Wow, I just dodged a bullet! JH4NA21633T000058

[Maximus_NSX]

Some of you guys may remember the silver 03 NSX I had won on Ebay for 55k. The dealer stated it was in immaculate condition and he said there was no damage ever on the car or repaint. A few members saw the pics of the valence and commented that it was repainted. I had no idea as I had no knowledge of the black and silver color on the valence. Anyways, I just got an email from the original person who bought the car and turned it into Acura. Here is what he wrote me:

"Hope you didn't buy that car on ebay, that used to be my car and let me tell you that the car isn't in the shape you think its in. I had that car very modded, the front bumper was repainted, the right front fender replaced, and the rear lower bumper replaced/repainted. Contact me for more details, but that's my car that was turned back to Acura."

This proves that the dealer lied about the car. In fairness to the dealer, we mutually agreed to not go through with the sale. He didn't hassle me at all about that once I confronted him about the rear repaint. Anyways, watch out guys. Carfax is really junk when it comes to accidents. I bet not even half of them get reported to them. Btw, the carfax came out clean w/no accident history. Here is the auction I was talking about:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...RK:MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=260056305475&rd=1,1

 

[4AU4LIFE]

Thanks for letting the community know about it.
Kudos to the owner for stepping up and coming clean about it too.

 

[steveny]

Carfax is really junk when it comes to accidents. I bet not even half of them get reported to them. Btw, the carfax came out clean w/no accident history.

Really?? HA HA HAHA HA HA. I would bet not even 1% shows up. carfax does not record accidents carfax records totalled cars. I bet fewer than 5% of cars older than 5 years that have not had some type of damage repaired!

 

[Maximus_NSX]

Carfax does report accidents, usually when an insurance claim is involved.

 

[nsxexotic]

Did the owner tell you if it was professionally repaired or how bad the damage was? I would go for it at 50,000. But not 55,000. Any thoughts? opinions?

 

[aaronkamloops]

i can see the paint difference too. it sure helps to have lots of pics taken of the car you want to buy, especially if there is doubts as to previous collision damage, vandalism, etc. i can usually pick out reds fairly easily but silver is definitely the easiest to check for colour match...jmo

 

[Maximus_NSX]

I haven't gotten a response from the owner yet.

 

[DrVolkl]

Carfax does report accidents, usually when an insurance claim is involved.

Really? I did $11,000 worth of damage to my maxima and it didn't show up. Oh, and trust me, there was a claim.

I never bothered with carfax since. Too spotty on info.

 

[MCM]

"I never bothered with carfax since. Too spotty on info."

Agree, but it is useful regarding how many previous owners.
Its also good here in Ca. to check the mileage based on the 2 yr smog checks.
How many states its been registered in etc.
But do agree, its not gospel!

 

[ANYTIME]

Really? I did $11,000 worth of damage to my maxima and it didn't show up. Oh, and trust me, there was a claim.

I never bothered with carfax since. Too spotty on info.

Same here. 15k in damage on a 6mos old 35k 4Runner, with 2 different insurance companies involved. Carfax=Clean as a whistle

 

[rickysals]

Carfax is only useful if it shows something. If it's negative, you still know nothing about the car... if it comes up positive, then it is worth it.

A PPI is much better for NSX's

 

[steveny]

Really? I did $11,000 worth of damage to my maxima and it didn't show up. Oh, and trust me, there was a claim.

I never bothered with carfax since. Too spotty on info.

I was waiting for someone else to chime in on this.

Anyways you are correct and Maximus_NSX is incorrect. Carfax does not report all accidents just those where the car is totaled. Now I think it is important to say carfax helps to make you think they report all accidents and that is probably where the confusion is. Carfax runs commercials that give you the impression that people have to advertise cars correctly if they have been damaged because carfax will help the buyer find out about previous damage. Fact is if a car was in a flood, as in the carfax commercial, it is going to be right on the title of the car, when you go look at the car look at the title, easy.

 

[Maximus_NSX]

I was waiting for someone else to chime in on this.

Anyways you are correct and Maximus_NSX is incorrect. Carfax does not report all accidents just those where the car is totaled. Now I think it is important to say carfax helps to make you think they report all accidents and that is probably where the confusion is. Carfax runs commercials that give you the impression that people have to advertise cars correctly if they have been damaged because carfax will help the buyer find out about previous damage. Fact is if a car was in a flood, as in the carfax commercial, it is going to be right on the title of the car, when you go look at the car look at the title, easy.

I disagree. I have seen plenty of accidents on carfax in which the car was not totaled and the accident was listed. I have ran over 80 vin numbers and have seen this firsthand. Carfax does not just report totaled cars.

 

[steveny]

I disagree. I have seen plenty of accidents on carfax in which the car was not totaled and the accident was listed. I have ran over 80 vin numbers and have seen this firsthand. Carfax does not just report totaled cars.

