Never Trust CarFax, Here's Why!

Why CarFax is Not Always Accurate. Don't Trust Carfax. Carfax isn't always complete. Many consumers think a Carfax or AutoCheck report reveals everything that could possibly be wrong with a used vehicle - this is simply not true. A CARFAX report is a detailed accounting of a car's history. CARFAX reports on a vehicle's title, mileage, previous ownership, accident reports, and what it might tell you what the vehicle was used for, such as whether it was a personal or commercial vehicle.

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[MelsDiner]

Yup..100% agree. Had a 10yr car confirmed by carfax as having 2 owners, less than 45k mileage with zero accidents. So took a chance. Nothing but money pit. Biggest lesson learn - spend the money to get a pro mechanic look before buying.

[soccerswimfan]

My mom went to a small dealership I think 2009 and they pulled the carfax report on a Volkswagen Passat it was clean. I left her there to get my dad and my godfather who is not only a licensed mechanic but rebuilds cars from the ground up. By the time I got back (15 min), with my dad, she bought the car! we told the guy we were not taking the car now and he could hold on to the deposit. Long story short the car had been in a major front impact accident the headlights were glued on and when you popped the hood it reeked of coolant because the tank that held it was cracked. Us carfax only to figure out how my owners it had I don't trust it for anything else.

[dexxis]

It happens the other way around too. My car got broken into and the airbag was stolen when it was brand new. Now I go to sell it and find out Carfax indicates airbag deployment from a crash that never happened, and resale skydives because of that. The shop that fixed it reported as if the airbag was being replaced because of a crash even though the same report states that there's no damage to any part of the body.

[stevedeleon]

Hey Dave..I was a car accident inspector for a major Dealership here in Arizona back in the 80's thru 90's..I also did inspects for people wanting a vehicle to check for body undercarriage & frame damage..it paid well & I enjoyed saving people the headache of buying a Lemon..

[racerphill]

Took my former Chevy Colorado in to fix major transmission issues three times. Dealer listed it as “serviced” three times with no mention of replacing major components in the transmission. Saw the carfax on it after I traded it in. Showed as nearly a perfect used truck!

[moscty]

Was looking at a used car a few years ago and one side had been repainted. Pin striping on one side but nothing on the passenger side and there was some noticeable over spray on the passenger side. Sales manager was arguing with me that the vehicle was not in an accident...keep saying there is nothing in the car fax.

[thebets]

Great tip - I will continue to use CarFax but I will take it with a grain of salt and still have the car inspected.

[theglassarrow_]

Bro I never call my insurance or report anything. Fixed everything myself or take it to a local shop I trust

[JS-epsv]

In 2013 I bought what I thought was a clean used 2011 Ford Fusion. From a "curb dealer". Everything looked good except it had tail pipes that weren't lined up to the openings on the rear valence. Not a big deal, I thought a former driver backed into a high curb or something. They were off only a little. After a couple of years I noticed that rust was starting in the rear rocker panels. After a careful inspection I concluded that the whole rear clip was replaced. They did a great job except for the tail pipe issue. If this car would have been sold in the south where cars don't rust, no one would have ever known. This curb dealer was slow to provide me with a carfax and it was clean. It was probably a forged one. Anyway, I had a dealer look it up and all they could find is that it was in an accident and was trailered away. Apparently there is a black market operation that avoids all the normal checks.

[mizinoinovermyhead.]

By the same token because a car has been in an accident that carfax reports don’t discount it. If the work was done right the car will still be reliable and good to own. Make sure that your mechanic goes over it thoroughly. There are lots of things carfax does not know. For instance if the car was up north it could be rusted through in places. That’ll never get reported to carfax until it ends up somewhere that that rust causes a problem. So always get a mechanic to look at the car, get it up in the air and check it bottom to top for any potential issues.

[Appalachianventure]

I reported some moderate damage to an Accord I had. Destroyed driver’s side mirror and fender, both had to be replaced through insurance. DID NOT show up on carfax report.

