Carfax Reports

[stitch]

What has been your experience with Carfax reports? accurate? not accurate? solid information?

[hillhunter03]

i got one that said the car i was buying was clear but when i got to looking at it the front bumper had been repainted. this is nothing major but carfax is supposed to tell you this. i figure it was done under the table somewhere and not reported since it wasnt a big deal. all carfax is gonna tell you is if the vin number has been registered on any of the things that they look for.

[stitch]

Here is the million dollar question.........dealer says car has 900 miles, Carfax says vehicle was serviced at 27,100 miles this past December. Dealer says Carfax is wrong.........trying to sort it out.....

[Faithful Retrievers]

In my experience they only report accident if police were called or a claim was filed. Could be a keying error but most new cars have engine hour function or tire wear should tell the story. I have found them to be pretty accurate on service info.

[mshunter77]

I had a mechanic tell me one time if you are not sure about mileage in a situation to look at the brake pedal. With only 900 miles there should be no wear on the pedal.

[RobertM]

I've looked at a few vehicles I KNEW were wrecked previously on carfax and nothing showed. That told me just what garbage carfax is.

[stang67]

Brake pedal suggestion is cool. I would also pay alot of attention to the tires. Make sure that the tires ARE the type that come on the vehicle from the factory. As far as Carfax, I can't help much.

[Jelly]

From what I am told, carfax will only tell you if the car has ever had a Flood, Salvage, Theft title before

[blkdout]

Asked the salesman twice to pull a carfax said he did and it was good. A few weeks later it rains and I have a couple inches water in my floorboard. Pull a carfax and sure enough it had a salvage title in Al. Called him up and after a little of this and that I got a check and went elsewhere I would have the dealer show it to you but I have also gotten the previous owners name and called them especially if the car has that few miles on it there may be a reason. Behind them letting it go

[stitch]

The Carfax (which I pulled myself) shows the vehicle originated at a dealer in Florida. The dealer in Florida shows that it was serviced at 27,000 miles or so.......tires / spare all all Goodyear and have "little' wear. Not much wear on brake pedal.....looks like there may have really been a mistake in Carfax.....but I want to be sure. Is there a way a mechanic / dealer can tell the number of hours on an engine? I sure what like to know for certain......

[TrevorH454]

Carfax is only as good as the information provided to it. If it was given information that was incorrect, it will report it incorrectly. If it was not notified of an accident, it will not have record of that accident. It is best used as a tool to tell if a car has a salvaged title or not. That information should always be correct.

[stitch]

...so..........how can I tell whether this car has 900 mile or 27,000 plus? Either way, i want the vehicle.......just trying to figure out what price to pay

[fireplug]

Car fax only picks up on information pertaining to the VIN number. If the car had been wrecked and turned in on insurance it would show up, when the title changes hands it shows up, when the car was serviced at a dealership it normally shows up. If things happen under the radar they won't show up on the report. The dealership that shows the 27k miles may have some info. Their name should be on the report, look them up and give them a call. They should be able to help you.