The Truth About CARFAX and Vehicle Title Searches

CARFAX Reports Are Limited. CARFAX reports are limited to information that has been reported about the vehicle so they may be incomplete. If an accident, repair or flood damage was not reported, it will not appear in the report. Consumers should be aware that the report may not show a complete accident history and should not be relied on as the only source of information when checking out a used vehicle.

Inaccurate Information in CARFAX Reports. CARFAX does not confirm the information that they receive so there is no guarantee that it is accurate. The internet is filled with complaints by car owners who state the CARFAX attached incorrect and inaccurate claims to their car history report.

No Information About The Current Condition of the Car. CARFAX does not inspect or evaluate cars so they cannot provide up-to-date information about the condition of the car. As a result, certain problems may not appear on the report while other issues that appear, may have been properly fixed and no longer an issue.

Data Without Details or Background. Reports by CARFAX lack details and context so the information is potentially misleading. For example, major accidents and minor incidents are recorded the same way and there is no data about the severity of the accident. You may want to avoid a car that has been in a major accident with chassis damage but if you rely solely on CARFAX you may also pass on a great car with a minor fender scratch that was properly repaired.

CARFAX Reports May Be Misleading. The marketing effort by CARFAX has been so successful that many consumers are under the impression that CARFAX reports contain all the information about the vehicle and is the "final word" on the car's condition. This is simply incorrect. CARFAX and other Title Search companies provide basic vehicle information but it's unverified and can be incomplete or incorrect. Relying solely on CARFAX can lead to inaccurate conclusions and mistakes. A complete vehicle inspection is needed to determine the real condition of the vehicle.

Cannot Always Determine Fraud. A title or history search may identify potential fraud but the data is often unverified. Using data alone may allow many cases of fraud to slip through the cracks. For example, odometer readings are reported periodically and appear on Title Search reports but CARFAX has no way to determine if these readings are accurate or if the odometer has been tampered with. A visual inspection, on the other hand, can provide evidence of tampering and other fraud.

CARFAX Does Not Inspect Cars. CARFAX and other Title Search reports are useful tools in the overall process of evaluation a vehicle's condition but they are no substitute for a thorough inspection. An inspection should check all of the vehicle's vital components and systems and analyze the entire vehicle in its current state. A used car inspection can verify legitimate issues reported by CARFAX, negate incorrect claims and identify issues not reported by CARFAX. During many of the inspections that we perform, problems are identified that did not appear on CARFAX or other Title Search reports. Over the years, some of the problems that we have found were huge issues that the buyer would have had to deal with had they relied on CARFAX alone. Similarly, we have also inspected many cars with concerning issues in the CARFAX report, only to discover that these issues were incorrect or exaggerated, resulting in the buyer purchasing a great car at a terrific price.