WHAT IS A CARFAX REPORT?

You’ve found the used car of your dreams. You’ve done your research, you’ve talked to a Product Specialist, you’ve taken the car on a test drive… but what do you really know about it? CARFAX provides you with a comprehensive report so you can drive away worry- and problem-free. It can also be used by sellers of used vehicles to help find the balance between pricing a vehicle competitively but not so low you’re losing out on its worth. We provide CARFAXs for our used vehicles at Township Chevrolet so that our customers are fully informed when purchasing their next pre-owned vehicle.

How Does It Work?

Every vehicle has their own unique vehicle identification number (VIN) and this is what CARFAX uses to determine the history of a vehicle. CARFAX runs the VIN through various databases and builds your report based on information from various agencies across Canada and the United States. Let’s look at everything a CARFAX report could include and why having this information available to you is important.

What Does It Include?

Vehicle Details + Summary

The top of the report provides a description of the vehicle, the date the report was run to ensure the information is current, and links to quickly jump to each section.

Report Findings

Following the summary, CARFAX makes it easy to find records found in chronological order before you find them broken into categories. NOTE: You will see on the right side that the report lists the odometer so you can ensure accurate records of mileage and avoid mileage rollback/fraud.

Damages Records, Including Estimates

This section goes into greater detail of find accident claims, including if the previous owner(s) received any estimates. Sometimes if a shop estimate is too high the owner might get repairs completed under the table, so seeing an estimate keeps potential buyers informed.

Lien Status

Lien Status confirms that there are no open liens on the vehicle. If there are, you could become responsible for this debt upon ownership of the vehicle and face repossession if this debt isn’t repaid. CARFAX can provide details such as who owes and who is owed.

Canadian Registrations

Stolen Vehicle Reports, Import Records, And United States Vehicle History

If you are wondering how to find out if your vehicle is stolen, checking the Stolen Vehicle Report ensures you are not about to buy a vehicle that has been reported stolen and that could get you caught up in fraudulent activity. United States Vehicle History gives a more complete picture of the vehicle’s history by searching US databases for available information.

Recalls

A lot of people say, “I don’t know how to find out if a vehicle has recalls,” but under the Recalls section you can find out if there are any open recalls, meaning service has not been completed to fix the issue.

Service History

Despite their wide access to a variety of databases, not all service depots will add information to a database used by CARFAX. However, if they do, seeing that the previous owned was diligent about keeping up with a maintenance schedule provides you, the buyer, with peace of mind knowing that you are purchasing a vehicle that has been cared for.

Why Do We Offer Them?

CARFAX is a great tool to use in your purchase of your next pre-owned vehicle. You shouldn’t expect every Pre-Owned vehicle to come with a perfect history but knowing as many details as possible helps us to make sure you are completely comfortable and confident getting into the exact vehicle you want. We even include them on our website!

From information about accident history to lien status and recalls, these reports give you the ability to make the most informed purchase possible.