Jim Ziegler Wants to know "Is it Time For the Retail Automotive Community to Rise Up and Give CarFax a TrueQuality Thumping?"
Enough is Enough!
Haven't you had it with all of these Data Pirates using our own customer information to defame us, lower our profits, alienate our customers... while at the same time they charge us through the nose to do us harm?
Among the worst of them in my opinion is CarFax. They even believe they have the right to price our cars and trades.... too low of course. While at the same time CarFax exploits negative stereotypes that we are crooks in every commercial the Little Car Fox Rats out the dishonest bumbling and inept idiot car sales person. They charge us to defame us.
read this article we just published in Wards Auto Magazine... "My latest article is out and it's hot.
Here are more than 250 Consumer Complaints and reviews about CarFax... look... http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/carfax_inacc.html
We have manufacturers supporting these people and requiring we do business with them. Let's get mobilized and scream at our factory representatives, reprint this article for your dealers, do press releases, and generally alert your State Dealer Associations and 20-groups.
If a consumer asks for the CarFax, tell them it's $39.00. Whoever told you it was free was lying.
I am available to perform 20-group and Dealer Association Keynote Speeches on this subject. As of right now, I am calling out the Tribe to get on this subject. JIM
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Comment by Big Tom LaPointe on December 11, 2012 at 12:08pm -
interesting how carfax responded one time on the facebook conversation (https://www.facebook.com/carfax/posts/10151567362707575?notif_t=like) and then ignored the conversation for the past two weeks... as a vendor (carchat24), I can't imagine creating a marketing campaign that disparages dealerships that don't use our service as crooks.
maybe dealerships should advertise that they provide a carfax, even though they are overpriced and often incorrect...
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Comment by James A. Ziegler on December 5, 2012 at 5:26pm
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I have had several dealers tell me stories this week about how they rejected the Carfax Representative and discussed this Blog and my articles. From the number of calls and comments I am personally receiving, I can promise you this is catching on and gaining momentum.
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I've been following that thread Keith on Facebook. In my opinion the Carfax representative that answered micah's post just blew a hot wet one in Micah's ear and double-talked resulting in the consclusion they're going to continue to demean car people and that representative said they weren't trying to make us look like crooks - SURE THEY AREN'T http://www.facebook.com/carfax/posts/10151567362707575?notif_t=like
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Comment by Keith Shetterly on November 30, 2012 at 3:57pm
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A dealer principal sent me a message today. He said... " The Salesmen (Carfax) called me again today to make sure I got his half off offer... I told him I need a better price-- Ziegler is on the war path and your company's stock is dropping fast! He hung up on me.. How rude?"
It seems to me that maybe they're getting the message.
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This website of customer reviews is a hoot. Evidently not everyone is happy with CarFax. What do you think? http://carfax.pissedconsumer.com/
Little do they realize how many dealers are paying attention to this conversation and the opinions of the participants on this blog and others. CarFax in their supreme arrogance believes this will blow over and go away. I know from experience that they will see this thing explode in coming weeks/months as the message spreads and sinks in. One thing I can promise is that the manufacturers and other vendors who are propping them up will back off of them as the heat turns up from the newly-educated dealers.
There is no amount of PR they can do that will reverse what's coming.
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I like the way the Blog is going. We are discussing CarFax more factually and less emotionally than the TrueCar debate last year. We're on three Blogs with this type of content and, to date there have been more than 7000 page views.
Personally, I am sure AutoCheck is a good company, but; by the same token, I can't see where their information would be any more accurate than CarFax. So I am not pimping for AutoCheck either... or any other Vehicle History provider. I would have to believe they're all flawed because of latency in information and misinformation being put into the system by others they extract data from.
My issue with CarFax is they appear to be arrogant and condescending. I believe from the demeaning content in their commercials they really do believe we are a bunch of low-life jerks and they really do hate car people deep in their blackest recesses of their black hearts (humor)
Another issue is they do not accept responsibility for errors in their reports and the fact that these errors cost consumers and dealers alike a lot of money when an accident appears on the Carfax that happened before the consumer purchased the vehicle BUT CarFax report was clean at time of purchase, then the damage showed up on CarFax later. CarFax basically cost that consumer thousands in lost value because they cannot get timely information always. Maybe that's why the Consumer Affairs website has so many complaints and bad reviews about CarFax. Google how many lawsuits they had against them and educate consumers they may hurt you, as many have perceived they were damaged by CarFax reporting.
Then they have the nerve to take it upon themselves, by some voodoo measurement of their own to assume they have the right to price the cars. This is the biggest insult of all to the retail industry. They take our money, charge the dealer for the reports, and then tell the consumer this is the right price. These people have no honor, at least that's how I feel about them.
So, as long as they continue to advertise that we are crooks, idiots, and jerks ... as long as they gouge and overcharge for reports with no more integrity than their competitors reports... as long as they continue to tell consumers these reports are free... as long as they continue to price our cars (unrealistically at that) ... as long as they continue to assume no responsibility for damages when their reports are wrong or late posting... as long as these situations continue; I will continue to write and speak about them and I will continue to educate consumers about the things I believe to be true about them. This blog is slow, but amazingly enough I am seeing signs the entire industry is beginning to buzz about the perceived evils of CarFax. I get hundreds of phone calls, emails, and private messages about these people and - overwhelmingly - it appears to me that most car people hate them, or are beginning to hate them because of the hateful way they treat us, their customers. Am I wrong about that?
Also we need to continually remind our manufacturers that many of us feel these people are disreputable and hurt our customers and the dealers on occasion. Although I do not necessarily endorse AutoCheck; I believe they are a better choice to do business with. I like AutoCheck better because they are at least as accurate, maybe more so than CarFax (opinion of mine) but the real reason I like them is they treat us, their customers with respect and they stay out of pricing our merchandise.
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Comment by John Goddard on November 28, 2012 at 6:13pm
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people are just not educated enough on what Carfax can provide...it is only as good as the information provided it...so certainly cannot be taken as gold...
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A dealer just communicated this to me...
Had a customer with a 2006 truck to trade this weekend. He bought it new and only used it to tow his boat. The truck has 11870 Miles on it. He serviced the vehicle once a year at the selling dealer. In two seperate service trips 3 years apart the dealer recorded the millage wrong once reporting 29k on the truck and then 48k. The customer went back to the dealer to have the problem fixed and they say its out if their hands. Carfax reports major mileage issues and this greatly effects the ACV of the trade. Carfax causes more problems for consumers than it protects them from. Seeing more and more of it.
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