CARFAX, a history with holes big enough to drive a salvaged Mac truck through

I am always a bit shocked at some of the commercials I see and hear, but being that I deal with car sales scams quite a bit the CARFAX commercials catch my attention. Maybe you have seen or heard one. It starts out warning about damaged cars and then says a CARFAX report will protect you. Don’t bet on it. A CARFAX report only shows what information has been reported to the various agencies that CARFAX collects information from and there are a lot it doesn’t. In fact early this year CARFAX settled a class action over the fact that its database has significant holes. Another problem is that each state has a different standard of what level of damage a car has to have suffered before it is branded as salvage. Also more than a few cars are never reported as “Salvaged.”

Skip the CARFAX and spend the money on having a dealer run a warranty maintenance report and a good mechanic and body guy check out the car. Most body guys can spot a car that has had body work done from 10 ft away and the mechanic can tell you what is worn out. Caveat Emptor!