It keeps getting better

[thatdude305]

I bought an 04 about 3 months ago now and it's not really driveable, but that's another story. I just switched insurance companies and they told me it had been in an accident two years ago and it's not on the carfax. Do I have any recourse against carfax? Thx for the help

 

[ZYBORG]

Recourse against carfax? Huh?

 

[Weather Man]

No.

 

[Kiohtee]

Why would you have the right to demand anything from CARFAX? Or even the previous owner (unless it's a one owner car).

It's so easy to have an accident and not have it reported to CARFAX. And if it's not reported to CARFAX, how do you suppose they report it? Also make sure your new insurance company is entering the VIN correctly since this is just now a problem.

 

[CobraBob]

Yeah, what zhisel said. The Carfax Vehicle History Report only shows REPORTED history. I knew someone with a Mustang who had a minor accident with minor front end damage. He instructed the repair shop to NOT report the accident/repair. When he ultimately sold the car, the Carfax Vehicle History Report showed NO ACCIDENTS and NO REPAIRS. Absolutely not Carfax's fault that the accident/repair was missing.

 

[Sinister04L]

Carfax is crap. An ex of mine wrecked her car 3 times (1 at fault) and all were repaired by insurance. Carfax was squeaky clean.

 

[SID297]

Carfax is crap. An ex of mine wrecked her car 3 times (1 at fault) and all were repaired by insurance. Carfax was squeaky clean.

What insurance company?

 

[WVTrakPak]

How did the insurance company know it had been in an accident?

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[Sinister04L]

What insurance company?

2 different ones. I don't know for the first 2 but the last one I think was with Progressive.

 

[R.D.P.]

If serious about a car you should get a carfax and autocheck. I saw things show up on one and not the other several times when shopping for a used SUV a few years ago. I'm sure there are still things that go unreported and don't show up on either though.

 

[CobraBob]

Here is an interesting article from Consumer Reports done in 2009 about vehicle history reports. Pretty much covers anything you'd likely want to know. It's a bit long, but has a lot of good info, some of which was new to me.

 

[thatdude305]

That's what I figured. It was just a shot in the dark

 

[Black2010]

Also, don't stress about it to. If it was repaired right and their wasn't frame damage (I.E. falls under repaired right) then it's no big deal. I know I'm in the minority but I've never understood the qualms about a prior accident on a car. At that point it's just body work and the bigger concerns are mechanical problems.

Brings up my pet peeve. Watch people looking at used vehicles for sale. They will spend 90% of their time looking over the body panels and knit things but most wont ever get a car on a lift (used cars especially), check service history, look at the condition of fluids, compression test, etc. Sounds silly but you can learn a lot about the previous owners care by looking at the brake fluid. Most everyone changes oil and a large % will stay on top of their coolant but most seem to overlook the importance of clean/fresh brake fluid. Looking at a car it's pretty common to see fresh oil and coolant and dirty ass brake and power steering fluid. The focus is on the cosmetics and completely over look the mechanicals which is the MAIN thing you need to know about a car.

 

[tones_RS3]

Yeah, what zhisel said. The Carfax Vehicle History Report only shows REPORTED history. I knew someone with a Mustang who had a minor accident with minor front end damage. He instructed the repair shop to NOT report the accident/repair. When he ultimately sold the car, the Carfax Vehicle History Report showed NO ACCIDENTS and NO REPAIRS. Absolutely not Carfax's fault that the accident/repair was missing.

^^This.