carfax for truck campers

[BigSwick]

So we had a guy that wanted to buy our truck camper, but wanted to see a carfax type report. Without an 18 digit VIN, I don't see anywhere to get a report. Any ideas?

[jimh406]

user113 wrote:
It seems to me that this gives Carfax the ability to charge even more people $35 for useless reports in the future by tracking these numbers in the future with their existing framework. Ain't progress a wonderful thing?

Yes, progress is wonderful thing, but some people think it is "useless". 😉

[user113]

NHTSA tracks safety information for motorized RVs based on the VINs assigned by the chassis manufacturer, maybe that's what had the potential buyer looking for a Carfax report. But new truck campers seem to now also be assigned 17 digit VINs regardless of whether they have a motor or not. My 2022 Palomino has a nifty 17 digit "ID" they call a "Vehicle I.D. No." (sure sounds like a VIN) even though nobody considers it a "Vehicle." In fact, my state uses that number on my TC's state issued title. It seems to me that this gives Carfax the ability to charge even more people $35 for useless reports in the future by tracking these numbers in the future with their existing framework. Ain't progress a wonderful thing?

[mkirsch]

Don't worry about it, and move on to the next buyer who doesn't ask dumb questions.

There's a carfax because there are a million-bajillion cars on the road and you can charge a million-bajillion people $35 each and make million-bajillions of dollars. By comparison let's say there are 100,000 truck campers out there (I think I'm being generous at that number). You'd have to charge $1000 per camper to make it even worthwhile, and the bean counters know that nobody is going to pay that.

The creators of carfax didn't do it to be nice. They did it to make money.

[monkey44]

CarFax only reports what is submitted to the service anyway. Mostly dealers and high-end repair shops. Joe Mechanic or Johnny Repair will usually not report anything.

My wife slid her BMW on golf course grass and bumped a stationary object. I repaired the minimum scratches and dents, straightened the fender, and painted to match. No report. Air bags didn't even release.

I know, CarFax is for maintenance, and minor to major damage... but I imagine many do not get reported. Seems to me tho', our Lance has an ID number and a Model number - but it's in storage so I can't look at it. But no wheels or engine would preclude anything reportable, I'd guess. And, it's not practical for a site like CarFax to report water damage, for example, it's not so easy to find even when we want to find it.

[mellow]

Not a tow behind trailer with tires that requires registration, different beast which I like not having to pay every year for the privilege to camp.

[Slymer]

Pretty sure VIN's are 17 digits. I would consider showing your potential buyer this thread so he can see you are not alone in your Carfax views on TC's.

[jimh406]

Carfax for property without an engine would be interesting. Maybe that guy should start that service. Mine has never been to any commercial shop of any kind in 17 years. it hasn't been in any accidents. 😉

Carfax and similar services aren't useless for vehicles, but only say what's been reported. For instance, they can show regular servicing at a dealer etc. along with if the 30K service was done. If it's listed, it happened. If it's not listed, it might or might not have happened. Similarly, it shows where the vehicle was registered/lived for the most part. That can be helpful to know the life of the vehicle. For instance, it was serviced all over the country, it obviously was driven lots of places. Similarly, if it spent most of it's life in the Rust Belt, it has more potential for rust even if it is now for sale where they don't usually have rusted out cars.

[QCMan]

Carfax is mostly useless anyway so if they are looking for one they drank the coolaid. I had a truck that had been in three accidents, all reported to insurance and police. The guy that bought it from me told me I must be mistaken about the accidents as carfax said it was never in an accident. Showed him pictures just to make sure he knew the true history. Checked carfax myself and it had no record of any accidents for my truck. He bought the truck based on the carfax report and dismissed my history as unreliable.
Worked fine for me as I was getting 80% of the original price ten years and 200k miles later.

[Grit_dog]

BigSwick wrote:
Any ideas?

Tell the guy to FO?

[notsobigjoe]

Mine didnt come with a title or registration. Just a receipt.

[joerg68]

There is none.
What would it be able to show? Where would any data come from? AFAIK they aren't even titled in most states. In most places, they are just cargo.