Gironamo

Alright so don't bash on me right away but I selected to put this in the ITR forum because 1) this is my home and 2) thought ITR owners would benefit from this more than anyone else.

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Recently I've been looking at buying an S2000 since I don't drive my ITR. After finding one through a mutual friend and the owner said he had an insurance claim because someone backed into him while parking (Had to get the bumper replaced). After searching the web and reading reviews I thought I would give AutoCheck a try since they offer unlimited access for 30 days plus claim they have more resources than CarFax. I ran the report and the insurance claim didn't appear which I thought was odd.

After thinking about it, I thought maybe there was a lag in the system. So I decided to run an AutoCheck report for my other cars which I've had for years. Interesting enough, some of the things that show up on my previous CarFax reports for these cars (I file all my CarFax reports) didn't appear on the new AutoCheck (i.e. Maintenance at a Honda dealership).

So with that, I have almost zero faith in AutoCheck. I've emailed their customer service explaining the differences, why I wasn't happy and requested a refund. Two days later I received a really short response saying "our reports are AS IS".

From my expierence with this product, I'm going to just use CarFax moving forward.

Just curious if anyone else has had this experience?

Keilani

Great post, because i was just about to do this, but clearly looks like im going to get a carfax for my itr, but should i get 1 carfax for 30 or 5 for 44. whats up with that?

Rene1123

you should get 5 for 44 way better

Tyrant_007

iTrader: (1)

I've never used autocheck. I have seen that is what ebay uses on all their listings to check all their cars. They must have gotten a "good deal". lol.

Thanks for the info, I'll stick with carfax.

jdmrockstar

For the most part, only use Carfax if you're Very curious about buying that particular car. The down fall about Carfax is that it will not tell you anything else about the car if any incident is not reported.

Drive 4 fun

I have done this on several cars that I know history on. Many relatively minor accidents are unreported on carfax as well. Makes checking either one not reliable to find all problems.

RGoose18

iTrader: (1)

My experiences w/ autocheck have been good. Of all the cars I have shopped for the info has always lined up w/ carfax. If you buy a car >10k you'd be stupid not to pay for both, as both can miss incidents that the other has picked up

Gironamo

Ya, I'm thinking moving forward I'll just buy a report from both services just to cover my a**.

CWTegRNo.160

Would you honestly report a claim that would cost less than the insurance deducible, so that a dealership/ buyer could see it on a autocheck/carfax to use it against you to buy your car for less? This is what people do so that their insurance will not go up. And ALOT of people find a way to settle outside of the insurance office and off the Autocheck/Carfax report. replacement bumpers, scratches, PDR, and paint touch ups are not really going to show up on a either report unless someone is going to go out of there way to make sure its on there.

To be honest, your best bet will be to get in touch with the previous owner(s) if possible. In addition to the getting both reports. The stealerdealer will not say a damn thing because you are a walking/talking Dollar sign. Previous owners are more likely to tell you anything if you ask. Thats if they know everything that has happened to the vehicle. And then-again there are people that will not tell you because they either don't care to tell or they just do not know.

My question is, How does a Maintenance report get added to the autocheck/carfax? Does the dealership do it? Obviously if i do a repair its not going to the carfax report. Carfax doesn't log everything does it? (i.e every dealership visit) I do not know how that process works.

Drive 4 fun

I also know that not all insurance jobs get on Carfax. I do not know the trigger for that, not just a claim, because they do not always show up. I wonder how police reports and reporting from repair shops play into that. Perhaps someone knows what actually makes a claim show up.

wego5typer#431

I have always been told that accidents will only show up on carfax reports if a police report has been filed.

Gironamo

Thanks for you input guys. Just to give you an update, I've now emailed AutoCheck (3) different times and still haven't received a response.

I'm almost at the point of contacting my credit card company to file a claim. The customer service is unacceptable.

tdbahr

AutoCheck receives notifications that Carfax does not.

When a vehicle is presented at an auction the auction company will notify AutoCheck of any annoucements at the time of sale. If the seller announces that there is frame-damage AutoCheck will be notified but Carfax will NOT be told.

It's also interesting to note that American Honda recently switched to AutoCheck's parent company, Experian, to do all of their recall work. They were with Carfax's parent, Polk. There must have been a reason for the switch.

Gironamo

@ Tdbahr - I understand each are different and one might be better for various reasons. My issue is AutoCheck's customer service practices as a business. After not responding to an email plus never addressing my concern, I'm more discouraged by their business practices.

Also interesting you're a trial user and this is your first post. Do you happen to work for AutoCheck?

daisymax

Another reason is that I believe that the AutoCheck offers more information that the dealer stand point is always a good thing if you try to sell the car. I recommend AutoCheck.

Gironamo

Interesting the two people recommending AutoCheck are trial users. Just saying...