http://www.nbc4.com/consumer/1247740/detail.html

 

carfax isnt reliable

 

Would you care to elaborate on your blanket dismissal of Carfax?

Andrew

 

<<
carfax isnt reliable
>>


i ran a few carfax reports, the ONLY thing carfax gives back accurately is salvage/odometer readings/flood

they DON'T list accidents!!~ my car was had two accidents, neither of which showed up, many other people have had accidents, and carfaxes on their reports don't show up either

it's good for checking out to see if the odometer has been rolled back or if it's junk/rebuilt, but don't use it to check if a car has been in accidents

 

Of course it's not going to list accidents... Carfax shows a state record of title changes (and in some states emsissions tests). It's not going to list any accidents unless title changes hands...

Andrew

 

<<
Of course it's not going to list accidents... Carfax shows a state record of title changes (and in some states emsissions tests). It's not going to list any accidents unless title changes hands...
>>

elaborate on "title changes hands", the car has been in one accident with the previous owner, and one with me, and neither one showed up

 

Were the accidents claimed with the insurance company?

 

yes; i can quote alot more stories like that than mine if you wish


[Modified by vpforeva, 6:29 PM 2/24/2002]

 

Carfax is not accurate, but it's better then nothing. My gf's accord been hit 2 times while she was driving, both time we went through insurance. Repair both times was $1000+. Carfax showed no accident when I checked her car.

Another, I sold a Integra to my friend with 81k miles. Carfax showed the car with 75k miles when the title was transfer from me to him when we checked? I was like WTF??? I went with him to DMV to transfer the title too so I knew he didn't do anything funny.

Just to say, it's not accurate but still better then nothing.....

 

An accident where the title changes hands is a totalled car - the car is retitled to the insurance co as salvage when the insurance company buys it from the owner or bank. In some states they also make a differentiation for flood totalled cars and theft recovery totalled cars. These situations would also result in a change of title as the insurance Co. becomes the owner.

Again, only data recorded by the state DMV will be on it... Not any old accident.

I know a guy with a 5th gen Prelude that was in a horrible accident with it. His car was basically cut in two when he spun it sideways down a hill into a telephone pole. Dispite the horiffic condition of the car, his insurance co refused to total the car. It ended up costing the insurance co like $18,000 total in repairs to rebuild it. He still owns that car to this day. And it still has a perfectly clean title. There is no mention of the accident on the car's record... Because the car was never totaled, the title never changed hands, and the state DMV records that Carfax reports will never have any mention of the incident. You could buy that car and never be the wiser unless you knew what to look for on the car...

My point is, Carfax is great for checking on the background of cars and engines. But it is not going to tell you if the car was in an accident unless it was totalled and the title changed hands.

Andrew