Please Help: What does this Carfax Report tell me?

[DontTaseMeBro]

Why aren't you putting in your own DIY entries? I do, and my Carfax looks seamless and logical.

DIY entries don’t show up in the paid report. I enter all of my DIY stuff in it and once i sell the vehicle and remove it, the reports get deleted.

 

[Antonm]

Would you rather see one that made sense with a mixture of dealer and DIY services or just trust "I took really good care of it" when looking at a used vehicle?

Also, not every dealer participates in CarFax so it isn't just automatically there if you went there....

About the only thing I'd use a Carfax report for would be emergency toilet paper, so I really wouldn't care what it said. Why bother reading it when its 100% known to be inaccurate?

And it would appear that even dealers that do participate don't necessarily participate all the time with every service / repair, just when they feel like it I guess.The family members car I pulled history on was bought new and had only ever been to one dealer, some of the services/ repairs from that dealer where on the report , but a lot wasn't, same dealership everytime, dealership wasn't sold, not rebranded, didn't change management, heck it's still at the same location with the same name today.

Leaving big gaps in information leads people to wrong conclusions anyway (i.e. oh look, report showed they went 20K miles between oil changes, when in fact there were two oil changes in between there missing from the report) and DIY entered stuff is exactly the same thing as saying "I took really good care of it", they're just doing it electronic form ( I mean if you're gonna just believe them without proof because they typed it into the internet and it shows up on a carfax report, then them saying it verbally to your face carries the same amount of evidence).

No information is better than wrong information IMHO. If a seller wants to prove service history, hard copy receipts are the only way.
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[Brand0n]

About the only thing I'd use a Carfax report for would be emergency toilet paper, so I really wouldn't care what it said. Why bother reading it when its 100% known to be inaccurate?

And it would appear that even dealers that do participate don't necessarily participate all the time with every service / repair, just when they feel like it I guess.The family members car I pulled history on was bought new and had only ever been to one dealer, some of the services/ repairs from that dealer where on the report , but a lot wasn't, same dealership everytime, dealership wasn't sold, not rebranded, didn't change management, heck it's still at the same location with the same name today.

Leaving big gaps in information leads people to wrong conclusions anyway (i.e. oh look, report showed they went 20K miles between oil changes, when in fact there were two oil changes in between there missing from the report) and DIY entered stuff is exactly the same thing as saying "I took really good care of it", they're just doing it electronic form ( I mean if you're gonna just believe them without proof because they typed it into the internet and it shows up on a carfax report, then them saying it verbally to your face carries the same amount of evidence).

No information is better than wrong information IMHO. If a seller wants to prove service history, hard copy receipts are the only way.
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Incomplete data** is better than no data IMO. If a carfax had 4 accidents on it, would you say “well, it’s not fully accurate so who cares?”

 

[Antonm]

Incomplete data** is better than no data IMO. If a carfax had 4 accidents on it, would you say “well, it’s not fully accurate so who cares?”

That’s assuming they didn’t get that wrong,,,which they do.

It’s not just a matter of incomplete information, it’s that both incomplete and just plain wrong information is known to be present in Carfax reports.

Take my car that I bought brand new that showed three different owners when I had been the only one. Less egregious than three accidents sure, but still just as much false information saying something had happened that never actually did.

In this particular cars case that could’ve made a big difference in resale as it was a sort of modern collectible car (it was a 2008 Shelby GT 500 mustang). Luckily for me I kept a folder with every receipt and registration so I was able to prove I was the only owner when I got stupid and sold that car.

I stand by my statement that the best use of a Carfax report is emergency toilet paper
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[DontTaseMeBro]

That’s assuming they didn’t get that wrong,,,which they do.

It’s not just a matter of incomplete information, it’s that both incomplete and just plain wrong information is known to be present in Carfax reports.

Take my car that I bought brand new that showed three different owners when I had been the only one. Less egregious than three accidents sure, but still just as much false information saying something had happened that never actually did.

In this particular cars case that could’ve made a big difference in resale as it was a sort of modern collectible car (it was a 2008 Shelby GT 500 mustang). Luckily for me I kept a folder with every receipt and registration so I was able to prove I was the only owner when I got stupid and sold that car.

I stand by my statement that the best use of a Carfax report is emergency toilet paper
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There is a caveat when it comes to number of owners in a carfax report. Sometimes it’ll report the dealership as the first owner, lean holder as the second one, and once paid off, the original purchaser as the third owner. It’s annoying that they do it, but they go based off of who has the title at that given time. Rinse and repeat if the vehicle gets traded in etc. Not saying your case was like that, but it’s something to be aware of.

 

[Stbentoak]

Incomplete data** is better than no data IMO. If a carfax had 4 accidents on it, would you say “well, it’s not fully accurate so who cares?”

Well for this guy... Ya it has no value....

But for the majority of "normal" customers buying a vehicle it's just another data point that would help persuade or dissuade them from considering that vehicle further. Not the final say, but certainly matters if it shows a lot of negatives. They just don't get put on there by accident. (No pun intended...)

Not worth beating this horse any longer....

 

[Tahoe14]

It should be used as a guide along with other sources such as work orders from servicing Dealer and an independent inspection. I have always used it when buying, I checked the carfax from the Dealer I traded one of my vehicles to and it was accurate.

 

[Dawg82]

I’d confirm if it was auctioned. And also state of title. Doubt it’s a flood vehicle, but worth double checking.

 

[petethepug]

Wind noise can = Buffeting or insufficient adhesive at applied to the roof skin and attachment points.

Water can be sunroof drains, door seals or panoramic sunroof to run away from.

This truck could also have been a lemon law buy back.

 

[Kutzro357]

I wouldn't trust carscam as far as I can throw an elephant. I was scammed in a parking lot, we never touched no damage or repair but a police report was made so carscam shows an accident. I know others that bought cars with clean carscams only to have something show later. Repairs and oil changes not done at participating shops don't show.
Unlike a credit report, carscam isn't responsible for bad or missing information.