzmi

Well, the car has never left the Chicago area so there's nothing there to really flood like New Orleans style. I guess the sunroof may have been left open during rain but the seats are in perfect condition judging by the pics. I doubt they replaced the seats. awesometc gave me a verbal Carfax report and said everything was clear so I'm hoping for the best. Thanks for giving me some things to look for, I'm printing it out right now.

iyzmi

And on that note, the car just got sold...damn