A CarFax "problem" and its implications

DGS49

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2012
15,663
13,012
2,415
Pittsburgh
A few years ago I bought a car (VW Golf Sportwagen TDI) with about 36,000 miles on it, from a dealer, as a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle ("CPO"). As part of the transaction, the car's CarFax was produced. The CarFax showed a brief bit of history as follows. Owner 2 takes possession of the vehicle on, say March 15, 2017, and "Front-end damage" is reported on March 17, 2017. At the time, the car had 25,000 miles on it, more or less. The note at the bottom of the CarFax history says that there is no information on whether the "damage" was the result of a collision or some other unfortunate event.

Obviously, after seeing the note, I went over the front end of the car to see if I could detect any damage, and I could not. There is no visible damage, paint overspray, or anything else indicating unprepared damage. In my mind, the facts that, (1) the car was still on the road eleven thousand miles later, (2) it had passed two PA state inspections in the interim, and (3) the dealer was willing to "certify" the car ( and give me an extended warranty) were sufficient to put my mind at ease. The car now has 61,000 miles on it, and there has been no "front end" problem of any sort.

Whilst looking at a replacement car the other day (I get tired of my vehicles after 18-24 months), another VW dealer said he would have to de-value my car from the previously agreed $10,000 to $7,000 because of the note on the CarFax. I consulted with an acquaintance who buys cars for a large dealership, and he opined that a 10% hit was appropriate, because some customers would simply not buy a car with any flaw in the CarFax. That seems reasonable to me.

What do y'all think?

If a recent "defect" showed up on a CarFax, I might be concerned because problems relating to the incident might not have shown up yet. But something that happened 36,000 miles ago...something that is literally undetectable on the car? Should I be punished because some prospective buyer is an idiot?

Of course, I walked away from that dealer. He was so far off a reasonable position that I simply wouldn't do business with him.

Would yin buy an apparently-perfect car with an "old" CarFax defect?
 
A few years ago I bought a car (VW Golf Sportwagen TDI) with about 36,000 miles on it, from a dealer, as a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle ("CPO"). As part of the transaction, the car's CarFax was produced. The CarFax showed a brief bit of history as follows. Owner 2 takes possession of the vehicle on, say March 15, 2017, and "Front-end damage" is reported on March 17, 2017. At the time, the car had 25,000 miles on it, more or less. The note at the bottom of the CarFax history says that there is no information on whether the "damage" was the result of a collision or some other unfortunate event.

Obviously, after seeing the note, I went over the front end of the car to see if I could detect any damage, and I could not. There is no visible damage, paint overspray, or anything else indicating unprepared damage. In my mind, the facts that, (1) the car was still on the road eleven thousand miles later, (2) it had passed two PA state inspections in the interim, and (3) the dealer was willing to "certify" the car ( and give me an extended warranty) were sufficient to put my mind at ease. The car now has 61,000 miles on it, and there has been no "front end" problem of any sort.

Whilst looking at a replacement car the other day (I get tired of my vehicles after 18-24 months), another VW dealer said he would have to de-value my car from the previously agreed $10,000 to $7,000 because of the note on the CarFax. I consulted with an acquaintance who buys cars for a large dealership, and he opined that a 10% hit was appropriate, because some customers would simply not buy a car with any flaw in the CarFax. That seems reasonable to me.

What do y'all think?

If a recent "defect" showed up on a CarFax, I might be concerned because problems relating to the incident might not have shown up yet. But something that happened 36,000 miles ago...something that is literally undetectable on the car? Should I be punished because some prospective buyer is an idiot?

Of course, I walked away from that dealer. He was so far off a reasonable position that I simply wouldn't do business with him.

Would yin buy an apparently-perfect car with an "old" CarFax defect?
I think that buying a car with ANY noted damage is not a smart choice. The way cars are constructed in the modern era who knows what damage may have occurred?
 
Just sold my car. CarFax problem was fully disclosed to three prospective buyers, all agreed with the asking price...got it.

FWIW.
 
Certified Pre-Owned vehicle ("CPO"). As part of the transaction, the car's CarFax was produced
I fucking hate that fucking bullshit. I can tell myself if it runs and drives great, or at least to my satisfaction for the price, and change the oil and shit myself.
 
It's all about the CPO warranty, which for some brands is very reassuring. Some of the German brands can have CPO warranties that run longer than the new car warranty.

As far as the hundred and some point check-out that they sell, I doubt that it is even done for the most part. I've heard too many dealer friends tell me they don't do ANY work on a car until someone buys it, and demands it.
 
Some idiot pulled a CarFax report on my vehicle and had keys made for it used it to get my driver's license bank accounts social security and everything. And they're so fucking slick and professional about it, that CarFax shit carries the weight of gold in federal court despite state vehicle titling and registration. And it's even worse because even a previous owner's parking ticket can jack your insurance premiums out of reach, and the states are very sneakily and unofficially making the title conditional on maintaining continuous insurance coverage even if the vehicle is under repair or for some other reason not being operated on public highways at the time. Fraud, forgery, title laundering, extortion, robbery, and grand larceny under color of law are the general rule of thumb when dealing with CarFax idiots.
 
CareFax is toilet paper. It showed my stepfather's Concorde as a rebuilt wreck due to a typo...someone put in a ~$1500 repair (hood & fender, I think) from hitting a deer as $15,000. It showed a "clean" history (aside from originally being in a fleet) for my F-350...showing NONE of the three times that truck was hit.
 

New Topics

Forum List

Back
Top