Jacksonville Used
Cars – Understanding CARFAX
In
august I wrote a blog explaining the importance of buying a used car only if
you have a CARFAX in hand (http://kicklighterautosales.blogspot.com/2012/08/jacksonville-usedcars-how-to-value-my.html).
I want to go into more detail and show you exactly how to read and view a
CARFAX on any car that you desire.
This
service is not free so I suggest you get the carfax from a dealership website
or physically from a salesman on a car lot. Many dealerships have a CARFAX account
on their inventory that you can request free of charge. I’m going to walk you
through a detailed CARFAX on the Kicklighter Auto Sales website. Here is the
link for you to follow along (http://kicklighterautosales.com/view/1028/Black-2010-Ford-Fusion-in-Jacksonville-FL).
You’re going to scroll down until you see the “show me the CARFAX” icon located
under the price of the vehicle.
Once
you have the CARFAX open on your browser you can see the complete vehicle
history of everything that has been done to the vehicle. The first box is going
to be a summary of the vehicle’s history explaining how many owners and whether
or not the car has a clean title. As you can see this vehicle is a CARFAX one
owner and has had no previous accidents. This section also lists the mileage
and how many service records are on file for this automobile.
The
next section is a price calculator that determines whether you need to add or
subtract from the retail value of the car. Based on the history CARFAX suggests
this car is worth $260 over retail value.
This is the price you can expect to pay from a dealer for a similar
vehicle.
Below
that is ownership history. This section will tell you the estimated length of
ownership and the last reported odometer reading. It will also tell you the
states it was purchased in and the year the car was purchased. An obvious red flag would be if the car has
been resold multiple times in a few years.
This
section is vital because you want to have the title history of the vehicle you
are purchasing. This explains if the car has any flood or hail damage. If you
want a car with a clean title then reference this section when talking with a
salesman. It explains if there were any reported odometer discrepancies as well.
The
last box before the detailed history is additional information. If you decide
to buy a salvage or rebuilt title then this section will give you details on
airbag deployment, odometer, structural damage, and warranty.
The
last section that we are going to discuss is the detailed history. Here you can see what has been done to the
automobile. Every dealership that offers service is required to report to
CARFAX. This list reports something as severe as accidents to as minor as an
oil change. I would never purchase a used vehicle without seeing the CARFAX
first.
By: Jeremy Kicklighter
Kicklighter Auto Sales Manager
Links:
Website- http://kicklighterautosales.com/
Thanks for the insight, now I will know what to look for on this report.
ReplyDeleteAs the saying goes, "Those that don't look sometimes get took." I wouldn't buy a car without seeing a CarFax. What CarFax has done for used car dealers is make them more accountable. Don't want a lemon, insist on seeing the CarFax.
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ReplyDelete