CARFAX check yours!

[JCFoster]

I recently got a quote to sell my ‘16. The dealer pulled a CARFAX report and questioned me about DAMAGE REPORTED back in May 2018. I said I’m unsure, because nothing has ever happened to the car. So, I pay my $39 to get a copy and sure enough it shows damaged on that date. So, I open up an inquiry through CARFAX. They give me a claim number, I submit a letter from my insurance showing them there has been no claims etc. send it all in and immediately I get a canned email response your VIN was verified to have damage. Naturally I haven’t found anyone to talk to, so I fill out a complaint with BBB and send in all supporting documents with the canned emails from CARFAX.

What sucks is CARFAX doesn’t give two shits if a dealer somewhere worked on someone else’s car and inadvertently put your VIN in. They tell you they can’t release the other party that reported it, etc. They won’t verify it and won’t tell you anything. So, now I’m waiting on a response from either them or the BBB. In reality, I can take a small hit on the car or wait it out. Moral of the story, you may want to check it.

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[Jetnoise]

Can you share the dollar amount of the fictitious damage and how the dealership devalued your car in $?

 

[Torched10]

Can you share the dollar amount of the fictitious damage and how the dealership devalued your car in $?

Couldn't your insurance company send you a note certifying no damage claims.id guess that won't help with dealer,who will have to show carfax to buyers.your best option is to sell it you're self and show interested buyers the insurance note to allay their concerns.

 

[JCFoster]

That’s the thing, I’ve sent CARFAX a letter from my insurance co stating there have not been any claims against the car. Proof of insurance with the vin with corresponding paper work. Only response I got was they verified the vin and refuse to investigate whether the VIN on record for the damage was actually me the owner. I had another hit on it indicating I had it been serviced in Conroe Tx. When I called the dealer, the super nice lady looked it up and it was my VIN, but different owner. She was puzzled. Thinking maybe someone may have cloned the VIN, no record through the Tx DMV.

As far as value change, I haven’t asked. But you know how that goes with any dealer.

 

[Bikeman315]

Try this........
Have the dealer “call” them.
1-888-788-7715
You can also leave them a review on Google. Seems like they respond to them..

 

[Cobra Jet]

If you can’t get anywhere with CarFax via your correspondence - contact your local News Station’s “Investigative Team” or their “On Your Side” team and tell them you want them to investigate the concern because you have tried and can’t get CarFax to comply.

I would also say to anyone at CarFax - HOW and WHAT process are THEY using to verify YOUR VIN (or anyone’s for that matter) - because if you have facts backing up that your VIN and vehicle is not damaged and has never been to the repair facility noted - then how is it they have something not only different but fictitious?????

I’m not kidding about reaching out to your local News network - they will get answers and bring CarFax BS to the public eye....

Keep us updated!!

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Run your VIN up against the “AutoCheck” report and see if anything weird shows up there.

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Does anyone have a way of getting freebie CF reports anymore?

 

[MikeHTally]

I had a similar issue back in February. Some ignoramus left a desktop-sized chunk of sidewalk in an intersection. I swerved, but caught both right-side tires (one new, one nearly so) and both right-side wheels. The state trooper who didn't even see the 300# chunk of concrete wrote it up as "undercarriage damage". How that mouth-breather saw damage that didn't exist and concrete that did escapes me.

CarFax posted that, so I got an affidavit from the shop that replaced the tires and wheels that there was NO damage beyond that. Heck, there were still cobwebs under the car. Guess they protected me from further damage. Anyway, CarFax amended the report based on my evidence and I got better-than-book at trade-in.

Having said all that, CarFax is a crock. My wife wrinkled metal on her Chrysler twice (not structural and not serious). Nary a mention in CarFax.

 

[Kong76]

Like Cobra Jet said, check with Autocheck. They are run by Experian.

 

[Jetnoise]

As far as value change, I haven’t asked. But you know how that goes with any dealer.

No I don’t know how that goes and why I asked. Doesn’t carfax put a $ figure and some details on the report in damages sustained?
Depending on the amount it might not effect value
If it’s erroneous there is likely other sources of the info carfx pulls from.
The source is the culprit not necessarily carfax
Insurance co who reported ...
DMV....
Financial institution....
Manufacturer....
& whom ever else’s data is being used.
Carfax just mines the data I believe
Have a pic of the report?

Carfax has been wrong so many times ...it’s not perfect but just one tool in the toolbox. & why I was interested in the deduct in value

 

[JCFoster]

Some dealers won’t put much thought into it. I’ve traded one in the past that was damaged in a one vehicle crash and got the same trade in value as posted on line. Another may try to deduct $500 and say you had damage. It just gives the buying party leverage if they decide to use it.

I agree that the source is the issue, but if CARFAX with holds that info your stuck till either they inform you or verify themselves it was not actually your vehicle. It took me five minutes to contact the dealer in Conroe, Tx. to find out who the owner was. It just takes someone to verify it, if they’re going to report then they should be held liable for what they report especially when it’s challenged. We’ll see.

 

[1004ron]

I bought my wife's V6 privately, but all of the dealers that I visited were quick to print the "clean" CarFax report, so those dealers might have an issue with the accident damage reported.

The private seller paid for the CarFax report, which didn't show the service record for all the servicing done by a local Ford dealership, so he got duplicate receipts.

So, you cant even trust the service records on CarFax.

 

[TicTocTach]

Just for a data point... When I went to Carmax to get a trade in value on my 2008 Honda Fit, they showed me a Carfax with no damage. When they inspected the car, they told me that the passenger side fender had been replaced with aftermarket parts, and the car had been repainted. In fact, the passenger side was entirely untouched but the front bumper cover, rear bumper cover, and driver fender had been replaced. All cosmetic repairs done entirely through my insurance, but not called out by Carfax or Carmax. The stuff that Carmax "found" was just flat out wrong.

 

[liv2roc]

on my 17 gtcs I bought with 9k miles on it, had a clean carfax with only one service record where oil was changed at 4k miles after I bought the car I found paperwork in the car from the dealer I bought it from showing the original dealer changed the engine at 3k miles. so how does a car get a engine changed by a ford dealer and it not show up on the carfax?

 

[TheSnowmanMafia]

Lol. Good luck. Carfax can go to hell.

I bought a CPO Golf R a few years back and one year AFTER I bought the car they reported frame damage from THREE YEARS PRIOR.

I fought them tooth and nail. I even found the dealership that completed the repair and have the repair order that shows the only thing replaced was a control arm and a wheel because the previous owner slid into a curb in the snow. It wasn't in a wreck.

Carmax basically told me to screw off and eventually quit responding to me. I asked them for proof that the car had frame damage and they told me they had secret documents they weren't allowed to disclose.

They caused my car to drop in value by 5k over night because of their bullshit false reporting.

 

[TheSnowmanMafia]

on my 17 gtcs I bought with 9k miles on it, had a clean carfax with only one service record where oil was changed at 4k miles after I bought the car I found paperwork in the car from the dealer I bought it from showing the original dealer changed the engine at 3k miles. so how does a car get a engine changed by a ford dealer and it not show up on the carfax?

Because shops aren't required to report to a private company.

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