Car Fax - Does it really give you much info about the vehicle ?

bloodhound said:

The information on Carfax and Autocheck is great to have when there are things listed. But nothing should be inferred from a lack of anything listed. As stated, a lot doesn't get on there.

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That's what I figured which is why I never buy one.

Black said:

It all depends on if the garage does Carfax or not. No requirement anywhere to enter info to Carfax.
Carfax is a helpful tool but certainly should never be an end all for making a purchase

Though it can Certainly can rule things out rather quickly.
A few months back when looking for the wife’s new vehicle.
Local dealer had a 2015 Yukon XL Denali at a decent price. I asked for the Carfax they kept stalling.
I got it else where. Vehicle had damage to the front, driver, and passenger side in one collision, fixed, driven 9 miles, put up for auction. Dealer had it for 6 months since buying at auction.
Not a chance in the world I’d buy it.

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As others said, a lot does not go on there but many shops are listing records.

I wouldn't automatically count out one that had damage reported.

Even a minor fender bender if police report is filled (which is in majority of times) will show up as accident but you don't get any idea of how much.

I will buy one like this no problem IF it lets me get the price down a lot.

Depends on too if you are going to resell a vehicle in a short time like less than 5-7 years.

Many people (really varies by state) are hung up on accidents and even more on salvage title.

I am a mechanic so salvage means nothing to me. I will check it out and see how badly it was damaged. Still, you better be buying for long haul as few will give you decent price for prev salvage.

But one accident...could be completely insignificant, like a bumper cover crack, and save you thousands.

There are people out there that there car is their baby.
I am this way but not on normal and daily driver cars.

If they get a scratch or dent on them, the love is lost and they want a new one.
These people trade them in and the dealer sends to auction.

This is probably what happened with that one.
Got in a minor wreck, front end etc and they traded it in or insurance got it and sold (but unlikely or it would be salvaged) and fixed it and sold at auction.

Would have to check out to see how much left and right side damage was done though.

I have used Carfax and Autocheck for years. Neither is the end all-be all to a vehicles condition but they can provide valuable information about service, number of owners and accidents. For me Carfax has always provided a more thorough history including accidents. Just recently a dealer provided me with an Autocheck report on a used Kia Sorento that I was interested in. I asked for a Carfax and it showed an accident on the right rear. Looking deeper into this area I noticed the VIN label was missing on the right rear door, the RR qtr panel interior clips were loose, overspray and bondo. Thank you Carfax!

Autocheck reports auto auction and dealer transfers more consistently than Carfax.

You can read between the lines on these reports by looking at the dates and corresponding odometer readings. A long period of inactivity can mean the car was in a body shop. Short term ownership can mean someone bought the car then discovered a major problem and turned around and sold it. Though service records may be spotty Carfax often includes the name of the facility and you can contact them directly for a complete service history report.

Purchasing a vehicle is a process of fact gathering: 1) Is the owner legit or dodgy? 2) Is the vehicle in good shape or does it need major repairs? These vehicle reports are integral in the information gathering necessary to make a good used car purchase however the the buyer needs to do their homework to understand larger, systemic system failure trends such as bad transmissions during a certain year period, recalls, etc.

When you get close to making a purchase its critical that you get an evaluation from a trusted mechanic.

A long Gap in a Carfax report may also simply be the owner had it for many years before he sold it. Only recently have more service records been showing up. Five or six years ago you never saw them or at least rarely. The only thing you saw or registrations and title transfers or accident reports.
I have bought cars from people that were 20 years old the only had two or three entries on the Carfax from the original certificate of origin of the original title was made and when it was titled to the first purchaser. Nothing else showed after that because they never got in a wreck and they never took it anywhere for service. A lot of people used to maintain their own cars. Now that trend is going the other way. It's not really that cars are that much harder to work on or to maintain because it's not even like they need spark plugs or wires every 30000 like they used to. It's just that people are too damn lazy to do their own oil changes. We live in an instant gratification Society where everyone runs around acting like they don't have any time to do anything so they justify spending the cost and taking it somewhere.
You can tell I don't support much of this. The same way I despise all the clicklist and order online and go pick up at the store and every one of the food delivery services should never exist!
I absolutely despise the entire concept! All restaurant food is meant to be consumed in the restaurant where it was made! Period!
I will say that for a few people who are elderly, incapacitated, unable to drive Dot. These Services can be convenient but these people got by four decades with other types of services, friends, Neighbors, churches in food pantries taking them stuff or taking them to the store to shop.

And let's simply admit the fact that the vast majority of people that use these services are not without transportation, unable to drive, incapacitated, injured, or too old to do it themselves. They just want the convenience of pushing the button and it showing up. They don't even want to pay with cash when it gets there. They want to push the button to order and the button to pay and it's already paid for! I can't stand imaginary money like that.
That's what I call it. Imaginary money... Kind of like our national deficit that we're never going to pay off or even pay down.

I have one person tell me a while back but they actually spend less money when they use a card I find that hard to believe! I have done multiple ways throughout my life but I can guarantee you that if I use plastic for an entire week or an entire month I will spend 30 to 40% more than I will if I pay cash for everything.
I was nice in the last paragraph saying they wanted convenience. I actually believe they're just too damn lazy. Wanting something to be convenient and easy and being lazy are very similar things.

