When buying a used car, be it from a dealership or a private sale, getting the straight facts on the entire history of the car allows the prospective car buyer to see what the car has been through in it’s relatively short life.  When coupled with maintenance and service records, which can be obtained from the dealership if the car is still under warranty, you get a complete picture of the car’s history by getting the CARFAX report.  This is a lot better than believing the salesman when he tells you that the car was only driven by a little old lady from Pasadena, who only used it to go to church and church related functions.

The importance of reading the CARFAX report is that it provides you with the complete rundown on the history of any accidents, body work and mechanical repairs made to the vehicle.  This history tells you whether the car you are interested in buying is a lemon, that being a car that is destined to spend more time in the garage than in your driveway, or a really good deal.

A CARFAX report contains, but may not be limited to;

*    Ownership History.  You will know if the car was a rental car, part of a fleet (usually government, either local, State, Provincial or Federal, but can be from sports teams and other large organizations), how many people owned the car and for how long, and the mileage on the car.

*    Service History.  You will know whether or not the car manufacturer’s recommended service regimen was followed or not.  Not having the oil changed on a regular basis, and running the car on old, rusted out spark plugs will cause major problems with the engine further down the road.  And, most likely, you will be far from home when the car does break down.  Regular brake pad changes, brake and transmission services, air conditioning services,  pretty much anything that was done to the carshould be in the CARFAX report.

*    Accident History.  Any accidents that the car was involved in, whether the driver was at fault or not, is included in the CARFAX report.  Each time the airbags were deployed, and why, is included, as well as whether there was any frame damage, and if the frame was straightened at a body shop or not.  There are people out there who will resell cars that were totalled in accidents, after fixing them up to look good, and if a car had been reported as a write-off for insurance purposes, that will be on the CARFAX report as well.

*    Odometer readings and rollbacks.  In a CARFAX report, all odometer readings that were taken during service, maintenance and repairs are listed.  This tells you how far the car was driven between oil changes, spark plug changes, tire changes, brake pad changes, etc., and will also indicate whether or not the odometer jad been rolled back.

*    Flooded.  If the car has been in a flood, and needed to be fixed, then this will be on the CARFAX report as well.  This tells you if your new car has been in a flood, and if so, the wires and other electrical and electronic components, as well as wires and spark plug wires and caps will be susceptible to erosion.

*    Lemon.  If the car was reported as a lemon, and recalled by the manufacturer, the CARFAX history report will state this as well.  There is a lemon law, but that is only activated once the car you have purchased has broken down, and the best way for a buyer to beware is to get the CARFAX report on the car that they are looking at purchasing.

Aside from lemon law protection, which varies by State and Province in the USA and Canada, the CARFAX report is the most comprehensive report on the state and the road-worthiness of the car that you are looking at purchasing.  The lemon law only comes into effect after you have had the problems, and it is those problems that the CARFAX report is meant to try to hinder.  

Enjoy your new car.  Even if your car was used, it is still new to you.  The majority of the information obtained through a CARFAX report is aimed at telling the consumer what the vehicle has gone through in it’s life, if any government mandated recalls or other problems were involved, and if any insurance claims were made on it.

Drive safe.  Drive informed.