What a Carfax does not tell
When selling a used vehicle, most dealers will automatically supply the new owner with aCARFAXthat details the history of the vehicle. If it is not offered, do not be afraid to ask for this document, as it is unlawful to withhold it.
The purpose and intent of a CARFAX to accompany a used vehicle is twofold; it establishes legal title and registration of the vehicle (ensuring that you are not buying a stolen vehicle) and it describes the history of the vehicle. In this history, among other things, is depicted and described in detail any accidents that the vehicle was involved in, and what repairs were made to the vehicle.
The days of "Buyer Beware" and "Sold As Is" have been virtually eliminated for licensed, bonded and insured car dealers through the implementation of CARFAX, andlimited warrantiesare available at most dealerships who sell used vehicles. If a limited warranty is not available at the dealership, find another dealership.
As a consumer, the CARFAX is a great thing, and has effectively ended an era of shoddy car salesmen; however, there is a flaw:
Just as consumers know about the CARFAX, and how it will tell the history of a vehicle, who has owned it, how many times it has been sold, how many collisions it has been involved in, and what repairs were made to the vehicle; the owner knows the same thing, and to an owner who is contemplating selling the vehicle the CARFAX becomes a liability. He can hardly expect to get as much from a vehicle that has been involved in an accident with extensive repairs as he can from a vehicle that is fairly untarnished.
To understand how this works, one must understand how the information that registers on a CARFAX gets there. How do the CARFAX people know the car was in a collision, and had front end damage with repairs? They know it because there was a police report, and an insurance claim. That is where the information is generated from; official paperwork pertaining to the vehicle.
Most people that buy new cars know they will only keep them for two years or less. Imagine this:
Two men are driving through a mall parking lot faster than they should be, meet each other as they are coming around a corner, and have a head on collision with each other at thirty miles an hour. Further image that both of these men are ready to sell these vehicles, and neither want this little misjudgment on their perspective parts be registered on a CARFAX two months later. Now suppose that after talking to each other these two men decide not to call the police, or report it to their insurance companies, but will take care of the damages themselves, shake hands, and go their separate ways not even knowing who the other is.
It happens all the time. Not only that, but accidents where someone comes home and drives the car through the back of the garage, or over the fence and into the swimming pool.
So now how great is that CARFAX? All of these vehicles sustained major damages, but who knows it? Not the police, not the insurance company, and surely not the CARFAX people.
Yes, the CARFAX has changed the way business is transacted in purchasing used cars; unfortunately, it has not changed the way people think about things. When it comes right down to it, everyone is trying to protect their interest. Does that CARFAX tell the entire unvarnished truth about the car you are about to purchase? Maybe. Or maybe not. Who really knows?
