Car Buying/CarFax Pros

[Taylor]

So there's a car I'm interested in on Craigslist, and I got the VIN from the seller and ran a CarFax. While the CarFax is clean (no reported accidents, no total loss, etc.), a couple things give me pause:

1. There are hardly any service records reported. This car has 94,000 miles on it, but the last oil change reported was at 36,000 miles, and no service records since. How accurate is CarFax when it comes to service records?

2. The current seller bought the car a month ago. I asked him about this, and he said he bought the car just before learning he had to move out of state and so he's selling the car because he doesn't want to drive it 20 hours. I guess that makes sense, but it gives me pause.

Am I right to be a little suspicious? Ideally I'd have it looked at by a mechanic, but the car is an hour away so it would be tough to arrange that.

[nate]

I would run away.  If the car was serviced at a legit place the records would be on Carfax.

Biggest red flag is that he just bought it a month ago and is already reselling it.  If you do decide to buy it definitely take it to a mechanic first, and make sure it is one you pick, not the seller.

[Taylor]

Thanks for the advice, Nate. I told him we're passing on the car, and he said he already sold it anyway. Much ado about nothing.

[Blarg]

Nate is incorrect about Carfax and things like oil changes. In fact most body and repair shops don't list on Carfax and there is no mandate to do so. Dealerships are the most likely to record those services but once my car left Mercedes I rarely use them except for warranty work because of their ridiculous service charges for simply items like oil changes and air filters. 

But I keep complete documentation of all work I have had done on my car so if I were to sell private party the perspective buyer can see it is well maintained. Since the car you are looking at has no documentation the one thing Nate suggested is good advice, don't buy the car.

There are hundreds of thousands of cars for sale in the US every day, you can take your time for exactly the right deal since you are obviously budget shopping. Lowest price could mean highest maintenance so research the models that are the most reliable and start your car search from there. Stay the hell away from anything with a Jeep label.

[nate]

29 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Nate is incorrect about Carfax and things like oil changes. In fact most body and repair shops don't list on Carfax and there is no mandate to do so. Dealerships are the most likely to record those services but once my car left Mercedes I rarely use them except for warranty work because of their ridiculous service charges for simply items like oil changes and air filters. 

But I keep complete documentation of all work I have had done on my car so if I were to sell private party the perspective buyer can see it is well maintained. Since the car you are looking at has no documentation the one thing Nate suggested is good advice, don't buy the car.

There are hundreds of thousands of cars for sale in the US every day, you can take your time for exactly the right deal since you are obviously budget shopping. Lowest price could mean highest maintenance so research the models that are the most reliable and start your car search from there. Stay the hell away from anything with a Jeep label.

A car with that many miles should have had at least two major services.  I wouldn't buy a used car that didn't get those done at a dealership personally.  Especially not with nearly 100k miles.

@Taylor I wouldn't ever buy a used car with high mileage without taking it to a mechanic first IMO.  Even the most reliable cars can be beat to shit, worth the extra $75 to get it checked out than to be stuck with huge repair bills.

[gotbeer]

I think CarFax is only as good as what is reported.  I wouldn't consider service as reliable, since most but dealers don't use it.  Really, if I'm looking at Carfax, the main thing I'm looking for is accidents.  Because that is the one thing that can affect the car without anyone noticing. 

But I'd stay away, if you can't get a warranty or have a dealer see it.  Especially since he is moving away. 

[Make Angels Great Again]

My Mustang has 60k miles and I bought it at 25k miles. I've never had to take it into the shop for anything but a new set of tires recently. I do my own oil changes every 5-7 thousand miles. Only thing i've had to do outside of that is swap out the water pump and it runs great. So mine would pretty much look the same. Maybe he has a similar situation.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

1 hour ago, nate said:

I would run away.  If the car was serviced at a legit place the records would be on Carfax.

Biggest red flag is that he just bought it a month ago and is already reselling it.  If you do decide to buy it definitely take it to a mechanic first, and make sure it is one you pick, not the seller.

The thing that would have concerned me about this is that the reason for selling so quickly may be that the seller just found out that the vehicle needs a major repair.

