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I am trying to sell my truck which I bought new 2 years ago. It has never been ticketed, in an accident, repaired for any reason and has not had any WA inspections. I checked with Carfax "free vehicle report" and it said there are 9 records on file. I would think there would be 3: When I bought it and the 2 license renewals. I think this is a Carfax hook to get me to pay $30 to get their report. What else does Carfax report on?
I am trying to sell my truck which I bought new 2 years ago. It has never been ticketed, in an accident, repaired for any reason and has not had any WA inspections. I checked with Carfax "free vehicle report" and it said there are 9 records on file. I would think there would be 3: When I bought it and the 2 license renewals. I think this is a Carfax hook to get me to pay $30 to get their report. What else does Carfax report on?
Thanks
There are probably records from when the vehicle was originally sold, titled, registered, and possibly from when it was serviced (if it was serviced). Reporting has become more detailed, more frequent, and more consistent.
The "Free vehicle report" is completely useless. You might want to give this a shot on the Automotive forum if you want more on-point information, or maybe it can be moved there.
There are probably records from when the vehicle was originally sold, titled, registered, and possibly from when it was serviced (if it was serviced). Reporting has become more detailed, more frequent, and more consistent.
The "Free vehicle report" is completely useless. You might want to give this a shot on the Automotive forum if you want more on-point information, or maybe it can be moved there.
Not that's is perfect, but I would never buy a used car without checking Carfax first.
The insurance companies nation wide have come together to report all damage claims to a particular vehicle, which saves a lot of folks for picking up cars that were totaled or flooded. Most of the major dealerships are reporting their maintenance records and the independent mechanics have been working to include their work into the data base.
When I was recently looking for a used car, I would only consider cars that were being sold with free Carfax, of the three that I liked and took to my mechanic (one anal guy let me tell you) the Carfax while incomplete in terms of details or the extent of damage, was right on the money. The car that I finally settled on, the proverbial, owned by a little old lady who only drove it to Whole Foods and Church was right on and born out by my mechanic's inspection.
It ain't perfect, but it's a long, long way from the shuck and jive you had to go through with used car dealers (point in fact, I got $3,000 taken off the sticker price of one used car on the Carfax report alone).
Carfax records can be helpful but there are lots of things that could be wrong with the car and it doesnt prove the car has never been in a wreck. Let the buyer check it you dont need to unless you arent being honest. Dont trust anyone but yourself or a mechanic YOU know to inspect it for prior body work. I wouldnt pay carfax squat.
Carfax isn't a scam, but its hardly reliable. It only reports information reported by others and does not show things that aren't reported, like if you were in an accident but didn't report it to insurance. I think AutoCheck is slightly more comprehensive, but neither gives a good complete record of the vehicle.
Nine records on your vehicle could be any factory service, state registration and yearly inspections, etc.
According to Carfax, my 2003 F150 v6 engine has two camshafts. I pop the hood and that does not seem to be a SOHC 4.2L v6 sitting there. That was the free report. Of course, there was the '93 Isuzu truck I bought with a fuel injecteed 4 cylinder engine...ooops, that's a carburetor under the hood from the factory.
THAT, mis amigos, is a bad omen before we even touch what is reported in a half prudent manner.
Go pay some place like AutoExam to inspect your perspective buy before you autograph paperwork and you take the mystery out of this.
Carfax is a helpful tool, nothing more. It's not perfect by any means, but I would insist on one for any used car I bought.
Why? Because information is power, and the more you have, the better off you are.
If you are in the market for a used and looking at spending thousands of dollars, wouldn't paying a few bucks for some information that could be potentially very, very useful be worthwhile? I know they won't get everything, but I'm willing to pay to find out if there is something.
Before I sold my Jetta, I bought a Carfax report to see if the accident the car was in (and was reported to insurance) was listed. Nope, just your typical license and registration events. Nice and clean.
Carfax isn't a scam, but its hardly reliable. It only reports information reported by others and does not show things that aren't reported, like if you were in an accident but didn't report it to insurance. I think AutoCheck is slightly more comprehensive, but neither gives a good complete record of the vehicle.
Nine records on your vehicle could be any factory service, state registration and yearly inspections, etc.
I was thinking the same. Someone could have wrapped it around a tree and did the body work themselves, not realizing the frame could be slightly bent, the front end needs more than just an alignment, you get the picture.
They could have picked up a junkyard engine and steam cleaned it, claiming it has a new engine, when in reality that junkyard engine had 150k miles on it....
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