CARFAX is a joke

[Cars-R-Coffins]

I traded in a used truck that was in at minimum 3 wrecks (and all repaired by insurance money) and the CARFAX report came back clear at the dealership. If you are currently looking at buying a '05 lifted Tacoma from a dealership in the near future you'd better contact me first. I'll never trust CARFAX.

[salsashark]

yep... My Ram had a clear carfax when I bought it. A couple of months later, I noticed the over-spray on the bed. It's only as good as the people reporting it.

[Ezzzzy1]

I dont know that its a joke but there is no guarantee that whats (not) on it is true. The top shops take pride in accurately reporting things but since Carfax reports have started to effect car values some of the smaller shops "work" with the customers and dont report.

ALWAYS look at the lines on a car, look for over-spray and orange peel and check the glass all around (usually places dont use OEM).

Edit: They also made it a crime if the shop doing the work does not report it, if they are trying to defraud. They are also starting to get the police and fire departments involved in the process, as in they allow them to report to carfax the day of the accident.

[Wrider]

Back when I was shopping for my Dakota, Carfax came back clean on one I was really interested in. Then I noticed the overspray on the bottom of the hood, as well as the wires hanging down where someone replaced the bumper but not the fog lights.

[Ghosty]

I've never used Carfax to check for accidents, only to check for salvage title, number of owners, geographic history of ownership, possible lease/fleet status on first owner, any "sold at auction" entries, and no suspicious odometer entries.

I hope people aren't using it to check for accidents, or at least that they know that means nothing even if it shows no accidents.

[Slo]

Yeah I love it when salesmen approach me talking carfax this and that, I just tell them I don't even want to hear anything about a carfax.

[asp_125]

If someone was in a wreck and repaired it themselves, or had a buddy who had a friend who had a shop... some of those never get reported on Carfax.

I use Carfax to tell me ownership / title history. I also use it to find out which shop did the report entries. For instance when I was looking at Audis, I found a couple that were serviced by Phil Long, so armed with the VIN I called them and had them send me the full service records so I could tell how the car was maintained and if any red flags showed up. On top of that I paid for a complete pre-purchase inspection.. ~$100 well spent when they find things like $800 ball joint replacements or $1200 lower control arm issues.

[Ghost]

I've never used Carfax to check for accidents, only to check for salvage title, number of owners, geographic history of ownership, possible lease/fleet status on first owner, any "sold at auction" entries, and no suspicious odometer entries.

I hope people aren't using it to check for accidents, or at least that they know that means nothing even if it shows no accidents.

If someone was in a wreck and repaired it themselves, or had a buddy who had a friend who had a shop... some of those never get reported on Carfax.

I use Carfax to tell me ownership / title history. I also use it to find out which shop did the report entries. For instance when I was looking at Audis, I found a couple that were serviced by Phil Long, so armed with the VIN I called them and had them send me the full service records so I could tell how the car was maintained and if any red flags showed up. On top of that I paid for a complete pre-purchase inspection.. ~$100 well spent when they find things like $800 ball joint replacements or $1200 lower control arm issues.

This is all that Carfax is good for--because it relies on things being reported in order to add them to the vehicle history.

Public records are always recorded, so you can track number of owners/registrations and registration types (rental/commercial/private) as well as locations (registered in OH, OK, AL, etc.).

Accidents will show if there was an accompanying report filed, if it was fixed on its own or if the shop didn't record it it'll never show up.

BUT, even some Title issues won't show up. States all have different title laws, and there are ways to "wash" titles by registering vehicles in different states and thus no "salvage" or "theft recovery" or "flood" title will ever show up.

So, treat CarFax as a help, but not as a wholly true or even accurate picture of that car's history.

I know from working at dealerships and from personal experience that Carfax has deemed wrecked cars "clean" and "accident free".

The one thing to remember, if you buy the carfax and it has the buy-back guarantee and you find previous damage then you may qualify for their buy-back if it conforms to all their fine print (good luck with that) and I know at least one person who bought a "clean" CF car, found out it was both damaged and a flood car and got CF to buy it back.

