CARFAX Provided erroneous report to Atlanta dealership resulting in our purchase of a wrecked car. Based on a clean Carfax report provided to us from a major dealership in Atlanta, we purchased a 2002 Nissan Altima in late November 2003. Internet
Based on a clean Carfax report provided to us from a major dealership in Atlanta, we purchased a 2002 Nissan Altima on November 29, 2003.
Last week we were dismayed to learn the car had indeed been in an accident on September 3, 2003 and suffered a hard hit in the back as well as damage to the front end. Evidently the previous owners had the car repaired and almost immediately traded it in for another car. Although Carfax has since updated the report to include the accident, the update was too late for us.
Lesson learned. Dealerships and consumers should not rely on Carfax entirely to get a complete history on a used car (rely on the previous owner even less). The report may or may not be accurate. To avoid paying retail for a wrecked car (my dad always said once a wreck, always a wreck), it is still a good idea to have a car checked out the good, old-fashioned way take it to your trusted mechanic. Bruce (our trusted mechanic), I shoulda called ya little buddie!
Carl
Cumming, Georgia
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Carl
Cumming,Georgia,
U.S.A.
Reply to Leo
#3Author of original report
Fri, December 22, 2006
Leo,
I appreciate your comments and thank you for them.
Recently I took my car to several dealerships as I was interested in purchasing a new car and planned to use the Altima as a trade in. I was surprised to find yet another updated Carfax report, May 2005, claiming a source had notified them that the car now has extensive frame damage.
The car sounded like a death trap on wheels. The car has been solely in our possession from November 2003 to the present and has never been in an accident during that time. In 2004 an independent, reputable mechanic assured us the accident in 2003 did not cause frame damage. Recently, several dealerships' own mechanics could not find any frame damage after carefully examining the car, especially in light of the latest Carfax report.
The dealership managers did not seem willing to go against Carfax to have the report corrected. Just what is a consumer's recourse when Carfax issues erroneous information?
Leo
Englewood,Colorado,
U.S.A.
Carfax "service"
#3Consumer Comment
Sun, August 20, 2006
I have already posted this to one of the previous complaints related to Carfax. Sorry for the duplucate.
As a professional Automotive Inspector, I did a fair amount of research on Carfax because my customers ask about this service all the time.
Apparently, you had a chance to learn a hard way what they are but for others the following information may save tons of money and aggravation.
Carfax compiles their reports based on information voluntarily provided by police departments, dealerships, insurance companies, etc. This means that they may or may not have all data related to a particular vehicle due to many reasons starting from not reported events to simple human errors. This point is obvious and should be CLEARLY stated on the first page of their site. Of course, this fair practice would hurt their bottom line...
At one point, I ran a "free" report on one of my own cars I owned since day one, and know its history better than CIA, FBI, and Carfax combined. The report came back with a pure blackmail statement: "there are seven records related to this vehicle that are extremely important". No comments needed.
Here is my take on Carfax service: usually a negative information is accurate while absence of it doesn't mean a thing. Nevertheless, I think that $20 they charge may still make sense compared to losses you face buying a lemon BUT a professional pre-purchase inspection done by a reputable local - not a national outfit - company is something that cannot be substituted with any report.
Auto Inspector