Carbaba - The Game is Up. #Sadreactsonly

[BorniteIdentity]

Looks like the very useful Carbaba have closed down the avenue of enjoyment that let you stick in a number plate, any mileage, and get plenty of nice info like "Last V5/previous owners/Scrapped/last owners" etc.

Whilst most if not all of the info can be garnered from elsewhere, it was really useful as a "one stop shop"

Is there anything else similar?  I tend to use totalcarcheck for MOTs etc...

[bigfella2]

I noticed this yesterday, I was just hoping it was a glitch, what a shame.

[Cheezey]

I liked the mycarcheck app but it isn’t working now and I haven’t found another app I like as much yet. 

[Split_Pin]

I stopped enjoying it when they pulled the feature showing what plates the car had worn in the past. 

[wuvvum]

You'll just have to ask Lightbulbfun to let you play with his special tool.

[BorniteIdentity]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

You'll just have to ask Lightbulbfun to let you play with his special tool.

[Soundwave]

Well, that's annoying. I found it far more reliable for showing ownership changes than the DVLA's sites. Useful if something's been advertised for a long while and you want to check if it actually sold ages ago but the eejit just hasn't taken the ad down yet.

[Lankytim]

I spent hours on that site, I suspect many others did too and as their servers have been swamped with spurious enquiries they've decided to pull the plug.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

20 minutes ago, Lankytim said:

I spent hours on that site, I suspect many others did too and as their servers have been swamped with spurious enquiries they've decided to pull the plug.

Same. I found it on LBF's recommendation and have looked up masses of my old cars, as well as many other cars which I have no intention of buying 😀. 

Darn. 

As mentioned above, I think LBF's special tool is going to be smoking with overuse after we've all asked him to help out. 

[GingerNuttz]

Special tool go brrrrrrr 😂

[Out Run]

2 hours ago, wuvvum said:

You'll just have to ask Lightbulbfun to let you play with his special tool.

I've asker him if he would reveal the "special tool" numerous times. To no avail.

I wouldn't care, but he only got access to it, after asking the same questions as this thread.

[SmokinWaffle]

1 minute ago, Out Run said:

I've asker him if he would reveal the "special tool" numerous times. To no avail.

I wouldn't care, but he only got access to it, after asking the same questions as this thread.

Would also love to know this special tool....

This seems good on a quick google https://www.checkcardetails.co.uk/

Gives tax cost too which is always useful. Last V5 issue date.

I always use Vehicle Smart on my Android phone which gives the V5 issue date, along with other gubbins:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jvelimited.vehiclesmart&hl=en&gl=US

 

[Lankytim]

26 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Same. I found it on LBF's recommendation and have looked up masses of my old cars, as well as many other cars which I have no intention of buying 😀. 

Darn. 

As mentioned above, I think LBF's special tool is going to be smoking with overuse after we've all asked him to help out. 

I also think it was probably taking trade away from legit HPi check services that you'd normally pay for.

[Saabnut]

In @LightBulbFun defence, the "special tool" he has is a commercial product that you too can have. It only costs an initial £150 to get plus there is a charge for every search.

[quicksilver]

I've just sent them an email telling them their site is broken. After all, without notice it's no longer behaving the way it's expected to and has changed for the worse so there's a case for arguing from an ignorant end user POV this can't be a planned change and must be a bug. It'll be interesting to see if/how they respond.

[Out Run]

2 hours ago, Saabnut said:

In @LightBulbFun defence, the "special tool" he has is a commercial product that you too can have. It only costs an initial £150 to get plus there is a charge for every search.

I've said to him that is fine. A name would be appreciated.

[LightBulbFun]

3 hours ago, Out Run said:

I've asker him if he would reveal the "special tool" numerous times. To no avail.

I wouldn't care, but he only got access to it, after asking the same questions as this thread.

 

22 minutes ago, Out Run said:

I've said to him that is fine. A name would be appreciated.

 

I have explained a good few times now why I refuse to share even the name of the tool I use

as above not only is it a commercial tool that most normal people cant even get access to, (you specifically have to request access to it and plead your case)

it also costs quite a bit of money

I dread to think how much Iv thrown at it over the past couple years!

 

but I refuse to share much in the way of details on it, for fear of the damage someone could do with it, someone could easily get enough data from it to really ruin someones day, and I dont want that falling into the wrong hands

and I also fear that someone doing stupid with it, could get it nuked and ruin the day for everyone who does use it

its a very valuable tool for my research into invacars and the such like, hence why I am very protective of it (its the one reliable tool I have found, all others have come and gone or been nerfed in one way or another just like Carbaba in this thread)

 

as for how I got accesses to it, was nothing to do with this forum at all I am not sure where you got that idea, I very kindly got access to other tools that I used in the past via this forum, but not the one I currently use/pay for/am so protective about

 

[mk2_craig]

I've got to be honest, I was enjoying checking out the info on Carbaba right up until it pulled up a Transit as a Ford Cargo (DVLA MoT checker confirming its Transitness) and lost quite a bit of faith in it, without somewhere else to corroborate what it was telling me I didn't know if I could fully trust the outputs.