So, if nothing else there's that.

But, yeah, don't trust Carfax, trust your own eyes.

[Ezzzzy1]

For sure trust your own eyes but Carfax is good for the things that get reported as well.

Cars now days that have had frame damage that gets reported often end up selling (especially private party) for thousands less. I read an article from Carfax a while back stating it was an unforeseen side to their reports. Meaning they didnt intend on their reports devaluing because of repairs. Their intent was always title issues.

It would suck to have someone hit you, causing frame damage, and have that depreciate the value of you car by $5k. If something like this happens you need to have the insurance pay that difference but you have to do it in the original settlement.

[vort3xr6]

I have unlimited free CarFax's if anybody wants them.

We have bought cars from people at our dealership. CARFAX shows clean. Then 2 weeks later CARFAX shows 2 accidents. There is a significant time delay in accident reporting.

[Kitten]

I need to find a way to calculate diminished value on my vehicle that is still in the shop (over a month) from getting rear ended. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[vort3xr6]

Look at rough - average retail value of the vehicle. If it was not rear end, it would probably still be in the "clean" range.

[Kitten]

The car is a 2011 and was in brand new condition

[kalibra]

BBB is an even bigger joke.Pay them and you get a good rating.Feel me?

[modette99]

BBB is an even bigger joke.Pay them and you get a good rating.Feel me?

That is true, as a business all you have to do is respond that you settled the disagreement with the customer and they are happy. LOL It is a real joke and BBB means NOTHING. Google reviews tell you more on how a business is.

[modette99]

I need to find a way to calculate diminished value on my vehicle that is still in the shop (over a month) from getting rear ended. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Each state is different.

But in TN my mother had a dealer write a letter saying because of the accident it now was only worth X amount vs X amount if no accident.

It was all part of a bigger accident (she was head on hit by a drunk) and it took 2-3 years to settle with the insurance (she had a lawyer involved)...she finally just took a settlement but it was no way close to what she should of got for all the medical, pain, truck....but that is their trick to wear you out.

But yeah, insurance should pay you the difference of loss of value on the vehicle. For obvious reasons it's no longer worth $20K, but $15K no matter how well it is fixed by insurance.

I should also point out she bought a new vehicle the next week, same truck, same options just a year newer so that she could trade the wrecked truck in to show loss. Not everyone can do that. It HELPS as the lawyer said as then there is little to dispute. But you still need the dealer to give you that letter saying the reason for the low amount is because of a serious accident which devalued the vehicle.

[My back hurts]

For sure trust your own eyes but Carfax is good for the things that get reported as well.

Cars now days that have had frame damage that gets reported often end up selling (especially private party) for thousands less. I read an article from Carfax a while back stating it was an unforeseen side to their reports. Meaning they didnt intend on their reports devaluing because of repairs. Their intent was always title issues.

It would suck to have someone hit you, causing frame damage, and have that depreciate the value of you car by $5k. If something like this happens you need to have the insurance pay that difference but you have to do it in the original settlement.

One of my ex's bought a 02' jetta from this middle eastern guy who owned a body shop. Ive worked on cars my entire life so I test drove it. Drove straight, no noises no leaks. We told him to get the emissions done and then she would buy it. The next day we met him up did the deal blah blah. On the drive home the CEL comes on, and we get home and it smells like gas. So i get a flashlight are start digging around. I found a hole in the gas tank right in the left rear wheel well, that has been JB welded shut. When he did the emissions they pressurized the tank and the JB weld blew. So we thought oh well he we'll get a cheap tank for it. When we took it to the shop to get it done, the mechanic comes and gets me with his really strange look on his face. The frame was completely bent, you could only tell when it was on the rack.. The guy who sold it to us, like I said owned a body shop, fixed all the cosmetic shit a re-sold it. We called up CARFAX (cuz the one we got was clean) and they said there was nothing they could do, even though they have a "guarantee". We ended up sueing this guy and getting him in a lot of trouble. Got every dime back too. We googled his phone number and found 5 or 6 other cars he was selling.