Wilsons Sandbox

On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 2:41 PM, mikeypep wrote:

> Carfax is only useful for the incidents that have been reported, > In short, "ya rolls the dice, and ya takes ya chances".

I have to agree with Mikey on this one. It's a crap shoot. My mom's Volvo "nearly" got totaled... twice. By nearly, I mean "Oh my god, you survived in THAT?!?" The first time, any normal person would have looked at the thing and asked what it once was... forget about trying to fix it. But, the insurance company insisted that it wasn't a write-off and paid to have it essentially rebuilt from the rear seats back. The only dealer in Florida who had a "laser-based Volvo certified frame alignment system" did the work the first time. Three months later and several thousand more dollars worth of work than she paid for it in the first place and it was a somewhat reasonable car. At first glance, it looked fine. A closer inspection revealed lots of funky welds underneath and a few parts where doors and body panels didn't 'quite' line up right if you measured. The second time wasn't quite as bad as the first, but still bad enough that they had to cut the car in half to replace the rear portions that got squished (again, at the insurance company's insistence). Another three months, and she had "it" back, also at the cost of another insurance appraiser in an unemployment line somewhere. Again, it looks fine, drives fairly well and you'd think it was in good shape until you looked underneath or started measuring clearances between panels or pulling up the trunk carpet. About a year later, one of my fellow Jeepers ran a Carfax on something and got a three or six months subscription instead of the single run. So, I tossed in my mom's VIN on a lark... It came up as the right Volvo, single owner, no damages, no claims, no repairs, clean title. Read into it what you will... but some poor schmuck will eventually get an excellent deal on a Volvo that should have been totaled twice and will probably be none the wiser. :S --Jonathan "smthng" Kalmes Springfield, VA 2005 Yamaha FJR1300ABS - "Blue Bayou" 2006 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon - "Teflon" 2008 Kawasaki KLR 650 - It's here, but it hasn't earned a name yet. http://smthng.info "If I'd known it was harmless, I would have killed it myself."

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, wrote:

> > > List traffic a bit slow today so I'll risk a NKLR. > > This evening I'll be swinging by a local new car dealer to examine a

pre-owned 2004 2-seat convertible on the used-car lot. Haven't spoken to the sales staff yet, and at this time I know nothing about the car's previous history. Unless the dealer provides significant background info, service records and whatnot I'll remain largely in the dark regarding any history that is not apparent to the careful eye. I've read a bit about what is/is not included in Carfax reports and agree that a thorough tech inspection is a key element to avoiding major mistakes. However, if any of you found Carfax reporting to be particularly useful or absoultely useless , I'd like to hear from you.

> > Steve

Carfax is full of holes and raises more questions than it answers; that is my experience from several years ago. Is it better than nothing? I think that's it's default selling point, which in my opinion is just a crap shoot. Kind of like snake oil; it probably won't hurt anything (except your wallet) and "might" help. ED

Listers, I have a pair of Dirt Bagz Racks that fit pre 2008 KLR650s for sale. They came on my nephew's 2002 KLR when he bought it used a few months ago. He's not going to be using them so they're for sale. These are on the block for $85 including shipping to the lower 48. If you want to pay using Pay Pal the cost goes to $92 to cover my Pay Pal expenses. If you are international or in Alaska or Hawaii and buy them the cost will be slightly higher to adjust for shipping costs. I'd never heard of Dirt Bagz Racks before so had to do a little searching to learn more about them. If you want to learn more take a look at this thread on the KLR650.net where they seem to be highly regarded.. http://www.klr650.net/forums/showthread.php?t=43977&highlight=dirt+bagz These brackets are used but in good overall shape. They are made to support luggage and not as crash protection. You can see the ends of the racks have been slightly tweaked and the paint is cracked or flaked off around the ends. But I've taken a close look at them and don't see any cracks in the metal. They come with the bolts that were used to mount them on the 2002 KLR they came off of. This is a first come first serve offering for two brackets and hardware only. Contact me at salinej1@... if you'd like low resolution pictures or to arrange purchase. Thanks for your consideration. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT ____________________________________________________________ Smart Girls Secret Weapon Read Unbiased Beauty Product Reviews, Get Helpful Tips, Tricks and Sam http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/JKFkuJi7U3x8ttWOJsMGf0zMESAISrM2gFzGfX6M5XhLig0sBd5QUk/