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How much valuable information does it really provide? WOuld you buy/not buy a car based on report from it? We were looking at a car with 2 owners in 2 years-now we dont want car because afraid it was more than just short lease deals. What do you think?
It is good about the stuff the shows up there. There is always the possibility of stuff not showing up. Their disclaimer shows that they only report anything that was reported to them.
I only use it to screen cars. Lets say I am in California and am checking a car out online. If the original title is in Mississippi and then somehow showed up in an auction in CA, I just pass. True, might be a good car, but the unusual move makes me suspicious about some funny business with the title.
I also pass if I see any accident etc.
Now if the car passes the carfax screening, then I check it out as I would for any used car. This only saves me time not to drive all over the place to see a car that has known issues.
It is good about the stuff the shows up there. There is always the possibility of stuff not showing up. Their disclaimer shows that they only report anything that was reported to them.
I only use it to screen cars. Lets say I am in California and am checking a car out online. If the original title is in Mississippi and then somehow showed up in an auction in CA, I just pass. True, might be a good car, but the unusual move makes me suspicious about some funny business with the title.
I also pass if I see any accident etc.
Now if the car passes the carfax screening, then I check it out as I would for any used car. This only saves me time not to drive all over the place to see a car that has known issues.
Which is why it doesn't really work. How many people have a fender bender and drive off? If it slid down a boat ramp into the lake, as long as it started...no report or mechanical work was done. You won't even know it.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by Riverboat Gambler
Which is why it doesn't really work. How many people have a fender bender and drive off? If it slid down a boat ramp into the lake, as long as it started...no report or mechanical work was done. You won't even know it.
That's right, people could have a fairly damaging accident, not report it and either fix themselves or hire a low budget shadetree mechanic and not address bent frame or other issues. If it shows clean I would still pay a trusted mechanic $75-100 to check it out before spending $6,000 or more. If it's a $1000 beater I wouldn't bother with the mechanic but would still look at the carfax.
I'll further add, just because a car was wrecked doesn't make it a bad car. That "wreck" could have been backing into a gas pump and busting out the tail light along with minor damage. If it was t-boned at 60 by a F-250 Super Duty......you might have to worry. U
That's right, people could have a fairly damaging accident, not report it and either fix themselves or hire a low budget shadetree mechanic and not address bent frame or other issues. If it shows clean I would still pay a trusted mechanic $75-100 to check it out before spending $6,000 or more. If it's a $1000 beater I wouldn't bother with the mechanic but would still look at the carfax.
That happens more than most people think. You get out, it's dark, raining, or you are in a hurry. You don't see the damage until you get home the next day. You already let the other guy walk because you didn't see it................THEN!
I usually do a carfax on any car i buy,as its just $20 and it could provide some info on the car, that said i bought a car a few years ago with a clean carfax,less than a year later the car had so many problems i brought it to an automotive consumer protection agency who informed me the car had been totaled at some point in its brief life..
Best thing to do when purchasing a used car is have it checked out by a mechanic of your choice, many larger cities will have a mobile mechanic that will drive to the car and check it out for less than $100.
I buy a car based upon it's current condition and price it accordingly.
The Carfax report isn't worth $20 to me and I wouldn't base any purchase decision upon one.
Case in point: I once bought an 850 BMW that had been "totalled", and had been reported to Carfax by the insurance co. as a total loss. The only thing wrong with the car was that it had been stolen with the key in the ignition by a couple of kids while the owner was inside a c-store buying a pack of smokes. The car needed a thorough detailing and had a thousand miles more on it when the police dept recovered the stolen car. I bought the car for a fraction of it's wholesale price and somebody making a buy decision based upon the Carfax information would have passed on this perfectly good car.
For those of us in the biz for a long time, we didn't have Carfax as a resource and I'm only seeing it to be of perceived value due to their advertising to the public. If I'm dealing with a wholesaler or dealer used car sales manager who is out to misrepresent his merchandise, the Carfax report is of no value or interest to me. Car present condition is everything and the only thing that matters.
PS: Update ... I was listening today to a "car advice radio show" while driving and the "car guys" were trying to advise a caller about the dangers of buying a "flood damaged" car that would have been totalled but brought into another area of the country where such damage is rare to see, so the buyer might be mislead about the damage. They went into great detail about how to spot such a damaged car. But what they totally missed is that the car would have an "S" title in it's trail, which is a tip-off of something in it's history worth investigating, and most importantly ... it would have typical tell-tale signs of water damage if it had been in a flood. Sometimes, you just have to do a pre-buy inspection ... to see what it is you are buying. If you, as a buyer, don't know how to do this properly, then it's best left to a knowledgeable professional who is familiar with the car series. The money to do a proper pre-buy inspection is worth the time/effort/energy before making a deal on a car.
When I have to bring to bring my Jeep to the mechanic, he doesn't charger me tax, and I get no receipt. It would never show on a carfax report.
edit:had something else on the brain. I'm not taking it out.........^^^^^^^
and even if he did issue you a receipt, it's still not a reportable incident on a Carfax report.
But I'd sure question the business ethics and practice of dealing with such a shop. He's got to buy his parts somewhere, and there's a paper trail for those items which are ultimately reflected in his business ledger/journal. He's got to pay for them and show that they were sold or transferred out or destroyed and discarded to properly account for his business activity. The guy who cuts these corners, IMO, is the guy who is going to cut the corners on what he does for you, too .... and all the other aspects of his business operation. Is he licensed (if need be in your area)? Is he insured for loss or damage to your car? Does he have garage keeper's liability insurance? or any other common requirements for a legitimate business operation? from your perspective, everything can be tickety-boo ... until the day comes when a loss or a problem arises. A legitimately operated shop doesn't shy away from their business responsibilities or obligations. Reporting sales and paying sales tax is an essential aspect of a legitimate shop ....
and I get to see more shops in a week than most folks see in a lifetime. I can spot the ones that are really "shady" operations. Wouldn't advise anybody to take their cars to these folk ....
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