Rig Dig is almost worthless, missing info on trucks researched?

Rig Dig is a service which allows you to research the history of a semi truck. You have to pay them over $50 if you want to get reports on 3 trucks.

The other day I used Rig Dig to research a truck which was for sale. It was a very low mileage truck and nothing unusual or alarming came up on the report. Based on what a saw, I made an offer on the truck with the contingency I would purchase it once I traveled to where the truck was and physically examined the truck. The day before I was set to arrive the salesman at the dealership said he needed to make me aware the truck had been wrecked and repaired. This did not come up on Rig Dig even though the wreck occurred almost 5 months ago.

The only reason I say Rig Did is 'almost worthless' is because I used Rig Dig to research a few trucks 2 years ago and it kept me from buying a truck which had been in rollover.

So, just be cautious and aware, as I have recently learned I am not the only one who bought or almost bought a wrecked truck because Rig Dig showed it had a clean report!

 

Carfax.com gives details of big rigs as well. Not too sure about crash reports. It's like $35.

 

OK, that's good to know. Would be interesting to see if they pull the data from the same place. May pull a report on that same truck to see if there is any difference.

 

I should ask point blank (Not exactly a accurate term but I digress) of the salesman where HE got that data from.

 

He claims they pulled it into a bay to prep it for my arrival and 'noticed' it had new parts. They originally sold this truck to the buyer and the buyer came into them and traded it in on a different truck.

They noticed the front axle, both front air bags, radiator and CAC were new and also a section of the hood was new.

 

So, just for comparison I did a Carfax on the truck I tried to purchase and the accident DID come up. But that was about the only positive. The info provided from Carfax lacks a LOT of the details you get from Rig Dig. Carfax did not provide:

-Title History, which allows you to see which carriers own or previously owned the truck

-Significant History, which allows you to see what kinds of inspections the truck has been through with the DOT

 

These places can only report on actions that were reported by reputable shops who take the time .... which is virtually zero. Title searches may be more accurate

 

I never used either of these services, I rely on an actual mechanic looking at the truck to tell me what he sees and until I do my due diligence, I never make an offer on a truck.

 

Mechanic isn't going to be able to tell a truck was in a rollover and I've been told once a truck is rolled over with the engine running, there is a good chance that engine will never be right again.

If you have to fly 1500 miles to actually see the truck then it's best to have all the info you can get from home to eliminate the truck before you invest in the trip. Just sucks Rig Dig charges $20 for a report that isn't showing all the pertinent information.

 

Thanks for the report. I used RIG DIG when I bought my truck. The dealer had 10 HEYL trucks so I picked 3 and got the Rig Dig. At that time I believed they were 100% reliable. Lots of info. Now I would have to get a Rig Dig and a CARFAX report to compare the 2. I still wouldn't buy a truck or a car without these reports.