[husker boxster]

Agree with others about buying from dealers - they'll tell you anything to make a sale (true or not) and won't have history. Discard 50% of what they tell you and question the other 50%. They also like to stick you with ridiculous hidden fees. That's why I buy 90% of my cars from private party.

While CarFax is not 100% accurate, it can give you a flavor for maintenance that's been done as well as accident history if the prev owners took the car somewhere for maintenance.