(by 7 people)
Vehicle History Reports - how used car buyers check if it's a dream car or a lemon car! A Vehicle History Report can help protect you against buying a lemon car by informing you of major events in the vehicle's history.
I am not a reseller of Carfax reports. You should visit www.carfax.com to purchase a report.
Four Key Facts
•Don't buy a used car without a Carfax Report, a test drive and an inspection!
•The way to get a free Carfax Report is from a dealer. Once they pay for the report, they can share it with potential buyers. Even if they don't offer a report - ask for one!
•Be an educated consumer-know what is and what is not on a Carfax report.
•No vehicle history service has a complete history of a car. Carfax has 20,000 plus data sources.
What's on a Carfax Report
- Most, but NOT ALL, accidents.
- Salvage/Junk titles
- Flood damage
- Odometer readings
- Lemon histories
- State emissions inspection results
Pass/fail inspection status - Damage reports from accidents
- Major repair and maintenance data
- Police-reported accident detail
- Open Recalls
- City/State of owner
- Original vehicle use (rental, taxi, lease, etc.)
- Lien information
- Maintenance/service data
- Vehicle registrations
- Junk Titles
- Stolen Vehicles
- Odometer Rollbacks
What's not on a Carfax Report
- Names of prior or current owners (that's against the law)
- Every accident (hey if an accident occurs in the woods and nobody reports it, did an accident really happen). Too many people believe Carfax has ALL accidents - that is just impossible. That's why you also have the mechanic's inspection done. This is what it says on each report "A CARFAX Vehicle History Report is based only on information supplied to CARFAX. Other information about this vehicle, including problems, may not have been reported to CARFAX. Use this report as one important tool, along with a vehicle inspection and test drive, to make a better decision about your next used car."
- Names of the selling dealers
- Names of the service stations
- Names of the inspection companies
FREE vehicle history report?
If you are looking for the history of a specific vehicle - than there are no free sites. Nobody is going to collect all that data - 20,000 sources I saw in a press release, pay for all the computers to run the site and all the employees to run the computers - and give it away for free.
This was the most common question that I got emailed after people read this lens. So far, I've asked everybody if they would volunteer to do it for free - no takers LOL!
Sellers can buy a vehicle history report and share it with you!
On cars.com, on AutoTrader.com and on many other sites you will find dealers who have run Carfax reports are providing thousands of reports "free to you." Many dealers also provide these on their own web sites.
Also you can visit carfax.com and look under Find a Car and they show the reports that dealers have already paid for.
Buying from a Dealer
- Ask the dealer for a Carfax report. Over 30,000 dealers use Carfax. In most cases, if they have not run the report - they have something to hide!
- Always get a mechanic to inspect the car. That's the one-two punch - get the history and get an inspection! The top of the Carfax report says "A CARFAX Vehicle History Report is based only on information supplied to CARFAX. Other information about this vehicle, including problems, may not have been reported to CARFAX. Use this report as one important tool, along with a vehicle inspection and test drive, to make a better decision about your next used car."
- Make sure the report has the dealer's name at the top - that means they have a subscription and all Carfax guarantees can be passed along to you, the car buyer.
- If you are shopping online, you can find free Carfax reports linked to listings on AutoTrader.com, Cars.com and many dealer sites. Once the dealer buys it they can display the report for a few months to all potential buyers.
You can also visit Carfax where they have links to all cars that have free Carfax reports. There are millions of free Carfax reports on these sites.
http://www.carfax.com/used_car_classifieds/hotcars_searchdisplay.cfm
Is a Carfax Record Check all you need?
1. When the car was built
2. When and where the car was 1st registered
3. When the first annual inspection was done
4. When the 2nd annual inspection was done
5. When the car was registered in a new state
6. When the car was offered for sale
Of course, records can also be things you might be concerned about - accidents, inspection failures and the like.
The number of records is neither good nor bad - just buy the report or ask the dealer for the report. The full report is what you need.
How to buy a Carfax report
- Carfax.com
- CARFAX currently offers two purchase options: Single CARFAX Reports and the 30 Day Unlimited Reports Plan. Only need one Report? Choose a Single CARFAX Vehicle History Report.
Searching the net for the perfect vehicle? For just a few dollars more you can upgrade to the Unlimited Plan, which permits you to run as many Vehicle History Reports as needed for 30 days from the day your first Report is run. The Unlimited Plan also provides you easy access to CARFAX Safety and Reliability Reports. With this additional report, you can research the safety and reliability of different models before you decide on a specific car.
(The links on this page go directly to Carfax - www.carfax.com - there is no affiliate link, I get no revenue if you use this link). - See a Carfax report
- See a sample CARFAX Vehicle History Report.
Buying from the Owner
- Even if you are buying a car from the current owner, you can ask them for a Carfax report.
- If the seller will not give you a report, you can goto www.carfax.com and buy a single report or buy unlimited reports for one month.
- Always get a mechanic to inspect the car. That's the one-two punch - get the history and get an inspection!
People do strange things with their cars
Here are some random pictures from Flickr - how many of these people will tell you about what happened when they sell the car!
ouch
Nothing but a flesh...
My boo boo.
After you buy the car
- Register your Carfax guarantee after you buy your car. You can register the guarantee online at http://www.carfax.com/guarantee/warranty_card_votc.cfm
- When you get service on the car, ask the dealer if they are sending service records to Carfax. Service records will help your call sell for more down the road. Even if the car has a problem, showing the proper service will give the next buyer comfort!