Remember when some people actually like to shop?
We even had expressions like window shopping because they weren't going to buy anything they just wanted to look at things.
I guess that's the way I am, the way I grew up and the way I will always be. I used to wait for the Sunday paper to get there so I could go through all of the ads and look at everything. Only about twice a year that I actually decided I was going to buy something and saved up and got it. Mostly I just wanted to look at the things.

It's the same way going to the store. I just go there and walk around to enjoy the experience. If I need something I will pick up a few things but even if I need nothing I would still go to the store every 3 to 10 days just so I some would have something to do.

All of these people that act like they're so busy and don't have time. Of. I don't buy it. Everyone has some free time or downtime and they're weak that they do something for their own enjoyment. This is my enjoying it. Some people read books, spend lots of time online, Facebook, playing games on their phone, playing video games etc.
Very few people are really that busy.

TobyU said:

.....We live in an instant gratification Society where everyone runs around acting like they don't have any time to do anything so they justify spending the cost and taking it somewhere
....
I was nice in the last paragraph saying they wanted convenience. I actually believe they're just too damn lazy. Wanting something to be convenient and easy and being lazy are very similar things.
.....

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Now that you're done shouting get off my lawn, when none of that had nothing to do with the subject..let's add some context

While working I bill my time at over $300/hr, it makes good financial sense for me to pay someone to change my oil. If I do it in 15 minutes, I save $20 on materials and give up $75 of billable time, and take on all the liability for any tiny mistake. It is literally a losing equation to change my own oil. And that's before we factor in that I can have my oil changed while actually working (my dealer picks up and drops off my car at the office) and then still have that time to go spend with my family and friends. That's worth the extra $20 over my own labor and material cost to change my oil. Just because you can't think of a better way to spend your time, that doesn't mean no one else's time has value or that their lazy or spoiled or whatever. Maybe the sad reality is you just don't have s**t better to do with your time.

Your inability to manage plastic does not translate to everyone else. There are a ton of financial incentives to using plastic over cash, as long as you can manage your finances. This isn't an opinion it's a proven fact.

If you want to get back to doing everything the most mechanical old-school way possible, get out of your vehicle and get yourself a horse and buggy. People still do it in 2020, it's not an impossibility, just a little inconvenient. You too have bought into convenience, you're just too busy judging everyone else to realize it.

btw...window-shopping is the most entitled stupid crap ever. you think a retail store owner should keep a shop open so people can walk around and look at things like its a museum, because they literally have no intention of buying anything? How about they move all that stuff online where people can browse it at no expense to the business at anytime the curious little looky-lous want? Oh yeah, they already did because that made way more sense. But no! They should spend hundreds/thousands a month in rent so people can walk around for their own entertainment....that makes sense

stop judging everyone and focus on yourself....your post suggests theres still a lot to work on

CARFAX is like a drug screen. There can be false negatives (no drugs or wrecks) but never false positives.

CARFAX has "MyCARFAX" where you can enter your own self-service.

-- Chuck

creef14 said:

Now that you're done shouting get off my lawn, when none of that had nothing to do with the subject..let's add some context

While working I bill my time at over $300/hr, it makes good financial sense for me to pay someone to change my oil. If I do it in 15 minutes, I save $20 on materials and give up $75 of billable time, and take on all the liability for any tiny mistake. It is literally a losing equation to change my own oil. And that's before we factor in that I can have my oil changed while actually working (my dealer picks up and drops off my car at the office) and then still have that time to go spend with my family and friends. That's worth the extra $20 over my own labor and material cost to change my oil. Just because you can't think of a better way to spend your time, that doesn't mean no one else's time has value or that their lazy or spoiled or whatever. Maybe the sad reality is you just don't have s**t better to do with your time.

Your inability to manage plastic does not translate to everyone else. There are a ton of financial incentives to using plastic over cash, as long as you can manage your finances. This isn't an opinion it's a proven fact.

If you want to get back to doing everything the most mechanical old-school way possible, get out of your vehicle and get yourself a horse and buggy. People still do it in 2020, it's not an impossibility, just a little inconvenient. You too have bought into convenience, you're just too busy judging everyone else to realize it.

btw...window-shopping is the most entitled stupid crap ever. you think a retail store owner should keep a shop open so people can walk around and look at things like its a museum, because they literally have no intention of buying anything? How about they move all that stuff online where people can browse it at no expense to the business at anytime the curious little looky-lous want? Oh yeah, they already did because that made way more sense. But no! They should spend hundreds/thousands a month in rent so people can walk around for their own entertainment....that makes sense

stop judging everyone and focus on yourself....your post suggests theres still a lot to work on

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Actually two items in my post had to do with the topic at hand. Two out of five isn't bad!

Shouting would have been in CAPS.

