Importance of Carfax

Hey there. Being that my family has been in used cars for eons, I'm the right guy to ask. And honestly, CarFax is a waste of your money. They tell you all sorts of fascinating things about the car, but if someone regularly goes to Joe Schmoes small shop for maintenance or if they do it themselves, CarFax will not see it at all. The majority of people, in my experience at least, use small shops with the mechanic they've known since grade school.

Here's what to really look for in a car. First, look at the condition of the seats, carpets, and pedals. If the odometer shows 80,000 miles, but the carpet, or seats, or pedals are worn through, then you know that something is amiss. Those miles are not right.

Look at the condition of things like ashtrays, door handles, locks, buttons, etc. If they're clean and in decent shape, you can bet that the car was taken care of. Does the car have an owners manual? That is also indicative of how the car was cared for.

On the outside of the car, feel the groves between body panels. Are they consistent and level? Then the car either hasn't had major body work out whatever has been done was done professionally by someone who is detail oriented. If they're all out of whack, it's had work done on the cheap. Also look at the panels from several angles each so you can see whether or not they've been painted. Look at the tires. Mismatched tires can indicate that a car wasn't particularly loved. But that's not a firm rule. My car has 4 different tires on it right now, but that old beater runs better than most cars because I've mechanically loved it while delivering a physical beating to it daily.

If it's a fleet car (rental, police, postal, power company, taxi, etc) know that the car has seen lots of long days with who knows how many idling hours on the engine while being driven, for lack of a better phrase, like it's stolen. This type of driving is rough on every part of a vehicle.

If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to come back and add more. I hope this helps you out.

I did think of one more thing. The nice thing about a CarFax is that it does tell you if a car has been in an accident, regardless of what the title says. However, you can get this same information for free from the National Insurance Crime Bureau at www.nicb.org

Thank you very much for your thorough response.

No problem! Good luck with your search!