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You can’t trust that Carfax report!
You see Carfax mentioned everywhere. Everyone tells you to use them when shopping for a used car, right? They’re a household name for vehicle history reports, but I have a secret to share.
You know that we just sold our Chevy Malibu a couple weeks ago. Well, back on tax day (April 15) of 2005, we were in Pennsylvania for a wedding. While making a left turn across 2 lanes of traffic (per the bride’s father’s directions), an SUV jumped out of the right lane into the left (which was otherwise clear of traffic) and collided with us. Both vehicles had about $6,000 worth of damage. Ours was confined to the front-left of the vehicle, but there was a small bit of frame repair done.
I posted the car through Cars.com and chose the top option which gave me a “free” Carfax report that I could show to the public. I plugged in the VIN number and out popped the report. I scanned down, knowing it should show something bad. I got down to the damage report section, and here’s what it showed:
Yep, that’s right, No Issues Reported. No “Frame Damage” and no “Accident” was reported. Why? I don’t know. I had the damage repaired by Allstate, and it was significant enough to warrant a report to Carfax, but apparently someone dropped the ball big time. Carfax does note under the “Other Information” heading that “Not all accidents or other issues are reported to CARFAX”, which is their way of saying “Don’t blame us!”.
When I took the car in to various dealers, as well as Carmax, for a trade estimate, they immediately noticed the weld spots, and knew there had been an accident. Only a trained eye would have found them, but they knew what to look for and found it.
Another example of an incorrect Carfax report went the opposite way for me. I had a side-swipe accident in my Acura TL-S years ago. When I took it in to Honda to trade for a new Ridgeline, they informed me the Carfax report stated there was frame damage. I went home and looked at the itemized repair sheet and nothing related to frame repair was listed. However, I still negotiated a trade at $3500 above the diminished value of my Acura for the Ridgeline (at almost invoice price). If I wasn’t dealing with a “luxury vehicle” and specifically with Honda (who makes Acura), then I would have gotten the raw end of the deal.
So the lesson here is this: Always take the used car into a trusted mechanic for inspection before sealing the deal. Oh, and be sure to ask whether the car has been in any accidents. Don’t just trust the Carfax report alone.
So what’s your experience with Carfax? Have you been lied to, or felt cheated after buying a used car that turned out to be a lemon?
UPDATE: Thanks to commenter Super Saver for providing this link to a Consumer Affairs report on Carfax unreliability.
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Clever Dude and his bride started with $113,000 in consumer debt and in just 3 short years, it's gone!
Clever Dude,
Interesting. While some level of errors are expected, it does seem (statistcally) improbable that you would experience two of them.
Here’s an article about other people that have had major Carfax issues.http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/10/carfax_facts.html The article states insurance companies are not one of sources Carfax uses.
Great post. Previously, I would have trusted Carfax much more.
Autocheck is a lot better than CarFax in general. But I think you need to look at your driving habits! 2 accidents? Ouch….
Tyler, that’s 2 accidents in 12 years of driving, and in a very busy area. But yes, I do need to change my habits, but that last accident was not my fault. The lane was clear when I pulled out, but an impatient driver jumped out of the right lane into the left and we collided.
I got stiffed…by the insurance company. Now to be fair, they covered the vehicle’s repairs 100% plus my rental for over a month while it was being fixed at a dealership. But, since it had been in an accident that was not my fault, I felt there should have been additional compensation for the loss of value of the vehicle. When I eventually sell it, I will likely have to accept less because of that accident. It seems like a big factor is missing in what the insurance company pays.
Only a short time ago Carfax settled a class action lawsuit that resulted because it supposedly led consumers to believe it had the lowdown on most cars, when it fact it was revealed that in more than 20 states Carfax received no accident or title reports from police or reporting agencies. Carfax isn’t perfect, but it has changed its practices and is now doing a somewhat better job than before the lawsuit. I believe the company now have a one-year transferable buyback guarantee as well, for instances where a buyer relies on an errant Carfax report to his/her detriment.
Long time reader, first time commenter.
As a former Carfax employee, I can tell you that the only data I would truly trust on the report is the stuff they guarantee – that is, all the DMV-reported data. The accident and repair data they get is just too spotty.
I definitely agree (and Carfax probably would, too) that you should “always take the used car into a trusted mechanic for inspection.”
Keep up the great blog!
The above comment is bang on target. The CARFAX guarantee is a kind of sham and only assurance they give is that “DMV reported” accidents are included in the report – I don’t see how they will mess that up.
