Carfax - What Gives?

[Brown_Eyed_Girl]

@Mr.Slant

I’m thinking the notion is that if you’re behind on the payments, you may have been unable or unwilling to pay for proper maintenance prior to the repossession being ordered.
For instance, one person I know ran his oil out to 23K miles rather than the advised 15K due to what he thought was an impending repo. Repo didn’t happen, as he got the finances in question straightened out, and the car was just fine regardless, but it’s a concern.
Perhaps the repo is DUE to problems in the car that the previous owner found.
I wouldn’t worry too much about a repo with 2000 miles and an intact warranty, but I would about a repo with 50K on it.

I would think the lack of service records would be a better indicator that the car may not have been serviced as opposed to a repossession. I suppose a repossession coupled with a lack of service records may be indicative of an owner who, more likely than not, eschewed basic mechanical upkeep. But what if you have a repossession with a complete dealer service record? We’re back to the repo being essentially meaningless as to the value.

So, do you really need the repo information? Or isn’t title and maintenance/repair records sufficient to give you the big picture?

[jasonh300]

I bought a very old car in Washington state several years ago, knowing the car had a few hundred thousand miles on it, but I never was exactly sure.

I did a Carfax report on it and Washington State reports the mileage when they do the annual inspection. I don’t remember how far back it went (maybe 10 years), but I was able to see that the odometer had rolled over 3 times during the time period that the reports were made…one year the mileage was reported at 194,000 miles and the next year it was reported at 25,000 miles, etc.

Assuming the 194,000 was accurate, then the next one would’ve been 225,000, but the inspector didn’t ask or the previous owner didn’t volunteer the info.

Based on the info I got from CarFax and the service records and receipts that came with the car, I have a 1975 Chrysler Cordoba with 440,000 miles on it, and as far as I can tell, the engine’s never been rebuilt, although it’s badly in need of an overhaul now.

[Wheeljack]

Damn. That Corinthian leather ain’t so soft anymore, is it?

[Mr.Slant]

@Brown_Eyed_Girl

I would think the lack of service records would be a better indicator that the car may not have been serviced as opposed to a repossession. I suppose a repossession coupled with a lack of service records may be indicative of an owner who, more likely than not, eschewed basic mechanical upkeep. But what if you have a repossession with a complete dealer service record? We’re back to the repo being essentially meaningless as to the value.

So, do you really need the repo information? Or isn’t title and maintenance/repair records sufficient to give you the big picture?

I was more interested in supplying that tidbit as a way of illustrating reporting latency than making a particular point about repos.

[Brown_Eyed_Girl]

@Mr.Slant

I was more interested in supplying that tidbit as a way of illustrating reporting latency than making a particular point about repos.

That’s likely a valid point. I hate to keep harping on this, but considering they get their data from thousands of agencies and service providers, I think it’s safe to assume that there’s a great variance as to the time frame of data availability.

Using Carfax is no guarantee that you are going to buy a vehicle with a stellar history, but it’s certainly useful for eliminating obvious problematic vehicles of which you would be unaware without the data. Some information is usually better than none at all and the fact that Carfax provides a great deal of information is helpful. Forewarned is forearmed, no?

ETA: Carfax does provide a buyback guarantee for problems such as lemons, salvage, fire/flood/hail damaged, rebuilt vehicles. That’s better than what you might get if you bought privately without the title check.

[jasonh300]

@Wheeljack

Damn. That Corinthian leather ain’t so soft anymore, is it?

Actually, the passenger seat is in amazingly good condition. The driver’s side shows a lot more wear, especially where your back would slide against the edge of the seatback getting in and out. That was one of the first things I looked at when I was trying to guess the actual mileage. How much wear and tear on the driver’s seat. It indicates a lot of start and stop driving.

The 35 year old Corinthian leather still feels better than the crappy cloth seats in most new cars though.