Well if what you say is true it must be the owners of the vehicles turning in the accident to carfax. Which is about the same as shooting off your own foot.
I had a friend in high school that is a very talented body man but not so good at business. So I helped him get set up with his own business.
Back before titles where branded I was part owner of his body shop. We always disclosed all information about all cars that were fixed to resell, took pictures before and after and showed those pictures to the perspective buyers. Anyways...I have many vin numbers of vehicles that were totaled that show up clean on carfax, vehicles that were damaged so badly people were killed in the accidents, clean carfaxes though and clean titles as titles were not branded then.

When is an insurance claim filed and a car is not damaged? Never! and that is what carfax should report...all insurance claims ever filed on any vin number. That information I would pay for.

 

[hofffam]

Carfax doesn't "report" anything. Carfax is a service that collects data from a variety of data sources in the USA. Every state has different laws and processes for how vehicles are titled, taxed, etc. Accidents may never get captured in a database that is accessible to the public. Smog checks, inspections, etc. seem to not be recorded by VIN in most states. Carfax has no authority or access to insurance company records since those are not made public.

Carfax may be guilty of overselling the sense of security they offer, but it is wrong to fault them for not reporting accidents.

For cars like the NSX - which seem to have many owners and wide national distribution - carfax is a convenience and worth a $25 subscription when shopping for cars. In my NSX shopping experience searching over 60 VINs, I did find accidents of varying severity. It was useful to learn how many owners the cars had, etc.

 

[Maximus_NSX]

Here is an example of an NSX which was not totaled but does have an accident:
http://www.carfax.com/phoenix/exter...EGyqTCxeXyUWb8Vos6aK6kuXoh8yPkGwOq9bDgDaCTSi3

 

[H-carWizKid]

Here is an example of an NSX which was not totaled but does have an accident:
http://www.carfax.com/phoenix/exter...EGyqTCxeXyUWb8Vos6aK6kuXoh8yPkGwOq9bDgDaCTSi3

And here is an example of an NSX that WAS totaled, but wasn't reported on CarFax...

This has been covered many times.

CarFax is a reference, but not a difinitive source of accident / title information.

Agree 100% with MCM, CarFax is a great way to learn the ownership history. They seem to have that wired.

Accident history? There are too many loopholes, and cracks that cars can fall through for anyone to set an expectation that CarFax could catch them all.

My issue is with the "CarFax guarantee" of accuracy. I think it is irresponsible advertising given the margin of error I have witnessed personally, and have seen refered to on threads like this.

A good PPI will always prevail over carfax regarding mechanical issues.

Philip

 

[Maximus_NSX]

And here is an example of an NSX that WAS totalled, but wasn't reported on CarFax...

This has been covered many times.

CarFax is a reference, but not a difinitive source.

Philip

What is your point? I never said Carfax was a definitive reference.

 

[steveny]

Here is an example of an NSX which was not totaled but does have an accident:
http://www.carfax.com/phoenix/exter...EGyqTCxeXyUWb8Vos6aK6kuXoh8yPkGwOq9bDgDaCTSi3

Well if you feel carfax reports everything you need to know then by all means use it.

 

[Maximus_NSX]

Well if you feel carfax reports everything you need to know then by all means use it.

Geeze, when did I say Carfax reports everything? I merely refutted a claim by a member that stated that carfax only shows totaled accidents.

 

[steveny]

Geeze, when did I say Carfax reports everything? I merely refutted a claim by a member that stated that carfax only shows totaled accidents.

That member is me and I never said carfax shows only totaled cars I said...

"Carfax does not report all accidents just those where the car is totaled."
That information is easy to collect, it's on the damn title in most states!

They may show other accidents but carfax isn't collecting that information on their own, the car owners must be reporting themselves to carfax.

My point is this. Every accident IS recorded on the insurance data base. If carfax reported that information the price on a huge number of cars 5 years old or newer would decrease because most of those cars have had some sort of incidence. This is why carfax would never be able to report all the truth. There would be a huge lawsuit for carfax to defend if they reported all the information that is in the insurance database.

 

[Maximus_NSX]

I am not sure what we are debating anymore. I never said carfax reports EVERYTHING. I'm sorry if I caused trouble.

 

[omeys_berlina]

Thanks for letting the community know about it.
Kudos to the owner for stepping up and coming clean about it too.

+1

 

[DrVolkl]

Carfax does report accidents, usually when an insurance claim is involved.

I think the confusing thing is using "usually" and "does" in the same sentence with "carfax" when in fact it should be "usually" and "does not". :smile:

 

[WingZ]

Anyways...I have many vin numbers of vehicles that were totaled that show up clean on carfax, vehicles that were damaged so badly people were killed in the accidents, clean carfaxes though and clean titles as titles were not branded then.

Oh fkcu I just bought a haunted car LoL