Mechanics/Shops don’t have any obligation to report incidents to CARFAX directly – so unless accidents get reported to DMV, they never appear on the report.
Normally, I would shy away from inserting any self-serving links in comments, but you might find this useful – it’s about understanding vehicle history reports (feel free to remove it if it suits your convenience):
http://www.thetaoofmakingmoney.com/2007/07/17/437.html
I sold a car privately recently and the carfax for the vehicle was wrong. It listed over 5 owners for a car 4 years old (there were two). Every change in registration (they were just changes of address) and the trade in to the dealer were all listed as different owners. This cost me a sale because someone pulled the report and thought it was a lemon due to so many owners listed. They wouldn’t allow me to explain.
I don’t think there is much value in the CARFAX reports. The only redeeming thing is they are cheap or included in some purchases. You get what you pay for.
Do not trust Carfax.
I bought a Jaguar which according to the Carfax report was totally clean, no accidents, repairs.
Only after I got the car home did I discover the car had been in a major accident, had a bent frame and had been repainted.
A Carfax report is not worth the paper it’s written on.
Very Interesting as I have used Carfax in the past and assumed they always provided accurate information. If and when I get ready to sell my present 2005 Malibu, I will look into Carfax to see if their report will show the rear end collision my car suffered. If it is not reflected in their report, then that gives me reason to not trust them when purchasing another used car.
I did a carfax report on a car that reported no problems. Then I went to check out the car at a dealership, and the passenger side front window had been destroyed, and the console was pretty much taken out. I don’t understand A) How did all that go past carfax? B) How can a dealership sell that kind of car?
I would not trust Carfax either. I just got into another accident, my 5th with my 2005 Acura TL. Only one of which was my fault. I went on carfax to see what it said about my car because after i get it fixed this last time, I am selling it. It didn’t list a single one of my accidents. I also had a recall that it didn’t list. I am not sure if it was because they weren’t serious accidents, just going on my 5th bumper…
I am trying to get the diminished value out of my last accident.
Carfax is not a complete report. We had our new, fully-loaded Yukon XL stolen in Atlanta in 2006 and when we got it back it was not fully-loaded any more. We filed with our insurance and had the car repaired and after a couple of years went back to our usual dealer to trade it in for a new truck. He knew of the car being stolen and thought it would hurt us in the trade in deal, but when he ran a Carfax report it wasn’t even listed that the car had been stolen or repaired even though there were police reports and it had gone through insurance. I’m sure Carfax can’t be blamed if something is not reported but it doesn’t make me feel secure about using them.
I have worked at a dealership now for close to 2 years. I have seen many cars from both carfax and autocheck that have unreported damage. Where I work, we guarantee no frame damage, flood damage, or shady history. The reports are one piece of that puzzle. The buyers and techs see the car as well. If at any time during appraisal or after we buy the car we find signs of flood, odometer, orframe damage, we auction the car.
I have seen all sorts of things come through. I have seen cars people bought NEW that had frame repairs (transport can damage the frame), I have seen totally rebuilt used cars with undisclosed damage.
I would stress asking the dealer for a written guarantee that there is no flood, frame, odometer damage. Also, this needs to be not just what is on a carfax report but from their inspection. If at all possible, have the car checked out by someone who knows body repairs as well as a mechanic before the sale is finalized. If the company has a return policy this is a lot easier!
The part that bugs me about both the above companies is how they prance around yelling “free vin check” or “free vehicle check” when in reality there isnt anything free about it at all. Liars like that I guess are letting people know about how honest their reports are.
to the op. u said u sold a malibu and show a car fax report for a honda??? duh!!!!!!!
@diane, yet another problem with Carfax apparently.
I concur, I bought a car on eBay because; First, the guy had a perfect ebay score with over 100 transactions. Second, it had a clean Carfax report. When I got it home there was frame damage taht was repaired by a bolt from Home Depot and water rust inside the cabin with sand that made it look like it was sitting in water. (Oh, never fill out an eBay report at the place where you bought it, that’s what he made me do – I don’t know why I didn’t walk)
For whatever reason, some things just aren’t reported, which makes Carfax worthless to me.
Thanks for the article. Good information!
I found your site after doing some research on a Toyota Camry. Carfax offers a “free vin report” when in fact all they REALLY offer is for you to plug in the VIN and get an offer for varying levels of reports.
So I went back to Google and searched for “carfax free report lie” and your site was on the first page.
