Comments on: Don’t Trust Carfax

By: Iman

Iman — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:50:38 +0000

Unfortunately Carfax would have to update this and there is no clear process for updating their information.

By: GEM

GEM — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:01:45 +0000

I ran a carfax report on a 2006 toyota camry solara SE coupe
and the report said is clean, and had only a minor accident.
The dealer is asking for $15k on this car wich has only
3000 miles on it. When I asked about the title I found out
that is a salvaged car. How can I report to carfax that thier
report is misleading and the car is salvaged?

By: Bob Ramalho

Bob Ramalho — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:02:05 +0000

I bought a Corvette and found later. when I was selling it, that carfax reported a “possible speedometer rollback”. It turned out that a company that made up window stickers for used cars reported an erroneus mileage number. It took me weeks and weeks of digging to get three former owner transfers before I could prove to carfax that each dealer had signed mileage affadavits from former owners with the matching correct mileages for each transfer. The good news is that Carfax accepted my documents and gave the car a clear title approval. It worked well for me but I lost the sale the first time out and it took some serious digging and a lot of cooperative dealers.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 02:27:54 +0000

CarFax is bogus. I had a 98 4Runner Limited. My younger brother got into an accident while driving it, sustained $8K front end damage. This was in 2000 or so. Last year I was in a market for a new car so I purchased a month of unlimited Carfax lookups. Put in all my family vehicles’ VINs including the 4Runner just for the hell of it and the report on the 4Runner came up clean. No wrecks, no damage no nothing. CarFax is a fraud. They’re service is worthless to the consumer. Just because a vehicle does not show any damages does not mean it’s so. If the company doing the fix does not report it to the DMV, then as far as CarFax is concerned the vehicle is fine. Basically, if CarFax says a vehicle is bad, then it is. If it says the vehicle is fine, then it’s either ok OR bad (how would CarFax know, or care, if it’s not reported). If it’s bad and not reported, then as far as CarFax is concerned the buyer CAN NOT make a claim against their buy back guarantee. The only sure way of knowing if a vehicle is a wrecked/salvaged/repaired is to have an EXPERT inspect the vehicle before making the purchase. $50 to $100 investment for an expert is better than $12,000 for a piece of junk.

By: kamran

kamran — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 00:05:38 +0000

for people who know nothin about cars… carfax might give you satisfaction, but that can be
far from the truth… im a mechanic, being in the business has taught me alot. for e.g if
a person has minimum coverage, their insurance company wouldn’t cover the cost so its useless to
report to them.. what people do is get their salvaged cars rebuilt by body shops so carfax
or dmv never know about it because there is no papertrail… i dropped at engine in a customers car
that had 102xxx miles on it yet the body and odometer had less then 50xxx miles…if that guy
sells the car its gonna go for the price kbb puts on a 50xxx mile car, yet the buyer
unknowingly would be buying an engine with double the milage of the odometer…. i never go for carfax… and you know how carmax says they never sell a car that has been rebuilt or has a reconstructed title,
i took my honda accord 1997 over there and it has a reconstructed title…they offered me
$1200 for the car. IM NOT SAYING ANYTHING… but you decide why would they buy a car that
they claim of not selling at the 1st place.. one last thing… people actually know how to
erase their car history from carfax. i had a russian guy who offered to teach me how to do it for $500.
and be carefull while buying a car… look at the stripes that run from the front fender
,doors, to the back of the car. if they’re a little worn out.. then it would make sense that this car was never
repainted after an accident, but if they look brand spanking new
for reading… (BY THE WAY dont write any replies about my spellings , i know how to spell this is
how i type online, i cut word, make em short, wt ever , im helping you, dont want any critics….)

By: Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 21:05:52 +0000

After turning in my own leased car, I was contacted a couple of days by the dealer who said I must have turned back my mileage. I was so angry because that was not so. He said that is what CARFAX was reporting. After sending all my records of maintenance and repair, the dealer was satisfied, but CARFAX never acknowledged the problem or fixed it. I say take a mechanic with you its worth the extra money!

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 20:32:00 +0000

Let’s face it Carfax is source of false information. Of course what is not reported is not known, but you would expect the right information from a reputable business. i bought a car with a clean carfax and later noticed it had damage. My bad for not looking better. If you’re out to buy a used car, common sense is a must. Carfax is a fale sense of peace of mind. If you want peace of mind, buy a new car or else like me; take a chance and prey you struck gold on a good used car or as others say, take a knowledgeable mechanic with you. Carfax is what it is,another way to rip us hard working people off.

By: Duped Customer

Duped Customer — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 20:05:24 +0000

Carfax is one of the most unreliable sources to find the condition of a vehicle. Nothing beats a good old-fashioned inspection by a mechanic to check the veracity of any claims. I made the biggest mistake of my life by trusting a dealer, Circle BMW in Cenral jersey where they palmed off a salvaged car to me. I had checked the carfax reports but didnt bother to have a third-party mechanic inspect it. And guess what, Circle BMW washed
theirs hands off it and now I am fighting a battle to get my money back. My personal
opinion is “Never trust a car dealer completely, no matter how reputed.”. And as for Carfax,
use it as a guide but dont trust it. If anyone has had similar problems and is fighting their dealers, I would like to hear from you, whether you have had success or not.
Thanks

By: Ken Talbot

Ken Talbot — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 16:45:44 +0000

I purchased a one year old Monte Carlo last year. Carfax clean. The problem is I can’t seem to get the windshield and windows clean. I think I bought a “Katrina Car”
Ken

By: Andy in Md.

Andy in Md. — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 05:41:35 +0000

I was dooped by Carfax when I bought a one year old Corvette on Ebay. The report stated
that this car was accident free. When I received the car it turned out that it was involved
in TWO previous serious accidents and the car had been completely repainted! Their
guarantee is a hoax, they did nothing to help me.