What about all the examples of accidents that never occurred appearing on a report?
What about accidents that showed up years/months later?



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It comes down to HOW the reporting occurs. It does draw it from a database of mechanics, BUT... certain states have system A, and certain states have system B. There isn't a "national database" if you will.

Carfax's entire goal, is to take the information from all of those databases, and assemble it into a concise report, but there are so many "shady" variables that it's difficult at best.

Logically, you have...
1. Consumers that lie (mileage rollbacks, bezel swaps, hiding things (how many people have the CEL disabled on here?) etc.)

2. Mechanics that lie, or don't fully report. (Work being done under the table, they broke something and don't want to disclose it, a consumer avoiding something suggested)

3. Then there's someone at a desk reading the stuff in some fancy shorthand, that may or may not know mechanics, or car jargon, that's trying to interpret it all.

So even IF everyone in that chain is on the up and up, you can see how easily errors could occur.

At BEST, it's similar to a credit report that isn't regulated by the government.

 

Carfax sucks. I got a clean Carfax on a car I bought my wife years ago from a local dealership I trusted. They provided the Carfax documentation when I purchased the car. Which was great until it got run through Autocheck years later when I went to sell the car to Carmax and found Autocheck had a listed accident with verified frame damage which was announced at the auction my "trusted" dealer purchased it from. Carmax inspected the car and found that yup, it had major frame damage. I was screwed by Carfax AND by the dealer I knew personally and trusted.

 

You couldn't have said it any better. Carfax and Autocheck are about as usless as a warm bucket of hampster vomit.

 

Carfax is pretty much useless because if a carfax is clean that doesn't mean that the car really is.

 

If a new title has been issued or updated (ie: you pay off the car, and the name on the title is transferred from your banks name to your full name).......this counts as new ownership in Carfax's software.

I bought my Evo 8 MR brand new......after I paid off the car.....I did a carfax....it showed me as the 2nd owner. My bank was the shown as the 1st owner.



*Also, my carfax does NOT show the accident that I was involved in.
NEVER trust Carfax.....do your own due diligence when buying used.

 

Preach, Somebody can't crash their car dont report it and fix it themselves which means insurance doesnt know. Happens alot and its sad buying a car used is like dating a girl and hoping she didnt suck 1000 ***** and take pipe in everyhole on her body.

 

I got one for you guys.

My brother bought a 2006 Scion TC brand new.

Within a year he hit a puddle with a CAI and hydrolocked the engine. The dealer wanted no part of it, so he had his insurance replace the engine under comprehensive. The Scion Dealer did the engine replacement.

He had the car supercharged by TRD through the dealer. He changed the pulley shortly after and damaged the engine. The dealer repaired it under warranty. Not sure why, but did.

He removed the supercharger and turbo'd the car. The car never ran correctly, so he ripped it all off and went back to N/A. A few months later the motor blew. The dealer showed that the car was modified and abused, and so voided the factory warranty and the seperate new engine warranty. Paid cash to have another engine put in the car.

A few months down the road the car is hit and damaged pretty badly. Insurance company collision report filed. Car repaired by an auto body shop off of progressive's list.

There were a few other things that happened to that car over time, that I just don't remember anymore. It was in and out of dealerships because of throttle control issues and ECU problems. But he had it for 5-6 years, voided the factory warranty, had 3 engines in it within 25k miles and it was hit pretty hard at least once.

The car was then taken to a dealer to use as a trade in. Car fax showed clean and clear. Nothing but registration renewals. They paid top dollar, we were expecting them to not even want the car.

Car fax can only show what is reported. But that means that Toyota, Scion, Progressive Insurance, and whatever body shop don't report things very well. Car Fax isn't worth the paper its printed on.

 

Exact same thing happened to a friend of mine. Also, somehow the car he went to trade in had an additional accident that never occurred added to it's report, and the fender bender that actually occurred (minor cosmetic front end parts) was reported as frame damage. It was a car purchased brand new, so there was no oversight.

 

First time I've ever heard of crapfax working in favor of the consumer, I would have laughed all the way to the bank. That's absolutely incredible.

 

Ugh Carfax got me all messed up as well! I purchased my evo thinking it had no accidents 1 year later it shows it hit a guard rail and air bag deployed .. On the carfax it says car fax began reporting this on " 6-2-13" when accident happen 1 year ago !

 

Cant trust carfax but its better than nothing sometimes.

 

This.

I've looked at a car with a "clean/accident free" carfax report, only to notice a slightly bent frame.