Last month, flooding in Texas killed at least 23 people: there isn’t a final tally yet because some people are still missing. That’s all very sad, but what if you live thousands of miles away and don’t know anyone in Texas? This natural disaster could still affect you directly…if you’re in the market for a used car, since rebuilt vehicles destroyed in a flood could be hitting the market in coming months. [More]
carfax
No, Of Course This Car We're Selling Has Never Been In A Severe Accident
By 2.23.12
Last year, Brandon’s car was destroyed in an accident, and he went shopping for a new-to-him vehicle. He found a nice 2008 Honda Civic at a good price with a clean Carfax report. Sweet deal! Now Brandon’s in the market for a new car. At another dealership, he learned that the Civic isn’t worth as much as he had thought as a trade-in, because the vehicle had sustained severe body damage in an accident, then was rebuilt. How did they know this? The now-updated Carfax report, of course. [More]
Should It Have To Be Disclosed If A Used Car Was Smoked In?
By 7.28.11
You get into the seats, place your hands on the wheel and sniff. That’s not new car smell you’re getting, but the faint notes of incinerated tobacco leaves. Perhaps they’re peaking out from a cloying cloud of freshener, like a bra strap from a tank top. Dangit. You thought you found a good contender and wasted all this time to come out and check the car out, and now it turns out someone used to smoke in it. Reader Ethan wonders if this isn’t something that dealers should have to disclose, or at least something that should show up on CarFax. [More]
Tips For Buying A Used Car This Year
By 5.4.10
The sorry state of the economy the past couple of years has actually led to higher prices for used cars, writes Kiplinger. That’s because more people started buying used cars, which tightened the supply while also reducing the number of fresh trade-ins. It may be a couple of years before prices drop again, but Kiplinger has some suggestions for saving money if you plan on buying a used car this year. [More]
Buyer Says CarFax Report Didn't Let Him Know Car Was All Messed Up
By 9.22.09
CarFax provides a useful tool for used car buyers, tipping them off about the myriad abuses their prospective rides once suffered. But Gyorgy says the service failed him, failing to report a number of modifications and indignities that voided the ride’s warranty. He writes:
CarFax Patents Searching For Cars With Clean Titles
By 6.12.07
Abstract: A system and method for allowing a consumer to search a database containing used vehicles from a variety of sellers that can be queried to provide search results that include only vehicles having clean title histories.
We’re surprised that Verizon doesn’t already hold this patent. They patented the internet back in 1996. —MEGHANN MARCO
Don’t Buy a Lemon from Chicago
By 3.9.06
Did you know that Illinois doesn’t make car accident reports public? So if you Carfax a used car from there, you won’t know it’s already been around the block. Efforts to introduce legislation to change this have failed.
