Before Carfax there was NOTHING. You had the car and you had the word of the seller to go by, and that was it. If the seller told you the car had never been in a wreck you had to take his word for it or take it to your mechanic. In those days, you truly had to know something about cars, or bring along somebody who did, before buying a used car. If you were lucky, the previous owner had kept all his service records and that would give you some idea of the vehicle’s condition. Otherwise, it was a total crapshoot. To be able to go online and have it all right in front of you is a luxury that only those who were born before Al Gore invented the internet can truly appreciate. In short, you don’t know how good you’ve got it today, folks!
Which is why I was kind of surprised by the criticism leveled at Carfax by some of the readers of my first article, which you can find here. I never meant to suggest that Carfax is perfect. It’s not. Even though the folks at Carfax try very hard to make sure all the information they report is accurate and complete, their Vehicle History Reports can sometimes contain mistakes. Many of these are the result of “fat fingering” at the local level. For instance, just the other day a customer was looking at a Carfax report on a car they were interested in, and in 2010 the car’s mileage was listed as 22,873. A few years later, in 2013, it jumped up to 64,412. Then, a year later, it was back down to 48,306. Understandably, this discrepancy caused the customer some concern, and he asked if the odometer had tampered with. I studied the Carfax and noted that the current mileage on the car was consistent with it having been driven about 12,000 miles a year for the past six years. So, what had probably happened was that the person who recorded the mileage in 2013 accidentally reversed the first two digits, turning “46“ into “64.” This kind of mistake is unfortunate, but unavoidable.
The other point that some readers brought up had to do with taking the vehicle to an independent shop for inspection. I’m all for that . . . with certain caveats. First of all, if you’re looking at a vehicle at a large dealership, chances are it has already been inspected by the dealership’s own Service Department before it ever reached the lot. If you’re curious, you can ask for the shop bill, which will tell you everything they did to it. This information also usually appears on the Carfax.
Second, even the best mechanic can’t predict the future. A fuse or a belt or a water pump can be fine on Monday and go out on Tuesday — without anybody having done anything wrong. I’ve had clients ask me to promise them a car won’t break down. I can’t — and won’t — do that. Cars are made by men, not angels. Anything made by the hand of man can and will break down. And there’s no way to predict when. Not even the most rigorous 150 point inspection by an ASE certified mechanic will tell you what’s going to happen tomorrow.
With that in mind, I’d like to talk about some of the other valuable things you can learn from Carfax, such as a vehicle’s service history, including oil changes, if the timing belt has been replaced, transmission work, tune-ups, new tires — you name it.
A few months ago I greeted a customer who was looking at a used Dodge Challenger we had on the lot. It was a 2014, in good condition, Magnetic Gray, and priced well below market. The customer spotted it while driving past the dealership and wanted to take it for a drive. On the test drive he fell in love with the car. When we got back to the dealership I asked him if he could see himself driving it home that day, if terms were agreeable, and he said yes. Once inside my office, he asked to see a Carfax. I pulled it up on our website and, after studying the Service History, a worried look suddenly came over the customer’s face. “What’s all this?” he asked. “Why did they have to replace the alternator and the engine and powertrain computer module?” I looked at the screen. Here’s what it said:
| 10/19/15 | 21,090 mi. | Anderson Dodge Chrysler Jeep St. Petersburg, FL (800) 555-1212 | Alternator replaced |
| Body computer module reprogrammed | |||
| Engine/powertrain computer module replaced | |||
| Engine/powertain computer module reprogrammed | |||
| Transmission computer module replaced | |||
| Transmission computer module reprogrammed |
“And look here,” he continued. “It says they replaced the transmission computer module, too. Why would they have to replace all that at the same time? Was the car in a wreck?” I studied the Carfax report. “No . . . it wasn’t in a wreck,” I said. “Well, what could cause all that? Could it have been in a flood? Was it a fire?” I had no idea, and told him so. I could see this was becoming a major concern for him. A few minutes ago he had been in love. Now, after reading the Carfax, he was getting cold feet. I was about to lose a car deal.
So I looked at the Carfax again and noticed that it provided the name of the dealership where the work had been done — Anderson Dodge in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Right under that was the telephone number for the dealership. So I picked up the phone and gave them a call, asking for the Service Department. In a few minutes I had a Service Writer named Kaitlyn on the line, and with the call on speakerphone and the customer listening in, I gave Kaitlyn the VIN and asked her about the work that had been performed. She explained that the alternator had been replaced as part of a recall which was covered under warranty, and nothing else had actually been replaced; all three computer modules had been “flashed,” or updated, because of a routine software update required by the manufacturer. I could see relief on the customer’s face. There was nothing wrong with the car. I thanked Kaitlyn and hung up. Without Carfax, neither the customer nor I would have ever known about the service performed. And without Carfax providing both the name and the number of the dealership, neither of us would have known what to make of it.
The thing to remember is, Carfax is just a tool. I think it’s a very good tool, and it can provide you with a lot of information. But you should never rely on just one tool when deciding what car to buy. Drive the car first, talk to the salesperson who traded it in, look at the dealer’s shop bill or the previous owner’s service records, if they’re available, take it to your mechanic — even pick up the phone and call the dealership where past work was performed and ask questions.
But always check the Carfax. You’ll be glad you did.
More Car Salesman Confidential here:
The post Car Salesman Confidential: How To Use A Carfax, Part 2 appeared first on Motor Trend.
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