is it worth getting an auto check or carfax?
- Thread starter ram_man
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If the price is more than $8-10k then it's worth the cost, if the price is less than $5k then just check the condition yourself.
Keep in mind they only flag what has been reported to them. The absence of a flag does not mean it did not happen. Some discrepancies and damages may not have been reported against the VIN.
The presence of a flag means it did happen.
YMMV
The presence of a flag means it did happen.
YMMV
If the car looks good and you have a good feel about the owners, then I say no.
I check for one for any car above $3K. Anything below isn't worth it, unless it comes free from the dealer or something.
I had a van parked legally and it was hit and totaled. It went through insurance and I bought it back from the insurance company for scrap value. Five years later I sold it and the person buying it ran a Carfax which came back clean. Bottom line is they aren't always accurate.
They're worth getting, because they can be had cheap or free sometimes and they can provide some useful info.
But, as noted, don't take them as gospel. There could be things that don't appear on there. You still need to do your due diligence.
But, as noted, don't take them as gospel. There could be things that don't appear on there. You still need to do your due diligence.
Originally Posted By: renegade_987
I check for one for any car above $3K. Anything below isn't worth it, unless it comes free from the dealer or something.
Seriously, $3k? If a $3k car had been in a wreck 5 years ago, what do you do, offer them $2,995.00? Once a car is over 10 years old or is worth less than say $5-6k, accident or not, the car is still worth about the same. If it was obvoiusly was not repaired right and crabwalks or pulls, then don't buy it. I would rather buy a $5k car that was in an accident and fixed right and maintained well after that than a car with a clean carfax that has a checkered maintenance history. Sorry about the run on sentence.
I check for one for any car above $3K. Anything below isn't worth it, unless it comes free from the dealer or something.
Seriously, $3k? If a $3k car had been in a wreck 5 years ago, what do you do, offer them $2,995.00? Once a car is over 10 years old or is worth less than say $5-6k, accident or not, the car is still worth about the same. If it was obvoiusly was not repaired right and crabwalks or pulls, then don't buy it. I would rather buy a $5k car that was in an accident and fixed right and maintained well after that than a car with a clean carfax that has a checkered maintenance history. Sorry about the run on sentence.
Pretty useless as far as I'm concerned. I bought my truck in October, clean carfax. Had an accident a few weeks ago and I'm at around $6,000 in damage. The insurance adjuster pointed out that my right front fender is not original, I didn't catch that before and neither did the carfax. More importantly, carfax doesn't know about the $6,000 in damage I added, and they never will.
On the other hand, I would always expect one for free from any dealer if they want my business. Also my credit union where I got my loan did free carfaxes on all the trucks I looked at.
On the other hand, I would always expect one for free from any dealer if they want my business. Also my credit union where I got my loan did free carfaxes on all the trucks I looked at.
You can learn something useful via Carfax sometimes. Other times it's all but completely empty, useless data.
EXAMPLE 1: A friend had a 1999 Honda Accord which had on its Carfax only of state DMV registrations. The service department never logged her religious maintenance of the car.
EXAMPLE 2: My sister bought a 1988 Cherokee which had its grille, nothing more, replaced. This constituted totaling the car. That was simply overstated.
Carfax used to provide a month of lookups for their fee. Last time I looked, they gave you only 5 lookups per payment. I don't know what the fees were/are or if they offer various plans. Kira
EXAMPLE 1: A friend had a 1999 Honda Accord which had on its Carfax only of state DMV registrations. The service department never logged her religious maintenance of the car.
EXAMPLE 2: My sister bought a 1988 Cherokee which had its grille, nothing more, replaced. This constituted totaling the car. That was simply overstated.
Carfax used to provide a month of lookups for their fee. Last time I looked, they gave you only 5 lookups per payment. I don't know what the fees were/are or if they offer various plans. Kira
I found out that my camry had $2,000 worth of damage from a accident when I switched insurance companies. The auto check I received from the dealer did not show an accident.