[quicksilver]

8 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

I've got to be honest, I was enjoying checking out the info on Carbaba right up until it pulled up a Transit as a Ford Cargo (DVLA MoT checker confirming its Transitness) and lost quite a bit of faith in it, without somewhere else to corroborate what it was telling me I didn't know if I could fully trust the outputs.

It seems a lot more accurate than some others but occasionally throws up something weird like the Renault Master 8-wheel tipper I encountered a couple of weeks ago. It's the one and only site I know of that will actually give the model name for trucks and buses where every other just says 'unknown' so that's one reason why its crippling is so galling.

Having seen that the entire vehicle information section has completely disappeared, the obvious conclusion is that it is missing due to a system error retrieving the data as no sensible company would intentionally destroy its own website by removing all the useful information, so this is the argument I'm using with them.

[greengartside]

I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s rather pissed off about this. That was a brilliant website and I lost many hours on there researching consecutive VIN’s and dates of previous owners. What harm was that causing to anyone.
 

I would have even paid for a membership if they’d offered one but they’ve just pulled the plug entirely.

[BorniteIdentity]

14 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

 

 

not only is it a commercial tool that most normal people cant even get access to, (you specifically have to request access to it and plead your case)

it also costs quite a bit of money

 

With the greatest of great respects - and I really mean that - if you can get special dispensation to use it for researching invalid carriages, then I think one or two other people on this forum probably meet their criteria?

As for money?  That's for individuals to make a decision, just like you have.  No?  

How on earth could it really ruin someone's day?  I'm genuinely interested to know.  It won't have registered keeper's addresses on it unless you've literally got a back door into the DVLA database.

I'm really curious.  Maybe it is such an expensive and dangerous tool that only you can be trusted with its wealth of knowledge.  I'd love to know!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

15 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

 

 

I have explained a good few times now why I refuse to share even the name of the tool I use

as above not only is it a commercial tool that most normal people cant even get access to, (you specifically have to request access to it and plead your case)

it also costs quite a bit of money

I dread to think how much Iv thrown at it over the past couple years!

 

but I refuse to share much in the way of details on it, for fear of the damage someone could do with it, someone could easily get enough data from it to really ruin someones day, and I dont want that falling into the wrong hands

and I also fear that someone doing stupid with it, could get it nuked and ruin the day for everyone who does use it

its a very valuable tool for my research into invacars and the such like, hence why I am very protective of it (its the one reliable tool I have found, all others have come and gone or been nerfed in one way or another just like Carbaba in this thread)

 

as for how I got accesses to it, was nothing to do with this forum at all I am not sure where you got that idea, I very kindly got access to other tools that I used in the past via this forum, but not the one I currently use/pay for/am so protective about

 

I think that's a fairly roundabout way of saying "feck off, with the greatest respect"!

[captain_70s]

30 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

With the greatest of great respects - and I really mean that - if you can get special dispensation to use it for researching invalid carriages, then I think one or two other people on this forum probably meet their criteria?

Reading between the lines suspect it's more a case of knowing somebody who knows somebody and acquiring access to the system despite not really supposed to be able to. Thus leaking the system to the wider world could land all involved in the shit.

[Rod/b]

Sounds more like somebody special doesn’t want to share his toys. 

[sierraman]

22 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Looks like the very useful Carbaba have closed down the avenue of enjoyment that let you stick in a number plate, any mileage, and get plenty of nice info like "Last V5/previous owners/Scrapped/last owners" etc.

Whilst most if not all of the info can be garnered from elsewhere, it was really useful as a "one stop shop"

Is there anything else similar?  I tend to use totalcarcheck for MOTs etc...

As Basil Fawlty said ‘Another little avenue of pleasure closed but never mind’

[LightBulbFun]

On 12/03/2021 at 10:39, BorniteIdentity said:

With the greatest of great respects - and I really mean that - if you can get special dispensation to use it for researching invalid carriages, then I think one or two other people on this forum probably meet their criteria?

As for money?  That's for individuals to make a decision, just like you have.  No?  

How on earth could it really ruin someone's day?  I'm genuinely interested to know.  It won't have registered keeper's addresses on it unless you've literally got a back door into the DVLA database.

I'm really curious.  Maybe it is such an expensive and dangerous tool that only you can be trusted with its wealth of knowledge.  I'd love to know!

