Carfax?

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Elle, Sep 24, 2009.

  1. Elle

    Iowna Uass Guest

    Up here in Canada, we have a show called Marketplace.
    They did a story on Carfax and showed how inadequate it is.

    I concur with the other posters that suggest a physical inspection is the
    only way to go.
     
    Iowna Uass, Sep 25, 2009
    #21
  2. Elle

    AZ Nomad Guest

    Both are the way to go. Learning wether a car was used as a rental
    car or totaled in an accident can be invaluable information.
     
    AZ Nomad, Sep 25, 2009
    #22
  3. Elle

    AZ Nomad Guest

    Both are the way to go. Learning wether a car was used as a rental
    car or totaled in an accident can be invaluable information.
     
    AZ Nomad, Sep 25, 2009
    #23
  4. Elle

    jim beam Guest

    nope. rental cars can be abused, or they can be well maintained.
    "totaled" can be physically utterly trivial depending on what the
    insurance company deemed value to be at the time. relying on anything
    other than physical inspection is an exercise in self-deception and
    gullibility to advertising..
     
    jim beam, Sep 25, 2009
    #24
  5. Elle

    jim beam Guest

    nope. rental cars can be abused, or they can be well maintained.
    "totaled" can be physically utterly trivial depending on what the
    insurance company deemed value to be at the time. relying on anything
    other than physical inspection is an exercise in self-deception and
    gullibility to advertising..
     
    jim beam, Sep 25, 2009
    #25
  6. Elle

    AZ Nomad Guest

    It is still useful information. Would you want a car that passed
    inspection with a glowing report that had been totaled previously?

    I do both.
     
    AZ Nomad, Sep 26, 2009
    #26
  7. Elle

    AZ Nomad Guest

    It is still useful information. Would you want a car that passed
    inspection with a glowing report that had been totaled previously?

    I do both.
     
    AZ Nomad, Sep 26, 2009
    #27
  8. Elle

    E. Meyer Guest

    Depends on the price & physical condition of the car. I have owned cars
    that were previously declared totalled & gotten many years & many miles of
    good service out of them. But then, I don't even trust paying a mechanic to
    do a mechanical inspection before I buy a car. I do it myself. If there is
    anything seriously wrong with a car, its usually pretty obvious once you
    start looking closely at it.
     
    E. Meyer, Sep 26, 2009
    #28
  9. Elle

    E. Meyer Guest

    Depends on the price & physical condition of the car. I have owned cars
    that were previously declared totalled & gotten many years & many miles of
    good service out of them. But then, I don't even trust paying a mechanic to
    do a mechanical inspection before I buy a car. I do it myself. If there is
    anything seriously wrong with a car, its usually pretty obvious once you
    start looking closely at it.
     
    E. Meyer, Sep 26, 2009
    #29
  10. Elle

    Elle Guest

    I agree with robb, Leftie and you. To share experience for the
    archives, about a year ago when I was looking at Craig's List cars,
    the Carfax report showed that about one-third had had odometer
    tampering. Many also had a salvage title. This information was not
    being disclosed by the sellers. Also, a salvage title is important not
    because it is a clue to look for damage, a non-straight frame, etc. A
    salvage title is important because it means the car will not be fully
    insurable for damage to it in the future, regardless of the extent of
    repairs to the car in the past, because some insurance company
    somewhere has already paid out on the car for its full value.
     
    Elle, Sep 26, 2009
    #30
  11. Elle

    Elle Guest

    I agree with robb, Leftie and you. To share experience for the
    archives, about a year ago when I was looking at Craig's List cars,
    the Carfax report showed that about one-third had had odometer
    tampering. Many also had a salvage title. This information was not
    being disclosed by the sellers. Also, a salvage title is important not
    because it is a clue to look for damage, a non-straight frame, etc. A
    salvage title is important because it means the car will not be fully
    insurable for damage to it in the future, regardless of the extent of
    repairs to the car in the past, because some insurance company
    somewhere has already paid out on the car for its full value.
     
    Elle, Sep 26, 2009
    #31
  12. Elle

    E. Meyer Guest

    I agree it won't be fully insurable. If you are going to buy a salvage car,
    its not really a viable idea unless its priced such that you would never
    consider putting collision coverage on it. You shouldn't need a salvage
    title to tell you to look for damage though. That's part of your
    inspection, CarFax or not. My feeling is if somebody wants to give me the
    Carfax free to look at, I'll look, but its not on my list of things I would
    spend money on.

