$40 for a Carfax?! Is Autocheck as good?

[HardDrive]

Sheesh! $40 for a freaking database query? Anyone suggest a better option?

Looking at another Moostang.

[Dantilla]

In my opinion, Carfax is the greatest example of marketing over substance.

I will look at the actual car, thankyouverymuch, rather than a computer-generated "report" of dubious accuracy.
Plenty of formerly-totaled cars out there with a "clean" Carfax.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Send me $35 and I will tell you anything you want to hear (about the car)

[bbturbo]

Autocheck does not have all the data. Do not waste your money. There are also many cars out there that a visual inspection will now show a wreck, but the carfax will.

[Rick Lee]

Take the VIN and create an eBay listing. It can be done with no fees and includes a free AutoCheck. Copy and save, then delete listing.

Carfax is a joke. $7k worth of accident repair on my E46, all done at the local dealer, never showed up on Carfax. Pedestrian claims I tapped her in parking lot, gets ambulance ride to hospital, and that shows up on Carfax as a reported accident.

[onewhippedpuppy]

You'd be far better off applying that money towards a comprehensive PPI. Carfax is a joke.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Carfax came back clear. I think "clear" meant the dealer who repaired the door and didn't report it did a lousy job shooting the "clear" coat- which is now peeling.

Again- $35 and I will tell you ANYTHING you want to hear about the car.
$135 and I will tell you ANYTHING you want to hear about ANYTHING.

[Nickshu]

Carfax is a joke. I have ordered one on multiple vehicles known to be in an accident that was reported to insurance/repaired by a body shop and nothing shows up on it.

As stated above...marketing over substance.

[Neilk]

You can go here and see if it has a salvage title for free.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

You'd be far better off applying that money towards a comprehensive PPI. Carfax is a joke.

So true.

Was looking at a Yukon for the wife.

Sales guy says it's a nice truck, clean carfax.

Something seemed off about the car.

It was white and there was what appeared to be rust staining the paint from underneath in spots like weld joints.

Ask the guy if the car is from the North.

No, from Oklahoma.

Really? cause there are a lot of things that make it look like it spent time in salt and snow.

Nope, carfax says definitely from Oklahoma.

I take it for a drive and flip down the visor. There is an oil change sticker. The car is due for a service, in Minnesota.

Get back and tell the guy, car is from Minnesota.

Not according to the carfax he says.

I point to the sticker.

He says maybe they were there visiting and got the oil changed.

Really

Walk around the front and it's obvious the car has had work done.

Hood is misaligned, paint on fender is a near perfect match but not exact.

Then I find the overspray.

Tell the guy "it's been hit".

He says the carfax is clean.

"So what? It's been hit, you see this, and that, and this? It's been hit."

Yeah but the report is clean.



Offered him half his asking price just as a FU and left.

[scottmandue]

If you buy from a dealer they almost always will show you a carfax... if you ask...
I'm not an expert but as others have said it seems carfax only reports "what is in the system" and there are A LOT of ways around the system.

[Steve Carlton]

It's useful as a filter to see if it's clean for starters. If it shows something bad, it's almost always correct, and you're done. Sometimes they show all kinds of service history, which can be useful. It's one tool, not the whole toolbox.

[MRM]

I found it useful recently, but it was inadvertent. My wife and I were looking for a new used car for her daily driver. Found one she really liked at a local dealer who has a Carfax subscription and links a copy of the report to the car's on-line listing. We decided what we thought would be a fair price and I was looking at the web listing one last time before making an offer. I clicked on the Carfax report just for fun and realized the car was taken in on trade by that dealer, but that it had been in their inventory for almost a year. The salesman admitted the car had been there forever and they really wanted it gone. I ended up getting it for what the dealer claimed was what they had into the car. It was a very fair price. I would have paid at least $500 more. So sometimes something in the car's history can give you useful information. The salesman said that particular model tended to either get sold immediately or languish on the lot forever. If it sat too long for some reason people would pass it by.

[Joe Bob]

Garbage in Bullcrap out. Wrenches enter reports and if they are wrong they won't remove them. I never will use it.....

[asphaltgambler]

I do use it as in the buying / shopping process. Just like a tool in your box when repairing something, it is just 1 tool of many when making the right choice. Is it overpriced? maybe............but I factor that in as part of the cost of the process. Is it wrong sometimes, of course! but I see more overall value than any thing else currently available.

[HardDrive]

I did end up getting carfax on the car. I don't expect it to replace my eyeballs, but it's nice to have some kind of a history.