CARFAX Report

[rcbox2k1]

I bought a 2000 Porsche Boxster S from a dealership in Illinois and waiting on delivery. It should be delivered next week. Interesting thing I noticed was how the CARFAX report changed from last week as offered by dealership for sale to now it showing when it was sold to me and how they just did an oil change two days ago.

[WhipE350]

That was pretty fast. It's interesting how good a thing and how bad these reporting services have become to the used auto sales market. Everyone appreciates the history these services (like CarFax) provide but basically a car becomes untouchable no matter how minor a report is. I'm not sure they don't cause more harm then good. Think about it, a guy backs into my girl friends hood of her Nissan and the hood has to be replaced. In reality it actually made the car better but totally made her car unsellable and dropped the value of it. Have to take the other insurance company to small claims to reclaim the lost value of the car. So basically if someone else is as fault and does minor damage to a Boxster (minor damage can run easily $1000) it now stays with the car forever which means no one will ever want the car.

I have looked at purchasing several used cars that were greatly reduced in price because of a report showed up but then I realize if I want to ever sell it I probably won't be able to, especially since I don't keep cars more than two years.

Ok sorry to have changed the subject and gone on a rant, it's just been bugging me for a while.

[rcbox2k1]

Good point. My nephew bought a new 2012 Mazda 3 and was rear ended. In Ohio there are no Loss of Value adjustments given. While it was minor and fully repaired, you are right---value just decreased.

[mgroth]

Originally Posted by rcbox2k1

I bought a 2000 Porsche Boxster S from a dealership in Illinois and waiting on delivery. It should be delivered next week. Interesting thing I noticed was how the CARFAX report changed from last week as offered by dealership for sale to now it showing when it was sold to me and how they just did an oil change two days ago.

Congrats, I also bought a 2000 Box S recently (Nov). I went to check carfax but its no longer free, I guess I missed the 30 day cutoff.

[thstone]

Be aware that Carfax and similar services are notoriously error prone. Just because the Carfax is clean does not mean that nothing happened. Do a search on "Carfax error" and you'll find lots of complaints and a few horror stories where cars were purchased based on a clean Carfax report only to find substantial repair history later. And Carfax cannot be held liable for any missing information.

I'm not saying that a Carfax report is worthless, just take the reality of the report accuracy into account and use it as part of the overall purchase decision along with the PPI and other pertinent information. As usual, buyer beware.

[rcbox2k1]

Originally Posted by mgroth

Congrats, I also bought a 2000 Box S recently (Nov). I went to check carfax but its no longer free, I guess I missed the 30 day cutoff.

Congratulations also on your new purchase! I was about to purchase one in Nov but it sold before I had an opportunity to close the deal. This one I bought had 68K miles. The other one had 80K.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by thstone

Be aware that Carfax and similar services are notoriously error prone. Just because the Carfax is clean does not mean that nothing happened. Do a search on "Carfax error" and you'll find lots of complaints and a few horror stories where cars were purchased based on a clean Carfax report only to find substantial repair history later. And Carfax cannot be held liable for any missing information.

I'm not saying that a Carfax report is worthless, just take the reality of the report accuracy into account and use it as part of the overall purchase decision along with the PPI and other pertinent information. As usual, buyer beware.

Imagen how shocked I was to discover my car has a automatic trans while reading a Carfax report after 9 years ownership & 3 clutches!

[Deserion]

On a 2007 VW GTI I used to own, a tiny bumper tap ($0 to both cars) showed up as "accident reported", while an actual collision ($9500 damage) did not. Just saying.

[AKnowles]

I agree that CarFax is not perfect, but it can assist in the purchase decision. For example, if it shows a good history of maintnenace then you know the car was taken care of. If not, you'll need to see the OEM paperwork for service. Just to check off that item on your prepurchase list.

As an FYI, 4+ years of work on myFord Escape never showed up. Moved and went to a new dealer and all of the items show up from them. Obviously the previous dealer didn't report the maintennace work. On my wifes Prius none of her minor fender benders showed up. All were front-end related and all over $1000. Her dealer and Sears maintenence also did not show up either.

I only use CarFax to eliminaite the immediate duds (i.e. reported accident) and then still have to work my way through the positive items (like maintenance) and it time/opportunity permits a PPI would still be a good idea.

[Paul]

Our local dealer does not provide maintenance records of previous owners stating it is Porsche's policy due to privacy issues.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Paul

Our local dealer does not provide maintenance records of previous owners stating it is Porsche's policy due to privacy issues.

Most, if not all, dealers are that way since the laws changed on maintaining privacy.

[V-Rod]

If none of the previous owners info is shared, what privacy are we talking about protecting? The vehicles! Does a vehicles service history really need to be protected like a humans health records? Kinda ridiculous IMHO.

I guess I was lucky to not get some "by the book" service manager.

[JFP in PA]

During a recent review of the shop's legal practices, the subject came up and our attorney’s recommended against sharing any of the service records without the written permission of the previous owner because the records are his property under current law, and a release of any information without prior permission is a violation of the previous owner’s rights..