I have always used Carfax and recently used Carfax for my last purchase, an used and older minivan. I purchased a month's worth of Carfax reports (unlimited) and I looked at 28 different vehicles and used 28 Carfax reports. It is hard to just go based on the seller's word alone as all they want to do is sell the car and get money. You never know what you are getting yourself into especially if you live in a small town like me and have to drive to the nearest big city (2-4 hours away) to see a few vehicles. Best example was a very good looking 2007 Nissan Quest and a great condition 2007 Chrysler Town and Country. Both sellers said they were 2nd owners and the photos looked great. The Quest was 2 hours away and the Town and Country was 3 hours away. I planned a trip to see 13 different vehicles and these two sellers said they did not feel right giving me the VIN but that I could have the VIN when I got there. Lucky for me, I went over the photos and saw the license plates and pulled up the Carfax using the license plates which showed the owner of the Quest was the 5th owner and he had owned it for less than 4 months. The owner of the Town and Country was the 4th owner and owned it for less than 2 months. I immediately crossed these two off my list. By using Carfax, I was able to make better selections on which vehicles to actually go and see and which vehicles to avoid, thus saving me alot of time, energy, and potential headaches. I ended up buying a minivan I found and had pulled a Carfax showing it was a well kept, well maintained vehicle that looked as good on the outside as it did on the inside. Carfax is an invaluable tool and the little money you spend on a singular or unlimited reports is easily earned back on a great purchase. Definitely recommend Carfax to all potential buyers