Is buying a Carfax report a wise choice?

Consumers who purchase used cars or trucks are often advised to buy a Carfax report in order to find out more about the vehicles history. Is that a good idea? Are there better options?

More below.

A Carfax report is only part of buying a used car

Buying a car or truck is an expensive, even if you are buying a used one. With new cars averaging $20,000 or so, even used ones can have prices in the five figure range. That makes purchasing any type of car costly and not something you want to do on a whim. If you are buying a vehicle, you want some sort of reassurance that the vehicle is mechanically sound and is likely to last you for a few years. After all, if you want a car with mechanical problems, you can just keep the car you are driving already.

Many people suggest that anyone who plans to purchase a used vehicle should purchase a Carfax report first. What is a Carfax report? Carfax is a company that offers a document for sale that tells you about the vehicle’s history. For a relatively small fee, you can find out about the following:

• Previous ownership - Was the vehicle owned or leased? Was it a rental car or part of a corporate fleet?
• Odometer check - Is the odometer reading accurate? Has the odometer been replaced?
• Title check - Has the vehicle previously been salvaged? Wrecked? Flooded?
• Other problems - Has the vehicle been in an accident? Sold as salvage? Recalled via a lemon law claim?

These are the sorts of things that anyone who buys a used vehicle will want to know. That being the case, buying a Carfax report would seem to be something that any buyer should do automatically, right?

While buying such a report can be helpful, buyers should be careful not to read too much into such a report. Yes, the information contained on these documents is essentially accurate. If the report says that the vehicle in question has been previously wrecked, that information is probably true. It’s what the report doesn’t say that can get you in trouble. Information on the report might be accurate, but you cannot assume that the lack of information means that the vehicle is OK. Why is that?

Most insurance companies do not provide information to Carfax, nor are there any laws that require them to do so. The same is true of law enforcement agencies. Information submitted to the company by any party, be it law enforcement, body shops, or insurance companies, is purely voluntary. That means that there is no guarantee from anyone that the information on such a document is complete. A car may have been wrecked but the history may show the vehicle’s past as “clean.” You have no way of knowing if the lack of information means that there is nothing to worry about or if it means just that - a lack of information.

Buying a document that outlines a vehicle’s history can be a wise move. Buyers should be aware, however, that doing so does not present a complete picture. Nor is it a good substitute for having the vehicle checked out prior to purchase by a qualified mechanic. A good mechanic can tell you a lot about the vehicle, and more importantly, he or she can tell you what kind of condition the vehicle is in right now. That’s what you want to know, isn’t it?