I've realized CarFax is just about useless..... - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

bumblebeecamaro · 01-16-2020, 12:07 PM

So here's my quick story. Last month I bought a '12 SS Bumblebee Edition car that was advertised with having a clean CarFax report along with 20K miles on the clock. The car was almost four hours (one way) driving distance so I was taking a chance. I decided to go for the deal and I rented a car one way to buy the new car. I ran in to some bad traffic jams along the way which resulted in daytime turning in to night time. Bad idea! I brought a flash light with me so I could look under the car to see if I could spot any seepage or other bad signs. Needless to say it was dark by the time I arrived and I could only see so much with the flash light.

I looked everything over as best as I could and I bought the car. Drove home and everything was fine. Parked the car in the garage and went to bed. Next morning I looked at the car and I was absolutely disgusted with how the paint looked on the car. Apparently the car had been repainted by what looks like a hillbilly in their backyard in the wide open wilderness. I was completely devastated. The car didn't look nowhere near that bad in the dark even with using the flash light. Nonetheless what's done is done and I couldn't reverse time.

I just traded in that car for a 2016 SS that I found on a really great deal. I looked at the CarFax report on the '16 SS and it shows minor damage to the passenger side door and the roof area near the door. I looked the car over dozens of times and I can't find one single sign or body work or repainting. This means whoever did the repair did a crazy good job because my OCD eyes can't find one sign of repainting or body work.

The conclusion is this. CarFax showed my 2012 with zero body or accident work which was furtherest from the truth. While my 2016 has a report of minor damage but the car looks 100% perfect. I've come to the conclusion that CarFax isn't what it's cracked up to be....

*edit*

I forgot to mention I called the seller of the 2012 car and I point blank asked him why did the paint job look so crappy? He then told me the rear quarter was hit and so on and so on.... I told him that was really bad how he failed to disclose that information to me when I looked at the car the night before. Obviously in the end it's my fault for not being much better prepared.... This is definitely a major case of live and learn....(the hard way.....)

Black_SS10 · 01-16-2020, 12:14 PM

Carfax only shows what is reported. Example, If someone repaired a vehicle at their home, carfax will not show anything. If nothing is reported, nothing will.show on the report. It is just a tool and a "selling" point.

bumblebeecamaro · 01-16-2020, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black_SS10

Carfax only shows what is reported. Example, If someone repaired a vehicle at their home, carfax will not show anything. If nothing is reported, nothing will.show on the report. It is just a tool and a "selling" point.

Exactly. I always thought services like CarFax were iron clad in the used car selling business. Clearly there are easy ways of hiding details to the untrained eye.

mikeman · 01-16-2020, 12:27 PM

It's interesting that the '16 showed damage but you can't tell where it happened.

Maybe in the case of the '16, it's one of those situations where Carfax screwed up. You know like reporting an accident from another car on it. A few people have reported this.

I guess the only way to be sure would be to rent or borrow one of those paint thickness gauges and see how the paint compares to the untouched areas.

This is always a risk when you buy used. You really have to do your homework and look over the car very very carefully before you buy it. I probably should rent out my eyes because with my OCD, I'm usually pretty good at spotting body and paint repairs.

bumblebeecamaro · 01-16-2020, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeman

It's interesting that the '16 showed damage but you can't tell where it happened.

Nope, I really can't tell where the repair(s) were made. I even looked in the door jam to see if there were any signs. Absolutely zero signs. The passenger side door jam looks identical to the driver's side. My sales guy told me sometimes people get minor door dings fixed by insurance which would explain the report to CarFax from the insurance company. But even then, I still can't see any repair signs on the roof.

CamaroBarb · 01-16-2020, 01:43 PM

I had the same thing happen over and over with carfax. Non reported damage clean carfax wrecked repainted cars. Happened on this Camaro too, very hard to see but the roof was repainted clean carfax. I put no value in carfax when buying a used car.

Moto-Mojo · 01-16-2020, 01:54 PM

Wait, I thought this kind of crap only happened to me! Sorry to hear it. That would suck, big time. Sounds like ya got a rocket now. That should put the grin back on your face.

xc_SS/RS · 01-16-2020, 02:24 PM

Had a similar experience with my first car. Bought it and knew it had been in an accident per the Carfax and white paint on the front bumper (no dents, looked like a small scrape).

One year later there are two accidents on the Carfax by the previous owner. Turns out their process then wasn’t as seamless, or fluid, and sometimes records of accidents didn’t get input timely.

