I know you can get a ballpark mileage with VIN from Carfax. Any free way to do it? I'm looking at buying a motor at a boneyard but the electrical on the car was toast when they got it so the dash won't show mileage.

Frank

 

RotorNutFD3S used to get me free carfax's. Im sure there's others on here that can get it for ya too.

 

Get a job at a dealership.

Seriously, I can't think of a method (other than just posting it here and asking if anybody has a current subscription- it happens sometimes), but I'd be less concerned with mileage than the condition of the engine.

First, the car. Was it wrecked? It's a good sign if it was- means the engine was working at the time. Check the oil. How does it look and smell? Pull the valve cover. Lots of residue? Eyeball the cam lobes, too.

In a perfect world, the electrical system will be sufficiently working that you can crank it and do a compression test. Not always possible, but chances are good that if the engine bay looks clean and well-maintained, then the engine was probably well-maintained. OTOH, if it's liberally coated in oil and grime, then maybe the owner wasn't the most fastidious person.

 

I'm checking the car out this week. They said they hooked it up to a jumper and started it. The car is apparently clean. Still, I don't want to pick up a well maintained motor with 150k miles on it vs 55k miles. It's really close to my house so time isn't a big deal. But the cost vs an ebay motor w/shipping and 60k miles is about the same. But then I'd have to arrange for the delivery, for someone to be home, and a way to get it from the shipper.

 

My old job just figured out I quit (which I did over a year ago) and killed my login, so no more CarFax access for me. Sorry man.

 

No biggie. I'll just check the motor out and go from there. Maybe the boneyard can hook me up.

Frank