[Brucelee]

We often get references to the use of Car Fax. Often, there are assumptions made about what Car Fax actually does for a prospective buyer. As a dealer, I thought I would shed some light on this subject from my experience and perspective.

Do Dealers use Car Fax when they buy a car?

Some do, some don't. Many dealers use Auto Check, which in my experience is a bit more accurate than Car Fax. Auto Check uses the Experian data base and is thought to be a better source of info.

Having said that, I can tell you that using these services is largely tied to the Title and Background information that they provide. If you learn to read these correctly, they can point out areas of concern tied to how the car's ownership and control changed over time.

They SHOULD also point out the more obvious areas of concern, such as Salvage, Grey Market, Lemon Law, TMU and other title related issues. In this sense, the cost of a Car Fax is a small price to pay to avoid any of these issues on a title. It can also point areas of concern that may be nothing but need to be investigated.


What about accidents?

Forget this feature on car fax, it is worthless. I can tell you that perhaps 1 in 20 cars with accident historys actually make it to the Car Fax data base.

The only way to figure out if your car has been in an accident is to take two key steps:


Does the car have paint work? To determine this you need a paint meter. Any guy who says he can "spot" paint work 100% of the time is deluded or lying.

Does the car have undercarriage/frame damage?

The only way to tell this is to get the car up in the air and look. You need to have a pro look as some repairs are done very well indeed.

So, certainly run a Car Fax, or better yet, Auto Check. These will help confirm who has owned the car and when. However, before you buy that car, get it airborne and do it quickly.

Hope this helps.