VIN decoder - Carfax? Little Help??

Got a friend of my wife looking at purchasing a used '05 Pontiac G6. She loves it, but it has two strikes against it from the start, I know it was a fleet car, and I know if came from Michigan, but the price is fair and the miles are ok, and I like a G6 a lot better than the Grand Am and Malibu she was looking at....and she's chomping at the bit...

VIN # 1G2ZG548554117903. Any info you folks can dig up is GREATLY appreciated. I can usually tell if something is wrecked myself, but it's nice to have some history....







I'm going to do drive it tonight after work. Will see how much salt damage it has under it from Michigan....


-Mike

It needs a bath, a factory GT trunk spoiler, and some window tint asap....

Just a note on rental cars. Just because it was registered in MI, doesn't mean it actually spent its life there. Rental companies bulk register cars wherever its cheapest to do so. Up here there are plenty of FL registered rental cars, heck last time I was in CA my friend had a CT registered rental. So it may not be the rustbox you envision. That said, even if it didn't come from a rustbelt state, id avoid buying a used rental car like the plague.

Ha! I agree about buying a used rental, but ALL the cars she's looking at seem to be older fleet cars. She's sold on this company, they are giving her a 3yr, 36K mile warranty...and it's a real warranty, I looked it over and Google'd it. I just want to make sure it's not been wrecked ahead of my looking it over.

Good to know about the states registering where it's cheapest to do so. I've not seen the car in person yet, she sent me the pics. It's in South Austin but she's bringing it up north tonight for me to look over and drive.

We shall see!

Sorry Mike but I am timed out on my "Auto Check"account.I thinks it runs $30 for 1 check and $50 for a 30 day access.Used it to help my neighbor buy
a Toyota Corolla fleet car from Fla.Had low miles and all the service history.She is thrilled with the car but kinda nuts.One week after getting the corolla
her hubby decided he wanted a new Toyota Sienna and they wanted my imput.He ended up with a 4cyl sienna minivan and its the basic package.
I thought the van would be slow with a 4cyl but it runs good.Sounds good with the warranty if you say it checks out.Sorry not to be any help.
Good Luck
Jim Gordon

Ah thanks for the reply at least. I'm pretty good at looking over a car and finding things when I drive it, but it's nice to know the history.

This girl drives me nuts. She's a sweetheart and I really like her, but her car dealings drive me bonkers.

I sold her my wife's 1995 Bonneville a few years back when we bought a Suburban. It was an SLE, white over tan leather, gold crosslace wheels, spolier, power sunroof, it was gorgeous and loaded, and in perfect condition. It looked new. She kept it about a year and then decided she wanted an SUV. Away went the Bonny and home came a 2001 2dr S-10 Blazer..it was ok, 4.3, 2WD, floor shift, nice wheelsm not fancy, but servicable. She kept it about two years, then decided she needed 4drs, and traded the Blazer for a V6 Grand Cherokee. Truck is gutless and the interior is all cheap hard plastic. Low options, but it was shiney black...woo-hoo. So now she's having money issues and has a large payment on the Jeep, and wants to get out of it, so was looking at these little cars.

It just kills me. That Bonny had 72K miles on it when I sold it to her. It was fast, reliable, very nearly a luxury car, and it was PAID OFF. She should have just kept it....

Now she's going into debt on a basic 6-year-old former fleet car..... Arrrghhh...

Venting over....

-Mike

You win Mike yours is definitly crazy as a loon.My neighbor is nuts but not stupid.Loves to walk up behind you while you are working under the hood and
say HELLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOO real loud.She is partially deaf so she has no idea how annoying that is.Sounds like yours is a nut with a capital N.
My Sympathy
Jim Gordon

She's my wife's best friend. They've known each other for years. She's great with my kids, and a big help. I just wish she'd kept the Bonneville. ; )

Went an drove this car and looked all over it tonight. Ok for what it was. The front bumper had been re-painted, but I could not see any evidence of repair behind it. Interior was perfect, no dents outside. Some slight corrosion under the car on bolts and hangers, but nothing serious, it was a northern car it's first three years, then went to Kentucky, and later to Texas (sucked it up and ran a Carfax). 54,000 miles on it.

Good power, it's a 3.5 V6, smooth transmission, quiet, good stereo, not much to fault. It needed leather and a sunroof....but that's me. : )

She bought it. Was glad to see that Grand Cherokee POS go away. Hope it holds up for her. I miss Pontiacs....but still think they should have called it a Grand Am...or Firenza...or Tempest.....not a G6....dumb name.

I'm going to try to find her a G6 GT spoiler in the salvage yard and am going to make the appointment to tint the windows tomorrow. She's going to bring it over this weekend and I'm going to detail it. Fun-Fun.

-Mike

Oh and on the way home from looking at that car I stopped in at Half Price Books and picked up the soundtrack from the movie Magnolia for $2. I love Half Price Books. Aimee Mann is on most of the CD, good stuff, but the best is both Breakfast in America and The Logical Song by Supertramp are included too.

I'm here to tell you "The Logical Song" sounds DAMN good over my "Concert Sound II" speakers in the Roadmonster! Still singing it in my head now. Good CD!

-Mike

I just noticed in the second pic of the car, the passenger side view, her black Grand Cherokee is in the background behind the G6. 109K miles, yellow headlights, rotten steering wheel plastic, worn-out door latch on the driver's side....and on and on. Will not be missed!

-Mike

I bought my wife an '02 Grand Prix back in '04 and it had ~36K on it. It now has over 110K and I don't think it's been driven more than 100 miles in a day since 2007.

Dead reliable. NO issues. Nothing.

Not all rentals are abused.

Good to know. I really hope this car works out for her. It drives well and looks good. Fingers are crossed.