How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer)

   / How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer) #1  
J

Jstpssng

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After several months of looking for a better vehicle I finally decided that I had to do something-after the brakes failed on my Ranger. Trying to find a truck of any size or vintage has been a challenge, and I gave up on Ford after driving 50 miles to the dealer... only to find that contrary to what I had been told an hour earlier, they did not have the style Ranger that I'm looking for on the lot.
Yesterday I drove 170 miles and put a deposit on a slightly used 2018 Colorado, then decided after the fact to run a Carfax which indicated "Damage Report to passenger side in April 2019".
I asked the salesman about it and he said CarFax really isn't that accurate, and geared more toward private sales.
I'm still going through with the deal, I like the truck and have better things to do than drive all over trying to find something to buy. I was just wondering what other's experiences are.
 
   / How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer) #2  
Carfax information may be incomplete, but anything on the report is likely to be accurate.
 
   / How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer) #3  
On my Miata that I bought in 2016 (it's a 2013), I did not run a Carfax. Bought it from a dealer.

Turned out it probably had some sort of work done on the front because there is some overspray when you open the hood, right in front behind the painted front. Obviously, they fixed it well because absolutely no issues other than the usual one of a bolt coming out of the top attachment above the windshield, a common problem with them. Mazda apparently never used any thread locker for those bolts.

Ralph
 
   / How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer) #4  
RickB said:
Carfax information may be incomplete, but anything on the report is likely to be accurate.
Click to expand...

Hopefully it was fairly minor sheet metal damage.
 
   / How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer) #5  
I don't know anything official and, you can call me cynical....

I've always felt the Carfax thing is just a gimmick thought of by thoughtful dealers as a way to give you an "independent" review... maybe it IS independent...maybe it's funded by them, therefore it's got an angle....

I don't know.


I looked at a rental car place recently....I'm considering buying another Camry. Looked at National. I've not yet looked at their pricing compared to others but, every time I've rented one of their cars, it's always been in good condition.
 
   / How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer) #6  
RickB said:
Carfax information may be incomplete, but anything on the report is likely to be accurate.
Click to expand...

This is true. We bought a car years ago, only to later find out it had been totaled. The owner had rebuilt the car, then did not disclose that it had been totaled when he traded it in to a dealer. Insurance was not involved, so it did not show up on the clean CarFax.
We did get our money back. I have never looked at a CarFax the same way since.
 
   / How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer)
  • Thread Starter
#7  
chevy said:
This is true. We bought a car years ago, only to later find out it had been totaled. The owner had rebuilt the car, then did not disclose that it had been totaled when he traded it in to a dealer. Insurance was not involved, so it did not show up on the clean CarFax.
We did get our money back. I have never looked at a CarFax the same way since.
Click to expand...

They do claim they will buy it from you with that kind of oversight. On the truck that I'm looking at it states that "Damage may not be the result of an accident." I'm buying from a GMC dealer so if they state that there has been no damage and it turns out there was, I should have some recourse if it leads to problems.

This new way of buying has me befuddled... I have a basic description of the vehicle but haven't signed a purchase agreement yet. I wrote a check for a down payment yet didn't even get a receipt. It isn't a done deal though until I sign the papers. Unless things have changed since the last time I bought a truck (in this state) I still have 3 days afterward to change my mind.
 
   / How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer) #8  
I had a pickup that I sold never in a wreck but a cop filled out a report and transposed the plate number to mine so when it went to sell it it showed up being in a wreck.....
 
   / How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer) #9  
I have no exact data but figure a Carfax woukd show about half the stuff that actually happens to a vehicle.
 
   / How much weight do you give CarFax when buying a used auto? (from a dealer)
  • Thread Starter
#10  
dodge man said:
I have no exact data but figure a Carfax woukd show about half the stuff that actually happens to a vehicle.
Click to expand...

They're showing something which the dealer (allegedly) is unaware of. Yet their "retail value" is a few hundred over what I'm paying. Although the report shows this, it rally doesn't raise any red flags; heck, my company truck has damage on the same side from when I slid into a woodpile last winter. That's why I'm still going forward with it, yet still considering other opinions.
 
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