Comments on: You can’t trust that Carfax report!

By: Amjad

Amjad — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 06:36:46 +0000

Hi,
Let me give my experience with CARFAX.
Most of you talking about one or two experiences but I will talking about 500 experiences. Until know I got more than 500 CARFAX reports. CARFAX is depending on 34000 sources, so maybe your car does not pass through these sources. Also, if the reports does not show you an accident then this does not mean there is no accidents. The accident could be happened but may be not reported to the company some how. But if there is an accident, then that means the accident was happened. Moreover, one of great feature in CARFAX is that, CARFAX depending on the information that come from the dealers. I miss this feature in AutoCheck. I found more than car with no accidents reported but th dealer gives information that there is front or rear accident impact.

In accident point of view, I am not trusted CARFAX 100% but I trusted it for other information such as Odemeter, Services, Type of using.
CARFAX for me is just a tool for filtration if I have more than one choice.
All companies who are making history reports advise the buyer to do not depending on the report only. The buyer should check the car by a good mechanic.

Always..Always..Always
If you need to buy a used car, you should depend on all of these:
CARFAX + Mechanic Checking + Dealer History Report

By: Izzard

Izzard — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:41:17 +0000

So, here’s my story.

Back it 2006 I was involved in the “accident” – the bike fell in front of my car. Cops came did a report, there was no damage on the car and it shouldn’t be, because he fell in front of my car, not on my car on hit my car, and I didn’t run him over, and I wasn’t even moving, I was completely stopped on the red light. No law suits, no problems with insurance, no one payed anything. Biker is alive and happy.

Now I’m trying to trade in my car. The dealer ran carfax and dropped the price by $4,000 because “my car was involved in accident”. I was trying to explain, what kind of accident – no luck. Stuck with my car because I refuse to sell it for 4K less.

By: John A

John A — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:49:46 +0000

I traded my Montecarlo SS in a few months ago. Saw it online, looked at the carfax and many of the repairs I had done such as intake manifold gasket, sensors, spedometer, steering bushings, all not displayed on Carfax report. But if you went to the dealer they could see them all.

By: Jeremy Wesley

Jeremy Wesley — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:14:12 +0000

I totally agree, I drove 6 hrs to buy a Honda odyssey that had a clean car fax and Auto checker, but I ( who am not trained) noticed that the Vin number sticker was missing from the left front panel. You could even see the weld marks and the poor pain job where they painted the rubber a bit. Thank God my wife printed out some online check list that mentioned to look for the Vin Stickers or I may have bought it.

My Theory is this, If the vehicle is leased, I think the dealers technically own it and make all decisions on repair. To Protect their interest they do not make insurance claims, if they can avoid it, they repair the vehicle in house for low cost then off load the vehicle to someone who sells a lot of vehicles like this ( like Texas Auto Direct). its just my theory.

By: Sheila

Sheila — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:59:00 +0000

I just bought a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix from a dealership. They provided a clean carfax. 3 months later, my back door won’t open without the front door being open because it is jamming against the front door. I took it to a body shop for repairs only to find out that the skin on the back door had been replaced. When I approached the dealership about it, they “remembered” that it had been backed into on their lot and had been repaired. It apparently has slipped adjustment. I believe they have violated the Deceptive Trade Practices Act by not telling me of the previous damage and giving me a Carfax with no damages being reported. I thought I was doing the right thing by purchasing a Certified Pre-Owned car from a GM dealership and checking the Carfax. I think I will stick to new cars from now on. You can’t trust anyone to be truthful.

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 11:52:51 +0000

Ellen (Comment from Oct 4, 2008) – Thanks, your info was extremely helpful.

Amy – I have absolutely no idea what you’re trying to say in your comment.

As for CarFax AND AutoCheck – I say use them as a GENERAL guideline, and don’t rely on them solely. Like others have said no one is obligated to inform CarFax and if they’re not using insurance info then really it’s worthless. On that note, although I haven’t had car buying experience having to deal with a CarFax report being incorrect, in my ongoing search for a new vehicle I clearly saw just how unreliable those things can be. I found a car that advertised a free AutoCheck report I believe, it WASN’T a CarFax, and it said that it was free of and guaranteed against damage, etc. The photo of the car in the ad showed it was totally busted up in front! Likewise, I’ve seen a CarFax report on a car that claimed to have OVER 600,000 MILES on it! But here is the kicker – according to the CarFax the car had gone from like 75,000 or something, some typical number, to 600,000+ in like a month under the last owner listed. If that person could in theory have driven non-stop day and night every minute that would still have been impossible.

Don’t trust them. Also, be careful if you are going to rely on them at all. I am interested in buying a car and on the window they have stats and I’m almost 100% positive they listed no damage/accidents. When I got home (there’s a small dent in the side of the car) I checked their online ad for the car and the CarFax link for the full report – accident reported.

Be careful and use common sense.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:08:45 +0000

This just happened to me today. I bought a used Honda back in 2007. I checked the carfax then and it came up clear. Just today, I went to go trade it in for a new car and when the dealer pulled the carfax on my car, there was an accident reported. Turns out, there was an accident back in 2005 and it wasn’t reported to carfax until 2008!

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 08:59:28 +0000

To avoid the risk of second-hand car purchase
For consumers who buy used cars, except when used with the new vehicle fuel consumption compared to prone to failure and higher than the new car like the issues, but also to pay attention to the purchase of second-hand car to avoid some of the big risk. Here are some common pitfalls of used car sales:

Car accident repair: the information is not public, the consumer is still difficult to find the vehicle maintenance records and accident files. Buy car accident will greatly increase the possibility of vehicle failure.

By: rc

rc — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:37:54 +0000

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!

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:26:20 +0000

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.