Don’t trust that shit. It’s a tool to get more money

Silveradoss573 · 01-16-2020, 02:25 PM

Carfax is a useful tool to use on used vehicles but it's only one part of the puzzle when looking at a used car. Knowing what to look for and a little common sense will go a long ways.

CamaroBarb · 01-16-2020, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moto-Mojo

Wait, I thought this kind of crap only happened to me! Sorry to hear it. That would suck, big time. Sounds like ya got a rocket now. That should put the grin back on your face.

Car runs great but I'm sure more than just the roof was painted and someone really sharp could probably pick out all kinds of things. I think the entire car was repainted because it chips very easily. I checked with insurance company who reports to carfax, they deny any reporting of any kind. I asked a few body shops and they claim they don't report anything either. Its possible they get info from police reports but I couldn't confirm where they get their info. Last4 cars I bought were ALL clean carfax, everyone was crashed and repainted. So I'd say carfax is useless.

xXSharkfhinXx · 01-16-2020, 06:44 PM

Agreed, I researched on different vin sites and got more info than carfax...

bumblebeecamaro · 01-16-2020, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CamaroBarb

So I'd say carfax is useless.

Yup, pretty much. There's too many and easy ways to hide or fail to disclose body damage instances.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moto-Mojo

Wait, I thought this kind of crap only happened to me! Sorry to hear it. That would suck, big time. Sounds like ya got a rocket now. That should put the grin back on your face.

Yeah, everything worked out for the best. I'm really liking my new (well, it's new to me) SS so it's all good.

BehindBlueI's · 01-16-2020, 08:10 PM

It's not useless, but it's just a piece of the puzzle and not the entirety. Like getting a car inspected, it's not a 100% guarantee but it's more information then you had before.

MrChrisLS3 · 01-16-2020, 08:34 PM

Carfax is typically reliable to about the 85% range. Things that show up can be insurance claims, but not always. Typically it is the repair shops that provide info as well. I have seen cars that had a Carfax claim of structural damage, yet the reality was that it was nothing more than a fender bender. Some shops will claim structural damage to get more money from the insurance company if they can get away with it.

For example, if the 2012 had a bad Carfax, it probably would've been more difficult to trade for the 2016. I'm guessing of course, that the trade in dealership ran the Carfax and didn't see any damage reports.

01-16-2020, 12:07 PM	#1
bumblebeecamaro Car Lover By Nature Drives: 2016 Hyper Blue Metallic SS Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Central FL Posts: 2,327 View My Garage	I've realized CarFax is just about useless..... So here's my quick story. Last month I bought a '12 SS Bumblebee Edition car that was advertised with having a clean CarFax report along with 20K miles on the clock. The car was almost four hours (one way) driving distance so I was taking a chance. I decided to go for the deal and I rented a car one way to buy the new car. I ran in to some bad traffic jams along the way which resulted in daytime turning in to night time. Bad idea! I brought a flash light with me so I could look under the car to see if I could spot any seepage or other bad signs. Needless to say it was dark by the time I arrived and I could only see so much with the flash light. I looked everything over as best as I could and I bought the car. Drove home and everything was fine. Parked the car in the garage and went to bed. Next morning I looked at the car and I was absolutely disgusted with how the paint looked on the car. Apparently the car had been repainted by what looks like a hillbilly in their backyard in the wide open wilderness. I was completely devastated. The car didn't look nowhere near that bad in the dark even with using the flash light. Nonetheless what's done is done and I couldn't reverse time. I just traded in that car for a 2016 SS that I found on a really great deal. I looked at the CarFax report on the '16 SS and it shows minor damage to the passenger side door and the roof area near the door. I looked the car over dozens of times and I can't find one single sign or body work or repainting. This means whoever did the repair did a crazy good job because my OCD eyes can't find one sign of repainting or body work. The conclusion is this. CarFax showed my 2012 with zero body or accident work which was furtherest from the truth. While my 2016 has a report of minor damage but the car looks 100% perfect. I've come to the conclusion that CarFax isn't what it's cracked up to be.... edit I forgot to mention I called the seller of the 2012 car and I point blank asked him why did the paint job look so crappy? He then told me the rear quarter was hit and so on and so on.... I told him that was really bad how he failed to disclose that information to me when I looked at the car the night before. Obviously in the end it's my fault for not being much better prepared.... This is definitely a major case of live and learn....(the hard way.....) __________________

