skills/used-car-investigator/references/safety-and-privacy.md

# Safety, Privacy, and Claim Boundaries

## Purpose boundary

Provide educational research and decision support. Do not present the output as a mechanical inspection, professional appraisal, legal opinion, insurance opinion, title guarantee, warranty, or certification of roadworthiness.

Use one concise limitation statement in a full report or before a decisive recommendation. Do not bury the useful analysis in repetitive disclaimers.

## Data minimization

Use only data needed to evaluate the vehicle. A VIN may be necessary to resolve configuration, recalls, or public history. Seller names, phone numbers, email addresses, precise home addresses, licence plates, faces, and document identifiers normally are not.

- Redact unrelated personal details from screenshots and documents.
- Do not reproduce seller contact information in the report.
- Do not infer protected or sensitive traits about an owner or seller.
- Do not retain or claim to retain user submissions outside the current host workflow.
- Never solicit passwords, one-time codes, payment-card data, government identifiers, or marketplace credentials.

## Third-party services

Use public pages, user-provided material, and authorized access only. Respect site terms and technical controls. Never bypass authentication, paywalls, robots restrictions, rate limits, or geographic controls.

CARFAX, CARFAX Canada, Facebook Marketplace, AutoTrader, Kijiji, eBay Motors, and manufacturer names are third-party marks. Refer to them only to identify a source or listing platform. Never imply sponsorship, endorsement, partnership, or direct access.

## Recommendation language

State what the evidence supports and what remains unknown. Prefer:

- "The available evidence suggests..."
- "Budget approximately... based on current regional estimates."
- "A PPI should specifically test..."
- "No public record was found; this does not establish a clean history."

Avoid:

- "This car is safe."
- "The title is clean."
- "Nothing will go wrong."
- "This repair will cost exactly..."
- "You do not need an inspection."

## Required independent checks

When material to the purchase, recommend an independent pre-purchase inspection, official lien/title/ownership verification, recall check, insurance quote, and confirmation of local registration or inspection requirements. Keep these checks specific to the candidate and jurisdiction.