Boatfax.com
Boatfax is the second company I used in this study. Their website is typical of boating websites, as most are cluttered from trying to cram too many things into one website and concept. However, they have a very easy to use navigation bar at the top of their website in the center, which tells the consumer what is available on their site. They also have banner ads along the right side of the page but the first banner ad is actually for themselves, which I find unusual. The main reason to include banner ads is for additional advertising revenue. On the left hand side of their page, they do offer a "QuickSearch" which is handy, as well as the popular search and recent losses which is interesting. However, I am not sure if this reports ALL stolen boats or just shows boats solicited from viewers like me (which is most likely the case). Either way, it's fun to see. This company offers history reports, boat values and classifieds, as well as a couple of apps for your phone so it's a nice (messy) little bundle in one website. The flip side of that is that they don't just have one focus, which is why their site is almost disorientating and confusing at times.
GETTING STARTED
For a company name that models itself so closely to a brand associated solely with vehicle history reports (CARFAX), you would think it would be more obvious as to where to get started with a boat history. However, this is hard to find, nestled in the top center of the page amongst the 3 other boxes indicating what they offer. If you don't know the HIN of the boat you are researching, you have to do some searching to find out if you can still order a report. Apparently you can order a report with only the serial number, manufacturer, and model, but I am uncertain how they would determine the year, and how they would provide specific results as serial numbers can be reused by a manufacturer.
CHECK OUT PAGE
Once a valid HIN is entered, it takes you to a "Select Options" page where the add-ons come in. It will search for your vessel in the US as part of the basic $20 cost but to search world wide, it's an additional $3. However, the benefit is that is DOES search outside the USA. Then for an additional $6 you can add a cross check which takes your HIN and examines it against known information YOU must provide to ensure its accuracy. For an another additional $5, you can add a "SmartSeach" which adds "increased power to your search" by using parametric search algorithms to potentially identify altered records. Once you make it through the add-on pages, you are asked for your personal information. Next, another page to remind you of what you will be receiving, another page that tells you the price, and then finally a check out page where you can enter credit card information or pay with Paypal (which is a nice option, if you make it that far).
PRICE POINT
The standard report is $20, plus an additional $3 for world wide search, $6 for a cross check, and $5 for a smart search for a grand total of $34. Unfortunately, when you have add-on's, unless you add every option, as soon as something breaks on your boat, you'll wonder if you have just spent the extra $14, would you have known about it ahead of time? There is not an option for unlimited, however, you can run additional reports at half price. IMPORTANT: I added the second report, paid $13 for it, and never received it although I did confirm that I was charged for it. I emailed the company immediately and as of now, have not heard back at time of update (3 days later). A nice feature for frequent buyers are the Boatfax Rewards which can be applied towards a future purchase.
ACCOUNT PAGE
As this site is so busy, it is difficult to locate your account page. However, on the top navigation bar, the 7th tab labeled "My Details" brings up a sub menu. In this sub menu, you are again given multiple options for selling and buying boats and parts, and finally "My Activity" which is where you can find your report. As mentioned previously, I paid $13 for a second report that is not showing, however, my first report is readily available to view again, along with an invoice for my first payment, and a place to view boats that I have "valued" which is a nice feature for pricing.
REPORTS
The report begins by listing all of the searches that have been performed but does not outline what it found. By scrolling down, you see your smart search results (if you added this), followed by a color coded bar that shows what your concern level of theft for your boat should be (however, it looks as though the color code is not actually populating on the code key). Next is the hurricane check, followed by manufacturer details. The next part, the Incident check, is also unique in that it shows any recently reported activity in your immediate area based on your zip code. This is a pretty neat feature, but is based entirely on the data that they have access to so I can't say either way how accurate it actually is. Then the history of the boat which shows registered liens, accidents, environment checks and owner history (which I assume never shows due to Privacy laws). Lastly is boat location, boat valuation, recall information and special offers.
MOST IMPORTANT: The report I ran did NOT show accidents on ANY of the reports I've run. Kind of important.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I emailed customer service 3 days ago about my missing report that I had been charged for and have not heard back as of publishing this site. The owner of the site did reach out to me once I initially produced these comparisons back in 2013, and mentioned that a few facts were wrong. I emailed him back and told him I would gladly update the review if he could provide detailed information as to the inaccuracies, but I never heard back from him so...
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
They do offer helpful hints and tips on buying used boats and keeping them safe. Part of that is associated with their theft protection portion. A customer enters information on the boat they own, and then if the boat is stolen, they can report it to Boatfax who will then cross reference it with their classified listings and HIN checks. They also have great features for someone looking to buy a used boat, but it does seem like most of that information is actually from other websites not related to BoatFax.
BOATFAX REVIEW SUMMARY
I think this site offers a lot of valuable information for someone looking to purchase a used boat. However, b/c they are all over the place with their features, it makes it difficult for them to be a leader in any one area. Referring to the topic at hand though, the history reports- they left something to be desired (like negative events). After looking into this a bit more, it appears that BoatFax is based in Europe which makes it the only company that includes European boats so that is definitely a positive. However, the Wellcraft boat I ran had an accident and an environmental lien and both areas showed up clean in Boatfax report. As I have not yet received my new Bertram report, I will have to leave the old info here: The accident on the Bertram also went undetected, and since Boatfax doesn't claim to offer Coast Guard Data, that was obviously missing as well. Although I think the "theft" feature is interesting, if it is solely dependant upon people submitting stolen boats to the site directly, I am not sure how useful it is. The "Incident Check" map is a great feature but when I zoomed out, there were a total of 4 incidents shown on the entire map of the world. In the history section, it gives an option of owner information and then states that it cannot be given due to privacy. I like that this website offers international searches and also searches on equipment but if it isn't turning up accidents, it's useless in that respect. Additionally, it appears (although not confirmed) that the only stolen boat data they have is on boats that were entered by a consumer that happened to stumble upon their site, while looking for a new boat, and adding in information on the loss of their last boat, which is highly unlikely. I do like that the report is automatically emailed to you however, which is great since it is difficult to relocate your report once you navigate away from their page.
