by Eric Thor

If you are in the market to purchase a used car, you MUST understand the CarFax (CF) report that each used car MUST have. CarFax is either supplied free, by the seller, or you, the purchaser, must pay for the report. There is a review page or two that summarizes the 25 page CarFax report. There are 6 divisions to the report:

Vehicle History Report. This is page one of the CarFax – the most important page! This page immediately sums the entire CF if 1) service records available, 2) number of previous owners, 3) if the car was leased or corporate vehicle, 4) any accidents, 5) detail event records 6) last odometer reading. Is the car a turkey or should you expend more time doing research – CF supplies immediate answers.

A summary of 1) title troubles, 2) ownership history, and 3) other information follow. Critical items that CarFax has found can be investigated in just seconds. Items CF has determined need to be investigated are highlighted – this saves a lot of time and that’s the secret of CF.

The Details section, below the Vehicle History Report, shows all events, like accidents, change in ownership, state inspections, etc. in one clever location. Each owner of the car has a section with all the details CarFax has accumulated.

Vehicle Highlights. Vehicle Highlights has numerous segments. Ownership History segment reviews the number of prior owners and latest mileage. State DMV-Reported Title Problems is a super critical section. Check if the car’s title has been reclassified into: Junk, Salvage, Rebuilt, Fire/Flood, Hail Damage, or Buyback/Lemon titles. If this has happened, bypass this used car.

Warranty Check. This is a very clever segment that shows different kinds of warranty coverage and if there is any warranty left. Eliminate or confirm any seller’s claim about warranties in this segment. Basic coverage, coverage of the Drive Train, Emissions coverage, Corrosion coverage, and if any of the warranties are transferrable are some of the types of warranty coverage tracked by CarFax.

Safety & Reliability Ratings. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tests are covered in this fantastic section. Just how safe this used car is to drive is reported by front, side, and rear crash results.. Injury, Collision, and Theft Indicator section scores this used car against all automobiles and gives you guideposts as to this automobile’s ranking – below average, average, or better than average. Manufacturer recalls and if they were done to the car are covered in the Safety Recall section. J.D. Power Rating is a wealth of data contained in the last segment.

Buyback Guarantee Certificate (Optional). CF will buyback the car, if the used car qualifies if they screwed up with damage warnings, odometer readings, titles, or a Lemon History reporting. Some cars flunk and this should be your test too – You should NOT buy that used automobile if CF will not issue a Buyback Guarantee.

Consumer Ratings & Comments. This final section represents feedback from car owners of this same model, make, and year of automobile. Trust me, if there is a problem with this kind of car other owners will post their horror stories. Similarly, if you purchase the automobile and find problems you can go into CF and warn other folks not to buy this kind of car.

About the Author:
Eric Thor, the author, can be found at the website Cheap Used Car. Read How to read a CarFax Report at his website. Learn how this report will make a enormous difference in buying a used automobile. Don’t make the biggest error possible by not reading the CarFax on a used car.

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