I had a recent experience regarding the use of Carfax. Carfax can be a good tool when considering the purchase of a used vehicle, but beware the depth of the Carfax information presented in the vehicle history.

Here is my story:

I decided to trade in my 2002 Dodge Intrepid 2.7 due to overheating, a coolant leak, and the low oil pressure oil light coming on at idle in gear. This is a problem that is ongoing with the Dodge 2.7 motor, due to poorly designed oil galleries in the engine block. This causes oil sludge buildup and premature engine failure. I was able to trade the Intrepid in on an 2006 Ford Taurus, just out of warranty at 37,000 miles. I ran a Carfax check that came back clean. Knowing that the Taurus had been in what I thought was a minor parking lot fender-bender, I negotiated a price and bought the Taurus. Since the Taurus had no factory warranty left, I rolled an extended bumper to bumper warranty into my new car payment.

The front bumper cover had some scratches and scrapes on the right front area below the headlight and some paint overspray in a few areas. This was something that I could take care of myself, so I did not consider this to be problematic. 

Several days later, I stopped in at a local body shop to inquire about re-aiming the right front headlight. I noticed when driving at night that it was pointing slightly lower than the left headlight.

Now this is where the story becomes very interesting. When the body shop manager opened the hood of the Taurus, his comment was, "I would be more concerned about the frame, the alternator, and the transmission case."

It turns out that the car had been in a severe front end collision. The alternator was an aftermarket unit, not a factory Ford part. The frame had been pushed over towards the engine pulleys approximately 2 inches and pulled back. The transmission case was cracked. There is a transmission mounting bracket that is molded into the transmission case and it was completely broken away from the transmission case. The only way to correct that problem was to replace entire transmission. This, I was told by the dealer, was not covered in the extended warranty due to the fact that "it was a pre-existing condition."

Now, I am sure you are wondering how a heavy front end collision did not show up on the wonderful, must have, Carfax report. Let me explain:

The Carfax report showed the previous owner as a nationally known car rental agency. Most nation wide car rental agencies are SELF INSURED. What this means to you and me is that if their car is damaged in a collision, they will repair it in house, using their own repair facility. Since there is no third party insurance company involved, there is no public record of the vehicle being in any kind of accident or incident. Consequently, Carfax has no information to glean from public records.

This is what the body shop manager told me. It makes sense, but I cannot verify that this is exactly what happens in every case. I am sharing this information to help you avoid what I went through. I contacted Carfax and they would not respond to my many emails asking them to confirm the information I provided.

Bottom line: Even if the Carfax report comes back clean, have the vehicle you are considering PROFESSIONALLY inspected. If you are buying a vehicle long distance via the internet or national publication, spend the extra 1 or 2 hundred dollars to have a professional inspect the vehicle and provide you with as much information possible including the vehicle history. If the vehicle has a known history of being a fleet vehicle or rental vehicle, this should automatically be a red flag. It used to be that everyone considered fleet and rental vehicles to be a good choice for a second hand vehicle. It was thought that because the vehicle was a fleet or rental unit, the supposed excellent maintenance history would be a great selling point. This is probably still true for the most part.

Finally, I WAS able to get the dealer to eat the cost of a new transmission for my Taurus. I made a point to let him know that if I did not get a new transmission at no cost to me, I would contact the State Motor Vehicle Licensing Board. I am sure the dealer did not want to deal with them. Score one for me!

IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING BUYING A USED FLEET OR RENTAL AGENCY VEHICLE AND THE CARFAX REPORT COMES BACK CLEAN, HAVE THE VEHICLE PROFESSIONALLY INSPECTED BY AN ACCREDITED COLLISION REPAIR SHOP!

Hope my experience helps you buy your dream car!