    I also agree with you as far as what you find on craigslist & in the local
    paper car section. The last couple of times I looked at cars that way, all
    I found was sleazy guys set up in vacant apartments with cars that appeared
    to have been used as outhouses, essentially unlicensed used car lots. The
    only places I've seen consistently nice used cars around here (Dallas) the
    past several years has been in new car dealers' used car lots & even then it
    is still caveat emptor at a lot of them.
     
    E. Meyer, Sep 26, 2009
    #32
  13. Elle

    E. Meyer Guest

    I agree it won't be fully insurable. If you are going to buy a salvage car,
    its not really a viable idea unless its priced such that you would never
    consider putting collision coverage on it. You shouldn't need a salvage
    title to tell you to look for damage though. That's part of your
    inspection, CarFax or not. My feeling is if somebody wants to give me the
    Carfax free to look at, I'll look, but its not on my list of things I would
    spend money on.

    I also agree with you as far as what you find on craigslist & in the local
    paper car section. The last couple of times I looked at cars that way, all
    I found was sleazy guys set up in vacant apartments with cars that appeared
    to have been used as outhouses, essentially unlicensed used car lots. The
    only places I've seen consistently nice used cars around here (Dallas) the
    past several years has been in new car dealers' used car lots & even then it
    is still caveat emptor at a lot of them.
     
    E. Meyer, Sep 26, 2009
    #33
  14. Elle

    robb Guest

    I thought the only thing you can trust %100 are ... death and
    taxes ?
     
    robb, Sep 26, 2009
    #34
  15. Elle

    robb Guest

    I thought the only thing you can trust %100 are ... death and
    taxes ?
     
    robb, Sep 26, 2009
    #35
  16. Elle

    Leftie Guest


    Just to counterpoint a bit, a friend just backed out of buying a
    2002 Camry with very low mileage, because Carfax showed an 'odometer
    discrepancy'. It appears now that there was none. Most likely an
    inspection station wrote down the wrong number. So heck, you really
    can't even trust them 100% when they appear to find a problem...
     
    Leftie, Sep 26, 2009
    #36
  17. Elle

    Leftie Guest


    Just to counterpoint a bit, a friend just backed out of buying a
    2002 Camry with very low mileage, because Carfax showed an 'odometer
    discrepancy'. It appears now that there was none. Most likely an
    inspection station wrote down the wrong number. So heck, you really
    can't even trust them 100% when they appear to find a problem...
     
    Leftie, Sep 26, 2009
    #37
  18. Elle

    jim beam Guest

    unless your carfax report states the nature of the damage, you have no
    idea what "totaled" means other than that the insurance company
    considered it "uneconomic to repair". it doesn't mean squat in terms of
    structural integrity. oh, and vehicles are are repaired, but don't have
    any record on carfax, can be chop-shop repairs - i.e. uber dangerous.


    you should only spend you money on the one that matters - physical
    inspection.

    friend had their teenage daughter joyride their new lexus over an
    embankment. the vehicle was inspected, repaired, and given a clean bill
    of health. but it didn't drive right. after getting the brush off from
    the insurance company several times, he submitted a report from an
    independent inspector revealing the problem - irrepairably bucked
    subframe. insurance company wrote off the vehicle and paid for a new one.

    without that insistent and pedantic owner, inspection and subsequent
    write-off, there would have been no carfax, and you could have been
    driving that vehicle right now.
     
    jim beam, Sep 28, 2009
    #38
  19. Elle

    jim beam Guest

    unless your carfax report states the nature of the damage, you have no
    idea what "totaled" means other than that the insurance company
    considered it "uneconomic to repair". it doesn't mean squat in terms of
    structural integrity. oh, and vehicles are are repaired, but don't have
    any record on carfax, can be chop-shop repairs - i.e. uber dangerous.


    you should only spend you money on the one that matters - physical
    inspection.

    friend had their teenage daughter joyride their new lexus over an
    embankment. the vehicle was inspected, repaired, and given a clean bill
    of health. but it didn't drive right. after getting the brush off from
    the insurance company several times, he submitted a report from an
    independent inspector revealing the problem - irrepairably bucked
    subframe. insurance company wrote off the vehicle and paid for a new one.

    without that insistent and pedantic owner, inspection and subsequent
    write-off, there would have been no carfax, and you could have been
    driving that vehicle right now.
     
    jim beam, Sep 28, 2009
    #39
  20. Elle

    jim beam Guest

    paying full coverage insurance on an old vehicle is a fools game.
    premiums outweigh the vehicle worth very quickly - and you lose your
    vehicle in the event of all but the teeniest fender bender. save the
    money and just get third party. then you can make your own decision on
    whether to repair, and pay for it out of your savings.
     
    jim beam, Sep 28, 2009
    #40
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