Carfax Lies?

[jg 1500hd]

What am I missing about Carfax? I assumed it captured any accident that would've been filed through insurance and required substantial repair yet;

My brotherinlaw just traded in this truck that had almost $30k of bodywork done to it including a new bed and the carfax says it is certified accident free. -
Used 2013 Chevrolet Silverado K2500 For Sale | Craig CO | 1GC1KXC8XDF129570

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?partner=DLR_3&vin=1GC1KXC8XDF129570

Click to read more...

 

[Bruce Jibboo]

It says right on there "Not all accidents / issues are reported to CARFAX"

 

[Shawn1112]

I have had a few smaller accidents that never made it to Carfax

 

[BigJohnson]

I've heard of people buying cars where the car fax is clean and a few years down the road when they go to sell it accidents show up from when before they bought the car.

 

[Bru]

I wouldn't say it's lying. They don't know a car is completely fucked. But there are many reasons why an accident won't be reported to CarFax and why it won't be displayed. You should take their report with a grain of salt. Always have it inspected by a quality body man.

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

How is this news...the service is worthless

 

[Dan00Hawk]

I appraise multiple cars per day over at Carmax, and it never fails that some prior accidents or repairs don't show up on a vehicle history report. As mentioned, Carfax and Autocheck are great for seeing if there is a *reported* problem with the title or accident history. But not everything gets reported. Here's a few of many possible scenarios:

Somebody wrecks a car at the track and it's not covered by insurance? Then there is no police report and no insurance claim. Hence, it won't show up on a history report.

Somebody trades their car in to a dealer with damage that they never got fixed through insurance? The dealer fixes it to prepare for resale and Carfax wouldn't get notified.

Hit and run by the driver of the car in question and he can't risk reporting it to insurance or the police? Again, won't show up on Carfax.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

What am I missing about Carfax? I assumed it captured any accident that would've been filed through insurance and required substantial repair yet;

My brotherinlaw just traded in this truck that had almost $30k of bodywork done to it including a new bed and the carfax says it is certified accident free.

Hit and run by the driver of the car in question and he can't risk reporting it to insurance or the police? Again, won't show up on Carfax.

Or you could be like me with my truck that there's a police report of an accident (dude who hit me and shoved me into a third party ran), no insurance was ever paid out, yet CarFax reports "ACCIDENT - Left and Right impact" despite there being zero work ever done, zero insurance claim, and a couple of slight scuffs in the fenders but nothing major and zero issue with the truck.

Apparently there's a third party service that checks the Carfax/AutoCheck and can do a once over of the vehicle on a frame machine to verify how bad/small the accident was. I forgot the name of it.

 

[Yaj Yak]

still doesn't matter.

carfax is bullshit.

not to mention if a good shop does all the work. who cares what has happened. some good body shops put shit back together better than it left the factory.

a LOT of shit doesn't make it to carfax's

godamnit.

carfax is good for sure- but must be noted that it doesn't show everything always.

:nannerdance:

 

[Chester Copperpot]

As car people we know that carfax/autocheck/whateverelsethereis can be, and has been many times, wrong for good or bad. The unwashed masses see it as god's gift to car buying and if carfax says it, it's true and there's no refuting it and that slight paint transfer on your fender yet accident reported on carfax means the vehicle was a total loss and you're a liar.

 

[Yaj Yak]

As car people we know that carfax/autocheck/whateverelsethereis can be, and has been many times, wrong for good or bad. The unwashed masses see it as god's gift to car buying and if carfax says it, it's true and there's no refuting it and that slight paint transfer on your fender yet accident reported on carfax means the vehicle was a total loss and you're a liar.

carfax's marketing is truly incredible.

i dont know of any other product accepted as "fact", as much as carfax is.