Bad Carfax Experience

[Kendrix]

We just bought a used car for my daughter.

So far it seems fine.

 

Before completing the purchase I did invest the 25 bucks to run my own carfax report on it.

Then , to validate that carfax is really a vaild info source, I ran a report on my own car which was involved in a major collision a few years back - $9,000 of damage. This was reported to the New York State DMV ( I remember filling out the very detailed report). In fact the DMV was very involved cause during the accident a guard rail was damaged that we had to pay the DMV for.

Carfax claims to check DMV accident records

 

Botom line - carfax gave my car a clean bill of health. It claimed not to have found any record of even a "moderate" collision.

 

My conclusion. Searching carfax and finding a clean report means little.

Imagine how much money is made on this.

 

I note that the carfax contract basicaly states that access to the database is purchased "as is" with absolutely no guarantee of the quality/validity of the info.

So, exactly what are people paying for????

[Tedster]

Thanks for being a whistleblower! Good job!

[LiveMusic]

Yeah, really, that sux.

[Bbach1]

I have a question Kendrix. When your car had the damage, what were the state laws regarding damage title reporting? You said a few years back? I spent about 8 years as a finance manager in the car business. The laws regarding title reporting are in a constant state of evolving. the damage may or may not cause a "damaged title". Here in ND, the damage has to be a certail percent of the value of the vehicle or it does not reach the title. The other thing, do you still own that vehicle? Because if you have not sold it and transfered title, then Carfax would very unlikely pick it up, even in New York has information on file, it won't hit the actual title until you have a new one made out or do a title transfer. I have used Carfax a lot, and they are usually pretty good. I think you found an exception rather than the rule.

[Kendrix]

Originally posted by cwfno:

I have a question Kendrix. When your car had the damage, what were the state laws regarding damage title reporting? You said a few years back? I spent about 8 years as a finance manager in the car business. The laws regarding title reporting are in a constant state of evolving. the damage may or may not cause a "damaged title". Here in ND, the damage has to be a certail percent of the value of the vehicle or it does not reach the title. The other thing, do you still own that vehicle? Because if you have not sold it and transfered title, then Carfax would very unlikely pick it up, even in New York has information on file, it won't hit the actual title until you have a new one made out or do a title transfer. I have used Carfax a lot, and they are usually pretty good. I think you found an exception rather than the rule.

MY accient was 4 yars ago. There was a detailed form we had to fill out and send to the DMV descibing the accident. Im not sure what a "damaged title" is. The car was not totaled - but it had extensive damage. Carfax reports do distinguish between a salvage title and a car having had moderate to severe damage. Mine cetainly falls into the moderate to severe category. And- Yes I still own that car.

[Bbach1]

Originally posted by Kendrix:

Originally posted by cwfno:

I have a question Kendrix. When your car had the damage, what were the state laws regarding damage title reporting? You said a few years back? I spent about 8 years as a finance manager in the car business. The laws regarding title reporting are in a constant state of evolving. the damage may or may not cause a "damaged title". Here in ND, the damage has to be a certail percent of the value of the vehicle or it does not reach the title. The other thing, do you still own that vehicle? Because if you have not sold it and transfered title, then Carfax would very unlikely pick it up, even in New York has information on file, it won't hit the actual title until you have a new one made out or do a title transfer. I have used Carfax a lot, and they are usually pretty good. I think you found an exception rather than the rule.

MY accient was 4 yars ago. There was a detailed form we had to fill out and send to the DMV descibing the accident. Im not sure what a "damaged title" is. The car was not totaled - but it had extensive damage. Carfax reports do distinguish between a salvage title and a car having had moderate to severe damage. Mine cetainly falls into the moderate to severe category. And- Yes I still own that car.

I think then, that the actual title will not show the damage yet. I'm not 100% sure how New York does their thing, but you would think that the paperwork of the damage would show up in a title search. We used to have a problem here in ND where cars were brought in from more strict states after they had been totalled and dealers were able to get a clear title after repair. New owners would be unaware that they bought a totalled vehicle. The state license division went through some major changes, but I think it still requires a title transfer to get the notation on the title of previous vehicle damage.

[TB-AV]

cwfno,

 

what good is carfax if it doesn't pick up data until after the title transfer.

 

So if Kendrix sells his car and I run a carfax on it. It will show clean. Then when I apply for my title after the sale, it will show the damage? That's sort of counter productive to what people use it for.

 

I actually have a carfax on my car. It showed damage reported in NY and something to the effect of having to report if over $1,000. This damamge was also over 4 years ago.

[Bbach1]

Originally posted by TB-AV:

cwfno,

 

what good is carfax if it doesn't pick up data until after the title transfer.

 

So if Kendrix sells his car and I run a carfax on it. It will show clean. Then when I apply for my title after the sale, it will show the damage? That's sort of counter productive to what people use it for.

 

I actually have a carfax on my car. It showed damage reported in NY and something to the effect of having to report if over $1,000. This damamge was also over 4 years ago.

You're right, that wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. I really don't know TB. All I'm saying is that I've used Carfax for years on a awful lot of car deals and did not have much dissappointment. We traded in over 200 used cars every month and ran a Carfax on each one. Everything else is just conjecture on my part. If NY requires reports on any damage over $1000, and Kendrix's $9000 did not get picked up, I really don't have any answers. My first thought would be that the government office screwed up. Maybe Kendrix could request a title search himself. If Carfax screwed up, they should certainly be notified. I do believe they have some sort of guarantee. In this case, maybe resulting in a fee refund. Here in ND, the title stays clear and will not show any damage for repairs that are under a certain percentage of the vehicle worth at the time of the damage. The exact amount excapes me, but I think it is 60%. I guess it does not matter an awful lot to me what anyone thinks of Carfax. I certainly don't have any personal ties to them. I just threw in some discussion because it seems a bit rash to judge any business based on one incident, especially in light of the thousands of good transactions I've had with them. Probably the lesson to be learned here is an age old lesson. Buyer beware.

[theblue1]

Thanks for the info.

 

I wonder if others have similar or different experiences?