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Permalink Reply by DealerELITE on April 15, 2010 at 1:02pm

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Permalink Reply by Brad Newsome on May 17, 2010 at 8:52pm

This is absolutely true. I found out about this a few years ago. However, Carfax spends so much money branding themselves that a customer will not buy into Autocheck. It's great for the dealer to have as a safe guard when appraising vehicles but Carfax will give you credability with the customer. Ultimately, the customer is more important. Plus, many Manufactures require Carfax over Autochck (experian). Amazing the power of the media and advertising. Buyers are conditioned.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Buchanan on May 18, 2010 at 11:54am

Thanks for the input Brad. While CarFax spends millions of dollars on consumer branding each year, Experian Automotive spends millions on exclusive accident and other proprietary data sources. I am tracking more and more cases of Carfax inaccuracy than ever before; Here's another article;

Attorney estimates Carfax correct 60% of the time
by Chris Shunk (RSS feed) on Feb 27th 2007 at 1:33PM

Many car-shoppers rely on Carfax to find information that may not be revealed by a dealership or independent seller. With so many cars selling on places like eBay Motors and Auto Trader, Carfax is one of the few ways to get information on a vehicle you've probably never seen in person. Just last month, however, Carfax settled a lawsuit in which it was accused of misleading customers to think it offered more information that it really does. Though the company admitted no wrong doing, many wonder exactly what information Carfax is providing, where it's coming from and whether or not it's accurate. Tim Blake, a Miami attorney specializing in auto fraud, estimates that Carfax is only accurate 60% of the time since Carfax has limited access to insurance and accident reports in the first place.


It's hard to say Carfax isn't worth the money, especially considering it does capture a lot of the unscheduled maintenance that was performed on the vehicle. The lesson here is that while Carfax may be useful if it reveals issues with a potential purchase, a clean bill of health on a car shouldn't necessarily be trusted as the final word. We suggest befriending a bodyshop mechanic and a Magic 8-Ball.



Brad Newsome said:

This is absolutely true. I found out about this a few years ago. However, Carfax spends so much money branding themselves that a customer will not buy into Autocheck. It's great for the dealer to have as a safe guard when appraising vehicles but Carfax will give you credability with the customer. Ultimately, the customer is more important. Plus, many Manufactures require Carfax over Autochck (experian). Amazing the power of the media and advertising. Buyers are conditioned.

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