Beware of CARFAX!!!

[Big_D]

I was all gung-ho on buying this car in the Seattle area and the CarFax Vehicle History Report showed up squeeky clean. Just one owner of a car that was 15 years old, no accidents or title issues.

Well, it turns out the car has been in an accident. Luckily the owner was honest and told me about it. The car was taken to a reputable repair shop and paid for by the Insurance company.

This goes to show you that Carfax is only 1 small fraction of the overall buying equation. ALWAYS get a pre-purchase inspection.

Good Luck everyone...

 

[nsxtasy]

Carfax records consist primarily of government records, such as title changes. Accidents have a fairly good chance of showing up if a police report is filed or if the car was totalled, but otherwise, chances are they won't show up in the Carfax.

A Carfax is just one of a number of steps needed to properly evaluate a car for sale, as you indicate. A "negative" Carfax is useful because of the problems that it describes. A "positive" Carfax doesn't prove that there are no problems (since Carfax records aren't always complete), it merely means that there is a lower probability of undisclosed problems.

It's also worth noting that a previous accident may or may not be a huge concern when evaluating a car, depending on the severity of the accident and the quality of the repair.

 

[rickysals]

nsxtacy said it all.

CARFAX only means "something" if it finds something.

 

[arnach]

CARFAX reports are a horrible way to know if a car has been in an accident.

I have an '01 Integra that I bought with 10k miles on it. Looked absolutely perfect. I got hit and run and had it in at a body shop for insurance-covered repairs. They brought me into the shop and showed me that every panel on the car had been repainted at some point and it appeared the car had rolled or been hit multiple times on all sides. Even after the hit and run and resulting repaint of the front end, the car *still* has a perfectly clean Carfax, even though all that was filed with insurance.

 

[Big_D]

Thanks for the great replies. I am glad I am learning now and not after it is too late!

I am a little more gun shy now...but that is a good thing.

 

[Acura NsX Pilot]

Dont put alot of faith in a PPI either as me and another member here went to inspect a Nsx for a interested buyer out of state and the car had a clean PPI from a reputable Nsx knowledgable dealer. The car had many obvious signs of paint work which were easy to spot and it got a clean bill health from the dealer.

 

[DrVolkl]

I don't use carfax at all. If you could see what I did to my '02 maxima you wouldn't either...oh and carfax knows nothing about it.

There's nothing better than visually looking at the car in person. Get down and dirty or throw it on a lift. If you don't know what to look for, then take it to someone who does and spend the $100. You won't be sorry.

 

[nsxtasy]

Dont put alot of faith in a PPI either as me and another member here went to inspect a Nsx for a interested buyer out of state and the car had a clean PPI from a reputable Nsx knowledgable dealer. The car had many obvious signs of paint work which were easy to spot and it got a clean bill health from the dealer.

It all depends on what you're looking for. A good dealer or independent mechanic - preferably one with a lot of NSX experience - should be able to give you a good assessment of the car's mechanical condition, maybe run a compression and leakdown test, along with checking things like brake pad thickness, buildup of deposits, snap ring range, etc., but may or may not be able to detect paint work. A good body shop can detect paint work and the quality of any body repairs. If you really want a thorough PPI, have it done by a good mechanic and by a good body shop.

 

[Big_D]

It all depends on what you're looking for. A good dealer or independent mechanic - preferably one with a lot of NSX experience - should be able to give you a good assessment of the car's mechanical condition, maybe run a compression and leakdown test, along with checking things like brake pad thickness, buildup of deposits, snap ring range, etc., but may or may not be able to detect paint work. A good body shop can detect paint work and the quality of any body repairs. If you really want a thorough PPI, have it done by a good mechanic and by a good body shop.

That is great advice, I wish I had a lot of time to fly around the country and visually inspect these cars myself. I never realized how complicated it would become to purchase one.

The truth is you can't even let your guard down when buying a brand new car. Things happen in transit from the factory and the dealer. I bought a new vehicle only to discover a week later that it had been painted.When I confronted the dealer, they insisted that they were unaware of the car being repaired and resprayed and blamed it on the transport company. It took months to get a replacement vehicle and I never did get the same color and options that were on the car that I originally purchased.
Go figure...

 

[NsXMas]

Prime members are great resources. Too bad the 2 NSXs I checked out for fellow NSX members were sold...

 

[gene]

Dont put alot of faith in a PPI either as me and another member here went to inspect a Nsx for a interested buyer out of state and the car had a clean PPI from a reputable Nsx knowledgable dealer. The car had many obvious signs of paint work which were easy to spot and it got a clean bill health from the dealer.

RIGHT! I think a body shop inspection should be a "MUST DO" on the PPI list. My PPI missed minor body flaws I could of had the seller fix or re-negotiate price on. Minor items, which I've corrected, but still would have been nice to have known up front since the seller shaded the truth a little.

 

[Tuttie_Phace]

SO TRUE! I checked the carfax before going to florida to check out this car which showed no problem. To my surprise, I found whole laundry list of problems with the car. Not sure they were major enough to show up on carfax.

 

[nsxtasy]

SO TRUE! I checked the carfax before going to florida to check out this car which showed no problem. To my surprise, I found whole laundry list of problems with the car. Not sure they were major enough to show up on carfax.

Carfax won't show the vast majority of problems with any car. It's mostly a compilation of government records, which only show major events (like salvage titles issued). Mechanical and aesthetic problems usually don't show up at all, so a car can be in really poor shape and still have a clean Carfax. As noted above, accidents generally show up only if a police report was filed.

 

[Hapa88]

I ran a "Carfax" and a "AutoCheck" on the same VIN on a NSX and the CarFax came back completely clean, while the AutoCheck said that the car had been issued a Salvage Title. Check for yourself:

JH4NA1155MT002638

Some of the data lined up exactly on both reports, while each report had different events logged. I guess you need both reports to have a more complete picture.