Sis bought a Subaru that was sold new in Boulder, CO... was imported into Canada and was up there a while, came back into the states and was somewhere (that I can't recall) for a while, and then found its way to Chicago, all with the same owner who bought it new. So it was a one owner car that had been with an owner who had lived in different places.
If nothing else, the CarFax was interesting documentation (the dealer provided one for free). It really wasn't necessary, since the body of the car really didn't hold any secrets, outside of a hood repaint, and all of the repair receipts were in the glove box.
I will go out of my way to get one if something doesn't seem right about the vehicle, otherwise, I won't bother.
If nothing else, the CarFax was interesting documentation (the dealer provided one for free). It really wasn't necessary, since the body of the car really didn't hold any secrets, outside of a hood repaint, and all of the repair receipts were in the glove box.
I will go out of my way to get one if something doesn't seem right about the vehicle, otherwise, I won't bother.
A lot of dealers have them available for free when you're just browsing the cars online.
I used the unlimited VIN access years back when buying and it worked out. I see the pricing structure has changed since.
If I wasn't sure about a car, I would buy the CarFax.
I used the unlimited VIN access years back when buying and it worked out. I see the pricing structure has changed since.
If I wasn't sure about a car, I would buy the CarFax.
I know I had a 1993 Subaru justy that was junk when I bought it for 350 dollars and checked carfax and it had clean history, this was in 08 or so and then just checked it again the other day to see if anybody had done with it at junk yard and just was posted as of 2013 it was a total loss 3 years before I bought it so carfax really can be slow with there updates. That explains why it was not very good and such a piece of junk.
If its free, I wouldn't pay for one they miss a lot of things.
Originally Posted By: Sawdusted
Keep in mind they only flag what has been reported to them. The absence of a flag does not mean it did not happen. Some discrepancies and damages may not have been reported against the VIN.
The presence of a flag means it did happen.
Correct. My vehicle was reported to Carfax as "No Accident". Guess what? It was in an accident before I purchased it.
Some people refuse to buy former "fleet" vehicles. A high number of owners in a relatively short period may indicate a lemon. I'd never buy a flood vehicle. I'd also never buy a salvage vehicle, but I know a guy that actively seeks them out as he is a mechanic and body man and can fix most problems cheaply and come out with a nice vehicle for much less $$$.
Keep in mind they only flag what has been reported to them. The absence of a flag does not mean it did not happen. Some discrepancies and damages may not have been reported against the VIN.
The presence of a flag means it did happen.
Correct. My vehicle was reported to Carfax as "No Accident". Guess what? It was in an accident before I purchased it.
Some people refuse to buy former "fleet" vehicles. A high number of owners in a relatively short period may indicate a lemon. I'd never buy a flood vehicle. I'd also never buy a salvage vehicle, but I know a guy that actively seeks them out as he is a mechanic and body man and can fix most problems cheaply and come out with a nice vehicle for much less $$$.
Originally Posted By: Sawdusted
Keep in mind they only flag what has been reported to them. The absence of a flag does not mean it did not happen. Some discrepancies and damages may not have been reported against the VIN.
The presence of a flag means it did happen.
YMMV
THIS...and...there can be discrepancies IN the report....Kitacamry was reported to have been hit on the LEFT side when in fact it was on the right side...one reason to refer to sides as driver's/passenger's rather than as left/right...
Keep in mind they only flag what has been reported to them. The absence of a flag does not mean it did not happen. Some discrepancies and damages may not have been reported against the VIN.
The presence of a flag means it did happen.
YMMV
THIS...and...there can be discrepancies IN the report....Kitacamry was reported to have been hit on the LEFT side when in fact it was on the right side...one reason to refer to sides as driver's/passenger's rather than as left/right...
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I use add123.com. Auto Data Direct. Compared it with a few carfax's a few times and always got the exact same info. Only costs 4.95
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