GETTING STARTED
For a company name that models itself so closely to a brand associated solely with vehicle history reports (CARFAX), you would think it would be more obvious as to where to get started with a boat history. However, this is hard to find, nestled in the top center of the page amongst the 3 other boxes indicating what they offer. If you don't know the HIN of the boat you are researching, you have to do some searching to find out if you can still order a report. Apparently you can order a report with only the serial number, manufacturer, and model, but I am uncertain how they would determine the year, and how they would provide specific results as serial numbers can be reused by a manufacturer.
CHECK OUT PAGE
Once a valid HIN is entered, it takes you to a "Select Options" page where the add-ons come in. It will search for your vessel in the US as part of the basic $20 cost but to search world wide, it's an additional $3. However, the benefit is that is DOES search outside the USA. Then for an additional $6 you can add a cross check which takes your HIN and examines it against known information YOU must provide to ensure its accuracy. For an another additional $5, you can add a "SmartSeach" which adds "increased power to your search" by using parametric search algorithms to potentially identify altered records. Once you make it through the add-on pages, you are asked for your personal information. Next, another page to remind you of what you will be receiving, another page that tells you the price, and then finally a check out page where you can enter credit card information or pay with Paypal (which is a nice option, if you make it that far).
PRICE POINT
The standard report is $20, plus an additional $3 for world wide search, $6 for a cross check, and $5 for a smart search for a grand total of $34. Unfortunately, when you have add-on's, unless you add every option, as soon as something breaks on your boat, you'll wonder if you have just spent the extra $14, would you have known about it ahead of time? There is not an option for unlimited, however, you can run additional reports at half price. IMPORTANT: I added the second report, paid $13 for it, and never received it although I did confirm that I was charged for it. I emailed the company immediately and as of now, have not heard back at time of update (3 days later). A nice feature for frequent buyers are the Boatfax Rewards which can be applied towards a future purchase.
ACCOUNT PAGE
As this site is so busy, it is difficult to locate your account page. However, on the top navigation bar, the 7th tab labeled "My Details" brings up a sub menu. In this sub menu, you are again given multiple options for selling and buying boats and parts, and finally "My Activity" which is where you can find your report. As mentioned previously, I paid $13 for a second report that is not showing, however, my first report is readily available to view again, along with an invoice for my first payment, and a place to view boats that I have "valued" which is a nice feature for pricing.
REPORTS
The report begins by listing all of the searches that have been performed but does not outline what it found. By scrolling down, you see your smart search results (if you added this), followed by a color coded bar that shows what your concern level of theft for your boat should be (however, it looks as though the color code is not actually populating on the code key). Next is the hurricane check, followed by manufacturer details. The next part, the Incident check, is also unique in that it shows any recently reported activity in your immediate area based on your zip code. This is a pretty neat feature, but is based entirely on the data that they have access to so I can't say either way how accurate it actually is. Then the history of the boat which shows registered liens, accidents, environment checks and owner history (which I assume never shows due to Privacy laws). Lastly is boat location, boat valuation, recall information and special offers.
MOST IMPORTANT: The report I ran did NOT show accidents on ANY of the reports I've run. Kind of important.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I emailed customer service 3 days ago about my missing report that I had been charged for and have not heard back as of publishing this site. The owner of the site did reach out to me once I initially produced these comparisons back in 2013, and mentioned that a few facts were wrong. I emailed him back and told him I would gladly update the review if he could provide detailed information as to the inaccuracies, but I never heard back from him so...
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
They do offer helpful hints and tips on buying used boats and keeping them safe. Part of that is associated with their theft protection portion. A customer enters information on the boat they own, and then if the boat is stolen, they can report it to Boatfax who will then cross reference it with their classified listings and HIN checks. They also have great features for someone looking to buy a used boat, but it does seem like most of that information is actually from other websites not related to BoatFax.
BOATFAX REVIEW SUMMARY
I think this site offers a lot of valuable information for someone looking to purchase a used boat. However, b/c they are all over the place with their features, it makes it difficult for them to be a leader in any one area. Referring to the topic at hand though, the history reports- they left something to be desired (like negative events). After looking into this a bit more, it appears that BoatFax is based in Europe which makes it the only company that includes European boats so that is definitely a positive. However, the Wellcraft boat I ran had an accident and an environmental lien and both areas showed up clean in Boatfax report. As I have not yet received my new Bertram report, I will have to leave the old info here: The accident on the Bertram also went undetected, and since Boatfax doesn't claim to offer Coast Guard Data, that was obviously missing as well. Although I think the "theft" feature is interesting, if it is solely dependant upon people submitting stolen boats to the site directly, I am not sure how useful it is. The "Incident Check" map is a great feature but when I zoomed out, there were a total of 4 incidents shown on the entire map of the world. In the history section, it gives an option of owner information and then states that it cannot be given due to privacy. I like that this website offers international searches and also searches on equipment but if it isn't turning up accidents, it's useless in that respect. Additionally, it appears (although not confirmed) that the only stolen boat data they have is on boats that were entered by a consumer that happened to stumble upon their site, while looking for a new boat, and adding in information on the loss of their last boat, which is highly unlikely. I do like that the report is automatically emailed to you however, which is great since it is difficult to relocate your report once you navigate away from their page.
