Aegean

While looking to buy a new to me used car, I have checked several CARFAX and AUTOCHECK reports in addition to VIN searches online. What is your experience with these two reports?

Unfortunately, I have checked cars that one report shows a one owner, no accident car while the other shows serious accidents with frame damage reported in auctions or even I found one with Salvage title while the other shows no accidents or damage.

I am checking reports before I even bother to go and physically see the vehicle. In addition to these reports, I am using a paint thickness detector, check for any sign of damage like water, hail, panel alignment etc. and test drive it for long time. I have performed a lot of DIY work on my cars but now, I am even thinking of paying for a pre-purchase report which I never did in the past.

These reports are helpful but sometimes they don’t catch everything in the history of a car. Also, one report is not enough.

Stroock639

they're a nice place to start, but from my experience at the toyota dealership years ago they more than anything just indicate how easy the car will be to sell again later on

i've seen cars which came through that passed with flying colors, yet were clearly beat to hell and gave that sense of looming catastrophe... on the flip side i've seen cars that were like pristine yet had a "not clean" carfax because there was once a minor scuff on the bumper

a test drive and a PPI by a good mechanic that you can trust to give honest feedback will tell MUCH more than any carfax or autocheck

Motorola

Use both but also call the original dealership the vehicle was serviced at from new and ask them if the car was ever brought in for any repairs.

wasjr

It seems these days a Carfax is more accurate with service records than with accidents. A few years ago I sold a Honda Element my son drove. He had been in two accidents. One, getting minor damage from being the third vehicle in a five vehicle chain accident at an interstate exit. And a significant accident with major body damage to the side and rear. I thought the car would be totaled, but with the way Hondas hold their value, it was repaired.
Being transparent, I provided the buyer invoices from both repairs to show no issues with the frame and power train. The buyer pulled a CarFax and the major accident, even though occurring nearly a year earlier was not shown. The guy was so impressed with my honesty he gave me $100 more than our agreed price and bought my lunch when he came to pick up the car.

Lexmex

Actually with my 99 RX300, Autocheck noticed an accident and Carfax did not have it listed. Either way, I still bought the vehicle back in Jan 2002 and kept it for almost 18 years.

Margate330

I always thought Carfax was all that was needed.

However, I looked at a car a few years ago and ran a Carfax and everything looked good, too good.

Looked like the car was freshly painted and something smelled off about the seller and the whole thing.

So I ran an Auto check and found out the car was sold at an auction 3 months earlier with a salvage title with "extensive frame damage".

I was horrified.

Yeah, need them both, Carfax AND Auto check. Lol

Striker223

They are a good starting point, however you need to inspect it in person knowing what you are looking at

SC300Es

I remember when we traded-in our 14 year-old Accord, the hotshot sales manager came out with his detector and told us the hood on ours had been repainted. His other guy pointed at the car from 10ft away and said the Accords with these VINs have been known to have their hoods repainted at the port. My wife and I were OK, not true. Meanwhile, he completely failed to notice that I had replaced the front bumper with a $150 eBay one.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

agree. i use it mainly to weed out if i want to spend my time even driving over and looking at the vehicle in-person after looking online. i see lots that look great on paper but leave a lot to be desired when actually seen in person, so nothing beats an in-person inspection thereafter!