So how many of you have used Carfax? I tell you not to, and its a good way to take your money. Why? Because it's not accurate. I personally own 3 cars that have been totaled and all have clean carfaxes. I've seen cars that came totaled from the Insurance company and have a clean carfax. So I'm giving this warning to everyone. Don't believe it if it's clean, I know they gaurantee it, but good luck collecting. This goes for cars with clean titles, make sure you have the car checked over.
What other option is there to find out if a car has had "issues"? I ask because I am looking at used cars right now so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I use it as a starting point, where in, if it passes the Car Fax I'll go look at the vehicle, but still with caution as always. Their "unlimited" is also NOT unlimited, lol . When I was looking for a Land Rover about ten years ago, once I got to 40 they cut me off! WTF! Well like anything, buyer beware. Thanks for bringing it up Way. Cheers Mr. Jim
IMHO, there's no substitute for having the car looked over by a good mechanic that you trust. When I sold my Expedition last year (I was the 2nd owner, bought it from a Dealership used...) I pulled a CarFax to show to potential buyers. It listed the car as a a "Certified One-Owner."
Carfax is only good if the shop actually reports it to Carfax..........lot's of dealers and shops never report the "issues".
I bought my 2003 R50 in 2005 and the Carfax report showed clear. A year later I went to trade it in for a 2004 R53, and the dealer ran a Carfax report and offered my $4,000 less then what he originally offered for the trade in. The report showed my MINI was involved in an accident in 2003, and it didn't show up with Carfax until three months after I purchased the car. So, since then I've replaced the tranny once (knock on wood) and have done other mods. I figure I'll just keep her, since it's not worth selling or trading her in.
Way is correct. If your car has a "dirty" carfax, it's a good starting point. If it's clear, don't give it an absolute free pass. Being in the body business, I see it all the time. People bring in cars with a clear carfax and it's obvious there has been repairs done. I did some checking a few years ago. Apparently, only about 15% of insurance companies report to carfax. State Farm does not report to carfax. They feel any transactions are between them and the customer only. Allstate and Progressive do report to car fax. Not always accurately either. I had a customer call me asking if their car had frame damage. The carfax said it did. The only item repaired that wasn't a bolt on item was the lower tie bar of the radiator support. Allstate mistakenly listed it as frame damage reducing the value of the car. BTW, I do believe carfax pays insurance companies for their info. Seems to be an invasion of privacy to me. Also, if you pay for the repairs yourself, there will not be a carfax listing. We just had a guy pay $3500 to fix his lexus out of pocket. This car will still have a clean carfax. I chuckle everytime I see one of those carfax commercials. Like PT Barnum said, there's a sucker born every minute. And Carfax expects that!
On the flip side of the coin, it penalizes responsible owners and quality shops who do the work right. Yes, frame damage can be fixed and fixed right.