Question for the Carfax experts

Don't worry......CARFAX is just one of many sources for performing due diligence and from what you have told me here, this is not a red flag. CARFAX is the least accurate and least reliable of all of the so called "VIN checking" services IMHO anyways as it is based on a voluntary reporting system.....I do 4-5 differently sourced reports when buying a car, before doing a PPI in person.

 

Carfax is a waste of money. I never use it and I've never been caught with a lemon because a strong PPI with a good pair of eyes would pick up a previous collision.

Also about the history, go to the previous owners and give them a hundred bucks to go to the dealership and request their service record from when they owned the car.

 

BTW, just as a matter of interest - how do you get to be an expert on CarFax?

The Video Professor?

PS - I have never seen one that went back far enough on any car prior 1990. I did not even bother on my little 1965 Corvair Turbo.

 

I don't know what Video Professor is but you answered your own question. They are spotty, incomplete, anyone can report anything etc. A waste of time and a twenty dollar bill = Carfax.

 

He's the TV adv guy who looks like the Chief on the old Get Smart show that says "Hi - I'm the guy that GIVES AWAY the free computer learning lessons". "I know you'll be SO SATISFIED with my product that you'll come back and buy more and more of them from me"

You can't watch cable news without seeing him about 6 times a night.

 

One nice thing about CarFax is.......... you can also see (most of the time) where the car has been.

I shy away from cars that have been bounced all around the US of A............ Or the car that is selling
in Floriday (lets say), yet had a history of spending most of its life up-north with salt and all...etc. I
personally would never purchase a car without seeing a CarFax to start with at the very least.

(One final item........... the car that has had too much of a history with car fax, or, basically the car that
seems to get passed around alot for some mysterous reason)


BobR

 

Jeeze, you're right I remember that advert, very annoying and cheap.

 

I once bought a car that was sold in Germany, went to Switzerland, the UK, the States then to Canada, it turned out to be a fine car mechanically. Buying cars from the salt belt and bringing them to a sunny state doesn't make much sense unless the price is greatly reduced. A car can be passed around due to owners who can't afford the car or fall on hard times but still be a desirable find.

Carfax for you seems to be piece of mind, the same way new home owners find piece of mind by changing the locks. It's all in their head. A solid history and detailed inspection are much better indicators of the cars lifespan.

 

CARFAX is the least accurate and least reliable of all of the so called "VIN checking" services IMHO anyways as it is based on a voluntary reporting system..



absolutely....they have more misinformation in their search results than yahoo!!remember that half the stuff read on the web is BS..apply that thinking to carfax results!

 

If someone doesn't tell Carfax what's happening, then... Carfax had no clue... of what's happening.

 

I agree with others that the smartest option is to get a PPI. That's the only way to verify the car's true condition.