Your post was pretty judgmental yourself... That's ironic. You blast the whole concept of window shopping and then you personally criticized me. I don't give a rat's ass what your opinions are but you're certainly entitled to them...
What I don't entitle you to is to be judgmental or critical of me personally. If you have a difference of opinion of my post you're more than welcome to state that but not infer anything else into it and attack me personally.
I said nothing about you personally in my post but apparently it struck a nerve or seems to be with me calling people lazy or sort of, that didn't do things themselves.

This is exactly what's wrong with social media and people's interactions today. They seem unable
To Simply State their opposing view or opinion without attacking or criticizing the person with the different view or trying to convince them to see it their way.
It is quite okay for me to like red cars and you to like blue cars and we can both state that. We don't need to try to convince each other why are car color is better.


No reason to take it personally or get bent out of shape. Just simply state that some people value their time more than a few dollars. Simple as that.

The argument you proposed is one I've heard many times and I don't buy it. I have never suggested any person take off time from their actual work or making money to do a menial car repair or tasks. What I said, and always say.... is that most everyone has the minutes needed to do it that they could take out of their own free or spare time. As I said in the first post, no one that busy. Almost everyone has an extra 30 or 45 minutes to spare some time in their week and we're not even talking week. We're talking an oil change that only has to occur for most people every three to five months.
Or gosh! Even get up an hour early one day or sleep an hour less to do it. I waste tons of time sleeping longer than the average person.

Notice I haven't said anything derogatory towards you but I'll address your rude comments directed toward me.

I didn't actually say I was unable to manage funds done with plastic I just have learned that my tendency is to spend more money that way. So when I deal with cash I don't really have to worry about managing or tracking. It takes care of itself.

I will say, I think most human nature is if you have lots of money or plenty of extra money you will tend to spend a little more or at least spend more freely. Even with cash if you have a nice surplus of it or carry too much of it with you you tend to spend more.
Some people are very good with credit or debit cards know exactly how much they have spent and keeping their numbers accurate and staying on budget. I find that's more complicated even though I'm a numbers cruncher. Cash spending money is just the KISS method for me and simpler.

On that window shopping again... It's been a marketing tool for people. That's why they put display windows up. They want to attract you to come in and look around because they figure a good number of people are going to buy something.
But you have a lot of your own judging going on in that comment.
I thought we were supposed to stop judging people and work on ourselves, or does that only apply to me and not you?

For the official record, I am completely aware of most all of my character flaws... I'm just okay with them. I actually embrace many of them.

Then I almost forgot about the comment you said about liability for any tiny mistake. This is the exact opposite reason that many people do their own oil changes and work on their own cars! I guess you assume that if there's a problem at a garage you're going to be able to get them to make it right or you can sue them or whatever... This is a major aggravation and sometimes at exercise in futility .
There are huge numbers of people that work on their own Vehicles because they don't trust the garages to do things right. So many boogered up threads on oil plugs and loose oil filters, not to mention them using low-quality generic oil filters and bulk oil.
And that's if they're even smart or careful enough to put the right weight in.

So I'll just leave it at that and say that your thoughts in that area are exactly opposite of what many car buffs and aficionados and car guys do.

Were I to respond with the same attitude and cynicism of your post to me I could certainly say a lot more and differently.

SIn life everyone should do what works best for them or at least what they like best.
Some people have no problem paying for convenience. Are there people are total Cheapskates. Other people are control freaks and untrusting.
All these require different approaches.

I overspend greatly on Heinz Ketchup, Paul Mitchell super clean styling gel, and eating New York strip steaks and prime rib at restaurants.
About the only three things I waste money on. Everything else on cheap cheap cheap!

But when I need a car repair or have an alternator quit charging or a engine misfire... I fix it myself for between 30 and $130 where the vast majority of people take it to a garage it's been somewhere in the $300 range for the alternator and if you listen to the garage they'll get you for a complete tune-up with coils and plugs and it will be over $800.

Good thing you don't own a auto repair shop or we would really get into it because you'd love to criticize my opinions about garages and transmission shops.
Lol


Stil long-winded but much more on topic... our new topic that is.

To each their own. I think CarFax is worth it and always purchase it, it told me various things about my vehicles. Verified no accidents and found out my last truck had many electrical gremlins when it was brand new and was constantly in and out of Ford dealership for the first year. It’s pretty cool what it can tell you.

I most certainly like instant gratification, guilty! Will almost always buy the product if I can get it that day at a brick and mortar store over online because I don’t like waiting. If they have the shoe I want in stock or the part for my boat at West Marine you bet I’m driving there to pick it up now, not waiting for an online order. That is online shoppings achilles heel, nobody likes to wait and often times cannot wait if it’s urgent.

JExpedition07 said:

I most certainly like instant gratification, guilty! Will almost always buy the product if I can get it that day at a brick and mortar store over online because I don’t like waiting. If they have the shoe I want in stock or the part for my boat at West Marine you bet I’m driving there to pick it up now, not waiting for an online order. That is online shoppings achilles heel, nobody likes to wait and often times cannot wait if it’s urgent.

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Actually some people don't mind waiting and it comes with age. I sell on ebay and only do auctions but not "buy it now" so everybody waits but those who buy with "buy now" often pass up the good deals. Waiting is actually a good business model. It's why car lots have their cars for sale for months sometimes, etc.