[johnedwards]

I bought a 2010 Prius from Happy Camper. CarFax said it had minor rear end damage, one owner, and showed regular Toyota maintenance in NJ, before being sent to MN and RI. I relied on CarFax and Toyota -- when dealer (and "mechanic") promised to fix everything for free for first month, and at 50% after. [Lemon Law] The car had the options I wanted, and I lived 100 miles away. They managed to do nothing. My trade was nearly identical but with 50K more miles and a great engine, although it had that the Toyota dealer hid. But it ran well.
Problems revealled gradually -- Low mpg (41) and rattling -- an EGR problem -- they insisted on replacing it, but never did. I fixed it with Rislone and Techtron and the avg mpg is 45. The battery recharges from the engine, but gets no benefit from regen.
The engine overheated because mechanic failed to purge the coolant after refill. I had to drive 2k miles with false promises.
Puddles of fresh water on the floor -- obvious clogged A/C condensate drain.
ABS and speed control stopped working. Braking is smooth, but w/o regen.
Lesson -- Reagan said it -- Trust but Verify. He also said the Greed is Good.

[stevepatch]

I had a minor accident with my truck that I just traded in and it went through the insurance company but when I click on the car fax on the dealers website now it doesn’t show the accident

[pamelarichardson]

I came on you tube looking if I should pull one. We bought a NEW VEHICLE Ford Expedition 70, 000 last year with 10 miles on it Yesterday July 19th 2022 it was dropped off to have a ceramic coating put on the guy washed the vehicle called and said he could not do it there was damage and the clear coat is coming off and the paint you can see the quarter panel had pot holes, sanding scratches. I took it back to the dealership its still under warranty that's not the point if we knew that it had damage we would negotiated a better price and or picked a a different one. We are getting an attorney. But, my suggestion to everyone when buying a new vehicle, you want service to pull up that vin and see if there was damage done and it was fixed. I told 2 managers today if I brought that vehicle in you would have dinged me on the trade in value because of the damage.

[ourdgseven]

The reason I came here, is due to the fact that "CarFax" is for the most part a SCAM!
I have 2018 GX460 and they claim (through a mess up on their own part) that my SUV has 91K miles on it, while it actually only has 40K on the odometer - lately my vehicle only sits in the garage, I have two other vehicles on top of it. It's like CarFax automatically attaches 18, 00 miles a year in an assumption of what you might have driven per year! What a sick clown show CO. they are...

[congreet_universa]

Very true. Have seen cars on dealership lots with evidence of abuse. Look at the gas pedal. If totally torn that could be some signs of highway mileage especially on newer cars with high mileage. Also, open the hood and see signs of uneven paint job. That could be evidence of prior accidents. Those are just examples.

[delliott]

I’m the 2nd owner of my car. When the 1st owner registered the car a couple weeks after buying it, the DMV put a “1” in front of the digits, entering 105, 523 making it look like it had been driven over 100, 000 in a couple weeks (humanly impossible). It was smogged some time later at 12, 320 miles. One data point shows up on CARFAX, the other on AutoCheck. Following mileage entries make sense. However, they refuse to fix the bad data.

[Guy_de_Loimbard]

Why would anyone assume Carfax/Autocheck/etc. "will reveal everything that will possibly be wrong with a new vehicle" when even they don't claim to provide anything nearly that comprehensive? What a stupid premise.

[jago]

An experience non-youtube mechanic. Mechanics at dealerships are YouTubers. I would not let a mechanic at a dealership lick the dirt off my tire

[Illphella]

My AUTOCHECK gave me a bad report for a car that seems to be good, i confronted the owner about it and he said it was wrong info. the car it's self is a Mercedes Benz e350 2009 and i have looked at it personally.. looks really clean runs smooth. his title to the car doesn't suggest its a rebuilt title... so which do i trust if AUTOCHECK is telling me it has been in a fender bender b4 but the owner says diffrent?