I agree with you wholeheartedly: take it to a mechanic!!!
Thanks again for the great information.
I’m in the market to buy a used car and I signed up for Carfax. Just to check it out, I entered the VIN of my previous car — a car I had bought new and owned for 10+ years until it was stolen. (Which is why I’m looking to buy a car.)
Of course I know every incident about my previous car. I was disappointed to see how little information Carfax reported. There were only 10 entries in the entire report. Four of them were about my car passing smog checks. One was about the car getting serviced.
Another entry said, “Title issued or updated.” I know the title wasn’t “issued” at that specific date. So the “update” could’ve been that I got a new driver license and changed my address to a PO Box. So an entry like “title issued or updated” can mean something big or, like in this case, nothing at all.
Carfax had nothing about the time my car was rear ended even though I reported it to the DMV. Nothing about the time my parked car was hit and run and I filed a police report and reported it to my insurance company.
Anyway my car was stolen and never recovered. I was paid by my insurance company. But this is how it appears in the Carfax report: Three months after the date of the theft, was the entry, “Title or registration issued to insurance company.”
The last entry was dated the same day and said, “Title issued or updated. Dealer took title of this vehicle while it was in inventory.” In a city that’s seven hours’ drive away from where my car was stolen.
I wonder if the dealer or next car owner can interpret those last two entries for what they really mean.
Carfax sucks, do not use!
Well I don’t know about your experience, but I have one for you. I bought my 2001 integra gs from a honda dealer and after a year when I was washing the car I noticed the front bumper paint was alittle off the bumper paint was brighter than the rest of the car and the pinstrip on the side didn’t line up so I went to carfax and sure enough it said it was in 2 accidents the car rear ended somebody and it too was rear ended. So I checked the rear bumper and sure enough there was a nice size gap that I seemed to over look then I popped the trunk and notcied 3 clips missing, then I noticed the front passenger side underneath the dash it was missing bolts, so now when I go to trade or sell I am going to get screwed so I feel if I would have got a carfax report I would avoid this situation I’m in. So you and everyone else can say don’t trust it don’t use it, well I’m telling you not every single thing on there is wrong. I’m a good example. And if anyone believes carfax is a rip off then you won’t mind buying my car for $7500 because after all right carfax can’t be trusted so there is nothing wrong with my car.
Yep – I ran a Carfax check on my ex-girlfriend’s Altima before we sold it- it DEFINITELY had frame damage from a side impact from a bus full of prisoners. $7,500 repair. Carfax gave us a clean bill.
For all you people that say Carfax is not good it is because you don’t understand that it takes a while before all the information on the car becomes discovered.
Carfax even tells you that!!!! you have to wait about a month or 2 before you can get enough information on the car you are trying to buy or sell you will ALWAYS HAVE A FREE CARFAX REPORT when you just turned it in it is only a matter of time before it catches up to you.
@Brent, the accidents I spoke of occurred YEARS before I ran the Carfax reports. How do you explain that? If a car was just in an accident, fixed up and now sitting on a dealer’s lot, I can’t expect the dealer to wait years before I’m comfortable to buy the car. Carfax is a sham because they promise you full disclosure when they just can’t produce it.
just wondering………………..IS there any way to get a REAL DMV report(s), or insurance report(s) on a vehicle? lemme know please
I was also a victim of this – on the buying end! My car had been in not one, but TWO accidents! I bought it used with less than 5k miles on it and looked at a carfax and no information revealed it had been in an accident – let alone two.
Use AutoCheck instead, they don’t miss it and it’s what most car dealers look at.
Just traded my 05 BMW Z4 for another one. I traded it at the dealership where they completed the repairs as I was hit by a speeding SUV, which pushed in the front wheel, crunched the hood, damaged the door, etc. By sheer chance I saw the person who purchased and picked up my car. Then I went on CARFAX and ordered copies for every vehicle I have ever owned. Where the 05 BMW Z4 was concerned, showed change of title, but no collision. This is the second incident with BMW dealerships when they sell you wrecked vehicles!!!!
Too bad CARFAX isn’t forced to check the police records and report collisions that way because the dealerships sure know how to get around it.
CARFAX makes you think that they are your answer to making sure you get a car that has not had major problems. BEWARE, CARFAX is only accurate on about 50% of vehicles it lists and that is why they absolve themselves of any liability or blame for missing or inaccurate information. DO NOT TRUST CARFAX ALONE!