CarFax (CF) is a report that each used car buyer MUST get and understand. CF is either supplied free of charge, by the seller, or you, the buyer, must pay for the study. The typical CF report is 25 pages long – don’t panic there is a review page or two that summarizes the rest of the report. There are 6 divisions to the report:
Vehicle History Report. This is page one of the CarFax – the most key page! This page immediately sums up the entire CF if 1) any accidents, 2) number of previous owners, 3) if the car was leased or corporate vehicle, 4) service records available, 5) detail event records 6) last odometer reading. Is the car a turkey or should you spend more time doing research – CarFax offers immediate answers.
A summary of 1) title troubles, 2) ownership history, and 3) other data follow. Critical items that CarFax has found can be investigated in just seconds. Items CarFax has determined need to be investigated are highlighted – this saves a lot of time and that’s the secret of CarFax.
Accidents, state inspections, all events, change in ownership, etc. are shown in the Details section, under the Vehicle History Report.. Each owner of the automobile has a segment with all the details CarFax has accumulated.
Vehicle Highlights. There are many segments in Vehicle Highlights. The last reported mileage and the number of past owners is summarized in the Ownership History segment. A critical section is the state DMV-Reported Title Problems section. Check if the car’s title has been reclassified into: Salvage, Junk, Rebuilt, Fire/Flood, Hail Damage, or Buyback/Lemon titles. Bypass this used car, if this has happened.
Warranty Check. This is a very handy section that shows various kinds of warranty coverage and if there is any warranty remaining. Reject or confirm any seller’s claim about warranties in this segment. Basic coverage, coverage of the Drive Train, Emissions coverage, Corrosion coverage, and if any of the warranties are transferrable are some of the kinds of warranty coverage tracked by CarFax.
Safety & Reliability Ratings. This is a wonderful section where crash tests are made available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Just how safe this used car is to drive is covered by front, side, and rear crash results.. Injury, Collision, and Theft Indicator section rates this used car against all automobiles and gives you guidelines as to this automobile’s ranking – below average, average, or better than average. Safety Recalls alert you to manufacturer recalls and you can check if the recall was done to the car. The last segment has a wealth of data – the J.D. Power Rating of this car type.
Buyback Guarantee Certificate (Optional). If the used car qualifies, CF will buyback the car if they screwed up with damage warnings, odometer readings, titles, or a Lemon History reporting. Not all cars qualify and this should be your test too – if CarFax won’t issue a Buyback Guarantee then you should NOT purchase that used car.
Consumer Ratings & Comments. This last segment constitutes feedback from car owners of this identical model, make, and year of automobile. Believe me that car owners who dislike something about this make of car will go out of their way to alert folks like you. Once you use CF you will advise folks of any troubles you have with this make of car.
Tags: Autos