I've been looking at CARFAX reports and did one myself when I bought, but what I seem to be noticing is '91s and '92's and other earlier models showing first owners in 1999 and around there. Why is this and how much faith can we get from them? Mine showed first owner in 1999 and I know that it was leased initially in late 1990-early 1991. Are there other sources that detail history of the car before the CARFAX report covers?
CARFAX accuracy
- Thread starter NoSeX4U
- Start date
Ive read many a story about car fax not being accurate....lets remember that car fax only reports what has been reported and documented.I recall one story where the owne did a car fax on his own car which went thru a massive accident and was reported but did not show up on his car fax.
Carfax should just be the first litmus test for a car that you are looking at.
It's kind of like an abort mission button (for those that don't want any issues in a car's history).
If the report is clean, you proceed to the next step (ask for feedback on Prime, personal inspection, inspection by a Prime member, PPI at a dealer, etc).
If the report shows issues, you can abort this one, and move on to the next car.
Keep in mind, that Carfax is not perfect, even in negative reports. There was a thread here from a Prime member who found a discrepancy in the odometer reading on his NSX, and was able to clear it up with Carfax.
However, salvage titles and accident history, I would think, would be unlikely to be screwed up by Carfax.
In summary, Carfax is a good negative test, but not a very good positive test. Never plunk down your hard-earned cash based on just a Carfax report.
It's kind of like an abort mission button (for those that don't want any issues in a car's history).
If the report is clean, you proceed to the next step (ask for feedback on Prime, personal inspection, inspection by a Prime member, PPI at a dealer, etc).
If the report shows issues, you can abort this one, and move on to the next car.
Keep in mind, that Carfax is not perfect, even in negative reports. There was a thread here from a Prime member who found a discrepancy in the odometer reading on his NSX, and was able to clear it up with Carfax.
However, salvage titles and accident history, I would think, would be unlikely to be screwed up by Carfax.
In summary, Carfax is a good negative test, but not a very good positive test. Never plunk down your hard-earned cash based on just a Carfax report.
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