  

indeed there are a couple members on here who I have shared the tool with because they where doing similar research I was. but its not a tool for the casual user like Carbaba was

if money is not a problem then there are plenty of paid tools out there for casual users that provide the same info as carbaba, but people complain about the loss of carbaba because it was free

this tool I use is not free, so it would not serve those people 

as for some ruining someones day, you can use it to pull enough data to easily apply for the V5c of someone else's car, or of a car you dont actually have/that no longer exists

and I have seen enough people on here and elsewhere make suggestions to wanting to do that for one reason or another to put me off sharing it for those reasons alone

 

its a shame to see such a response to something I do for the forum for free, I see it as my way of paying back, for all the nice things and happiness this forum has brought me and the things people have done for me in it etc

never mind the fact each lookup does cost me money etc, and yet I am seemingly getting chastised for it almost 

 

 

[BorniteIdentity]

1 hour ago, LightBulbFun said:

  

indeed there are a couple members on here who I have shared the tool with because they where doing similar research I was. but its not a tool for the casual user like Carbaba was

if money is not a problem then there are plenty of paid tools out there for casual users that provide the same info as carbaba, but people complain about the loss of carbaba because it was free

this tool I use is not free, so it would not serve those people 

as for some ruining someones day, you can use it to pull enough data to easily apply for the V5c of someone else's car, or of a car you dont actually have/that no longer exists

 and I have seen enough people on here and elsewhere make suggestions to wanting to do that for one reason or another to put me off sharing it for those reasons alone

 

its a shame to see such a response to something I do for the forum for free, I see it as my way of paying back, for all the nice things and happiness this forum has brought me and the things people have done for me in it etc

never mind the fact each lookup does cost me money etc, and yet I am seemingly getting chastised for it almost 

 

 

I’m certainly not chastising you. That was why I was super careful to be respectful with the way I phrased the question, with extra emphasis on respect. 

I was just keen to know your reason for being super protective of it. Yes, you can apply for a V5c - but that just prompts a letter to the current registered keeper. Plus, V5 - as we know - isn’t proof of ownership. 

Again, for extra reassurance, not having a pop. Just curious. 

[LightBulbFun]

29 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I’m certainly not chastising you. That was why I was super careful to be respectful with the way I phrased the question, with extra emphasis on respect. 

I was just keen to know your reason for being super protective of it. Yes, you can apply for a V5c - but that just prompts a letter to the current registered keeper. Plus, V5 - as we know - isn’t proof of ownership. 

Again, for extra reassurance, not having a pop. Just curious. 

 

well as I said in my original comment in this thread

apart from the potential of someone doing something nefarious with it

im also very protective of it, because its the 1 consistently reliable tool I have found and it is very valuable to my research, so I dont want to share it for anything to happen to it

as this very thread demonstrates, pretty much every tool like it that falls into public knowledge , ends up getting nerfed or nuked in someway or another

 

so even its not your intention thats why I feel like im being picked at, because I have already explained in this thread and others as to why I dont want to share it, and im not sure what else I can say, its also other peoples comments not just yours

 

and while I am well aware a V5 is not proof of ownership, you can still do a lot of damage with it, you would not want someone to get ahold of the V5c for one of your cars and issue them a CoD, or rob them of their number plates etc

or use it to clone or ring a car (number plate manufacturers just ask to the V5c they dont ask to see proof of ownership)

so again thats why I am very protective of it

 

it was for example such shenanigans like this back in the day why the DVLC closed the Buff RE60/RF60 logbook to V5 Logbook scheme in 1983, because so many people where abusing it to get valuable registration marks and the such like

from cars they did not own or did not exist

(fun fact tho the Buff logbook to V5 scheme never closed for Northern Ireland vehicles, to this day you can take a NI buff logbook fill out a V62 mail it to a specific address in the DVLA with the Buff logbook and they will issue you a V5 for it  )

[SiC]

Googling commercial DVLA data access isn't hard. Several options appear available, including buying the complete dataset direct from DVLA for £96k p/a. Hence there are only a few companies that do and resale the data on per query. 

Carbaba would have been paying for each search on this data from a provider, everytime someone did a search on a reg. It may only be a couple of pence or less per query, but it soon adds up. No wonder these services close up any loop holes once they start getting "abused" by the general public for purposes not making them money. 

[BorniteIdentity]

1 hour ago, LightBulbFun said:

 

well as I said in my original comment in this thread

apart from the potential of someone doing something nefarious with it

im also very protective of it, because its the 1 consistently reliable tool I have found and it is very valuable to my research, so I dont want to share it for anything to happen to it

as this very thread demonstrates, pretty much every tool like it that falls into public knowledge , ends up getting nerfed or nuked in someway or another

 

so even its not your intention thats why I feel like im being picked at, because I have already explained in this thread and others as to why I dont want to share it, and im not sure what else I can say, its also other peoples comments not just yours

 

and while I am well aware a V5 is not proof of ownership, you can still do a lot of damage with it, you would not want someone to get ahold of the V5c for one of your cars and issue them a CoD, or rob them of their number plates etc

or use it to clone or ring a car (number plate manufacturers just ask to the V5c they dont ask to see proof of ownership)

so again thats why I am very protective of it

 

it was for example such shenanigans like this back in the day why the DVLC closed the Buff RE60/RF60 logbook to V5 Logbook scheme in 1983, because so many people where abusing it to get valuable registration marks and the such like

from cars they did not own or did not exist

(fun fact tho the Buff logbook to V5 scheme never closed for Northern Ireland vehicles, to this day you can take a NI buff logbook fill out a V62 mail it to a specific address in the DVLA with the Buff logbook and they will issue you a V5 for it  )

Fair enough.  Thanks for taking the time to explain it to me.  An explanation was all I hoped for!