5 Things to Look for on a Carfax Report

Looking for a used car? A CarFax report is one of the best resources available to ensure that you’re getting what you pay for. The company uses a VIN, or vehicle identification number, to track the history of every car. Performing a vehicle history check tells you how a car’s been treated, used, and maintained.

A clean CarFax report is a big step towards a great purchase. It’ll tell you about:

Accidents

CarFax reports include accident history. Minor accidents aren’t a concern so long as they don’t impact performance or require body work. Larger accidents are a different story. You need to know about work done after accidents that affect reliability – and value.

Flood Damage

Flooding severely impacts a car’s long-term functionality, particularly in terms of its electrical system and computer. This can impact a number of absolutely essential basic safety features: headlights, airbag, anti-lock brakes.

Maintenance Schedule

Now, not every shop will report oil changes, tire rotations, and parts work. An infrequent history won’t necessarily mean that a vehicle didn’t get the maintenance it needed. However, many cars will have this history. In this case, you can be more confident that the car was well cared for beforehand.

Mileage Changes

What does it mean when the CarFax report shows maintenance done on the car at 60,000 miles, and then shows maintenance done a year later at 55,000 miles? How is that possible? There could be a mistake, but more likely someone rolled back the mileage in order to scam a buyer.

Was It a Rental?

Rental cars are often sold after recording a certain amount of mileage. It doesn’t mean a car’s a bad buy. Oftentimes, you can get great deals on more recent models. However, they will have high mileage for their year and people can drive them roughly. Luckily, rental cars are usually well-maintained. A former rental car is neither a better nor worse buy. It just informs you of how the car was used.

Dealerships will often do a vehicle history check to make sure a car has a clean Carfax report. They’ll stay away from cars with certain red flags. Always check the CarFax report, whether buying from a dealer or a private seller.