Is Car Fax Ever Wrong?

[White987S]

I am sure many accidents go unreported on a Car Fax. This is NOT my question.

What about accidents that DO show up on a Car Fax? Are they ever wrong? Could one accident cause a Car Fax to show multiple events...months later?

Thanks.

[Kim]

CarFax is no different from any other computer data base with input from humans. Garbage In / Garbage Out. Any sort of data mistake is possible there.

The folks who just bought my wife's car said that CarFax showed no lien until several years into my ownership, then only for a short period before showing the lien removed. In reality, the credit union lien was on from the first day through the 4th year.

[Dharn55]

Do bears sh...t in the woods? And if no one is there to smell it, does it still stink?

[SPIRO]

I had an accident in a Toyota years ago. Carfax says the car was damaged so badly it was not driveable , which simply was not true. They were wrong. I still own that car, and have put 100,000 trouble free miles on it since the collision. I am sure they both minimise and exagerate the extent of damage at times. I am also sure there must be collisions not documented on Carfax. Again, like any type of report, it depends upon the accuracy of the information and how is is entered into the system. I think it is only piece of information, to be used together with a pre-purchase inspection, to determine if a car is right for you.

[masq]

Here's my experience with Car Fax: can't trust it unless the title status on the car was changed to a salvaged title.

Many years ago, I owned a sponsored show car that was involved in a heavy collision that caused over $20,000 in body damage. The car by itself was only $30,000 brand new, so it was supposed to be called a total loss. However, the car also had an additional $40,000 insured for custom body work and audio equipment installs so I had to fight the insurance company to keep it from being declared a total loss. Why? I was under contract with my sponsors to keep all the equipment on the car for a specified amount of time, which I had not fulfilled yet. By breaching the contract, I was in the situation where I had to pay back all the work and equipment they had sponsored for me.

In any case, this accident that involved replacement of the entire rear body section of the car and realignment of frame and suspension geometry never showed up on Car Fax. So lesson learned, never trust Car Fax.