01-16-2020, 12:14 PM	#2
Black_SS10 SomeguyK Drives: 2010 Black 2SS/RS Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: FL Posts: 1,947	Carfax only shows what is reported. Example, If someone repaired a vehicle at their home, carfax will not show anything. If nothing is reported, nothing will.show on the report. It is just a tool and a "selling" point. __________________ TMS 427, Dart iron Block, Forged assembly, Frankenstien heads, AGP TT 62/62 BB turbo's, AGP/Fore triple fuel system, Tilton clutch, Holley 1 7/8 shorties, Technostalgia tail lights,Oracle, Aeroforce, MGW shifter,Flowmaster, Pegasus subframe bushings,BMR trailing & toe arms,Z28 UCA bushings,Zl1 rear sway bar,Prothane,BMR,Goodridge brake lines,Ridetech HQ coilovers,3.91,Trutrac,billet caps,DSS axles,HE offest,built TR6060,1LE diffuser,Havoc spoiler,SSclones,20in MRR 017, Pirelli P Zero, Nitto NT555RII More to come.

01-16-2020, 01:54 PM	#7
Moto-Mojo Fast Cars and Old Guitars Drives: 2015 2SS RS (L99, baby!) Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: N. CA Posts: 3,974	Wait, I thought this kind of crap only happened to me! Sorry to hear it. That would suck, big time. Sounds like ya got a rocket now. That should put the grin back on your face. __________________ “I don’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.” - Groucho Marx

01-16-2020, 02:24 PM	#8
xc_SS/RS Drives: 2010 Camaro SS/RS Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: somewhere in MD Posts: 4,883	Had a similar experience with my first car. Bought it and knew it had been in an accident per the Carfax and white paint on the front bumper (no dents, looked like a small scrape). One year later there are two accidents on the Carfax by the previous owner. Turns out their process then wasn’t as seamless, or fluid, and sometimes records of accidents didn’t get input timely. Don’t trust that shit. It’s a tool to get more money __________________ 2010 2SS/RS Z/28 intake, NW, FAST 102, speed engineering LT's, some exhaust, ATI -10% pulley, GM flex fuel injectors, DSX flex fuel sensor, MGW shifter, HP Tuners, some suspension work, stickers and a little weight loss. 12.63 @113.53

01-16-2020, 06:44 PM	#11
xXSharkfhinXx Drives: 2015 2SS RS Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Louisiana Posts: 174	Agreed, I researched on different vin sites and got more info than carfax... __________________ Darkness

01-16-2020, 12:27 PM	#4
mikeman Banned Drives: 2015 Camaro Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: My Garage Posts: 1,125	It's interesting that the '16 showed damage but you can't tell where it happened. Maybe in the case of the '16, it's one of those situations where Carfax screwed up. You know like reporting an accident from another car on it. A few people have reported this. I guess the only way to be sure would be to rent or borrow one of those paint thickness gauges and see how the paint compares to the untouched areas. This is always a risk when you buy used. You really have to do your homework and look over the car very very carefully before you buy it. I probably should rent out my eyes because with my OCD, I'm usually pretty good at spotting body and paint repairs.

01-16-2020, 01:43 PM	#6
CamaroBarb Banned Drives: cheby Camaro Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: usa Posts: 575	I had the same thing happen over and over with carfax. Non reported damage clean carfax wrecked repainted cars. Happened on this Camaro too, very hard to see but the roof was repainted clean carfax. I put no value in carfax when buying a used car.

01-16-2020, 02:25 PM	#9
Silveradoss573 Drives: Camaro 1LE Join Date: May 2018 Location: USA Posts: 1,348	Carfax is a useful tool to use on used vehicles but it's only one part of the puzzle when looking at a used car. Knowing what to look for and a little common sense will go a long ways.

01-16-2020, 08:10 PM	#13
BehindBlueI's Drives: 2011 Camaro SS Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Midwest Posts: 314	It's not useless, but it's just a piece of the puzzle and not the entirety. Like getting a car inspected, it's not a 100% guarantee but it's more information then you had before.

01-16-2020, 08:34 PM	#14
MrChrisLS3 Drives: 2018 1SS M6 Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Houston Posts: 2,617	Carfax is typically reliable to about the 85% range. Things that show up can be insurance claims, but not always. Typically it is the repair shops that provide info as well. I have seen cars that had a Carfax claim of structural damage, yet the reality was that it was nothing more than a fender bender. Some shops will claim structural damage to get more money from the insurance company if they can get away with it. For example, if the 2012 had a bad Carfax, it probably would've been more difficult to trade for the 2016. I'm guessing of course, that the trade in dealership ran the Carfax and didn't see any damage reports.