Buying a car with 170,000 miles on the odometer is cause for caution, especially since I was buying one on the other side of the country (in California from Massachusetts). Fortunately, One of my colleagues was in San Diego on business and was able to take a look at it for me. However, he was not able to drive it, since the dealer did not have a dealer plate available at the time. This made me suspicious, so I ordered the CarFax report. It looked good there, so I took the leap and flew to San Diego to pick it up. Well, the dealer was not confidence-inspiring (filthy, cluttered premises, operating out of a house in a residential neighborhood), but the car was good. I drove it 300 miles to my son's house with no surprises. The CarFax was very worthwhile. Without it, I would have not had the confidence to go through with this. We now own the car that my wife had to pass up when it was new and bought a less expensive model. We will use it whenever we visit our son and to explore more of California in our retirement.