The Importance of Reading Carfax Reports
Being in the automobile business for more than thirty years, I have seen many gimmicks come and go, we would refer to them as the smoke and mirror method of selling. There was first the appraisal companies such as Kelly Blue Book that would give you the vehicles value and an understanding of the vehicles condition report, they were never able to track the history of a specific car, we were pretty much at the mercy of peoples word. Knowing such critical information such as accidents, floods,recalls, owners, and service records could easily be concealed. That was until CARFAX became available, never buy a car without the CARFAX is the best advise that can be given. A bad CARFAX can justify a discounted price as well as an excellent report can help make an intelligent buying decision. The problem is that not everyone knows how to read a report and can be very confusing to truly understand. Carfax was established in 1986 and according to the companies profile CARFAX receives information from more than 20,000 data sources including every U.S. and Canadian provincial motor vehicle agency plus many auto auctions, fire and police departments, collision repair facilities, fleet management, automobile dealerships,certified repair facilities, rental agencies, and more.
The report will give detail information that include accident reports, previous owners, type of owner such as personal, commercial or a rental company, service records and odometer readings. First on the report is ownership history, the date the vehicle was manufactured and shipped to the original dealer and than the date the vehicle was sold and registered. It will claim the amount of owners from a one owner to multiple owners and what state the car is registered. Next up is the title history and a very important section, this is where CARFAX will offer a Guaranteed no problem, salvage, junk, rebuilt, fire, flood, hail or a lemon title as well as the car has its actual mileage. The additional history section will offer either a green check stating no reported issues, under total loss, structural/frame damage, airbag deployment, odometer rollback, accident/damage, recalls and balance of factory warranty. Accidents are not necessarily a bad thing as many cars are involved with fender benders on a regular basis, it is when there is frame damage or an air bag deployment that concerns me.
CARFAX, will list an advertised section called Hot Listings, that will show like vehicles from local dealers and than comes the detail history which I find very helpful as to the maintenance history of a vehicle such as oil changes, tune ups, brakes, tires and regular maintenance like the timing belt. So remember the next vehicle you purchase to be sure and ask for the CARFAX report and as they say in the commercial, don't make a $8,000 mistake. Also keep in mind that when you have your vehicle oil changes and other maintenance service complete ask for a certified mechanic that will report to CARFAX.