CarFax really isn't that useful for screening cars, apart from accident records and (in states that require smog checks) reasonable assurance that the odometer hasn't been rolled back.

I found my last car using Car Gurus. It checks prices in your area and rates available deals as great, good, fair, poor and overpriced. It also rates the sellers by reputation (if it is a dealer). I found just the car that I wanted at a great price at a dealer three miles from my house.

[Don]

I wouldn't worry too much about the car fax thing. Dealerships generally report service records, but lots of other places don't. Car fax is only good for things like title changes (i.e. salvage titles, transfers) and dealership records.

That said, run away. I'm about 98% sure the guy is lying about why he's selling the car. 

[AngelsLongBall]

18 hours ago, nate said:

A car with that many miles should have had at least two major services.  I wouldn't buy a used car that didn't get those done at a dealership personally.  Especially not with nearly 100k miles.

@Taylor

Curiously, what types of two major services?

[nate]

13 minutes ago, AngelsLongBall said:

Curiously, what types of two major services?

meaning regular major service. AT fluid, diff lube, brake pads, and more, depending on the car.

[Blarg]

None of that needs to be done at a dealership. 

[Don]

1 hour ago, nate said:

meaning regular major service. AT fluid, diff lube, brake pads, and more, depending on the car.

I have nearly 70,000 on my car, which I bought brand new. Original brakes are still good. It's a manual though, and I generally don't even use the brakes unless I'm under about 20mph.

[ten ocho recon scout]

I wouldn't totally write off the car because the guy is selling it a month later. Maybe he just used it to rob a bank or something. That wouldn't make the car itself a lemon.

Might miss a good deal if we just assume negatives all the time.

[Tank]

59 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

I wouldn't totally write off the car because the guy is selling it a month later. Maybe he just used it to rob a bank or something. That wouldn't make the car itself a lemon.

Might miss a good deal if we just assume negatives all the time.

or it could have been used for a body dump.

i swear, people here always run right to the negatives. come on, sheeple!

[mp170.6]

I do all regular maintenance items myself and keep good records, thus, nothing would appear on a Carfax. 

The reason I never buy used vehicles from a dealership is because I want to know WHY a vehicle is being sold.  That, to me, is a pretty big indicator of what to expect.  Put a private seller on the spot and nicely grill them for specifics.  As hokey as this sounds, you want a seller who is sad, not desperate, to sell.  People with emotional attachments to cars are the ones who usually maintain them well.  IMHO, the ideal seller is someone who purchased the vehicle new, or has owned it for a long time, and needs a different vehicle for work, family reasons, because they're moving, etc. 

94,000 miles is not "high mileage" anymore.  For a used Toyota or Honda, that would be considered low mileage.  I agree with the others that selling a month later is suspicious, even if he had to drive "20 hours".  Think about it, the hassle of selling this car and buying a new one will probably take another 20 hours for this seller, so his logic doesn't make much sense. 

By the way, another tactic that makes dishonest sellers nervous is to bring a flashlight and a checklist when you come to inspect the vehicle.  Get under the car and start looking for accident damage, excessive rust, or oil, coolant, power steering, brake fluid leaks, or anything, really.  It's amazing how much new information is suddenly revealed when you point out a problem.

[ten ocho recon scout]

3 hours ago, Tank said:

or it could have been used for a body dump.

i swear, people here always run right to the negatives. come on, sheeple!

Exactly. Am I supposed to pay 5K more for an identical white bronco just because AL Cowings drove this one for a little bit? He no. Save the 5K and put a bad ass eagle bones on the hood like that one nate posted.

[Slegnaac]

On 9/17/2016 at 9:17 AM, Don said:

I have nearly 70,000 on my car, which I bought brand new. Original brakes are still good. It's a manual though, and I generally don't even use the brakes unless I'm under about 20mph.

So just a new clutch? 

[Don]

2 hours ago, Slegnaac said:

So just a new clutch? 

The clutch is fine too. I don't drive it hard or aggressively downshift. I just let it slowly decelerate and nicely downshift into each gear around 2k rpm (for the gear I'm going into). Works just fine. Then again Toyotas are just put together pretty well.

[CaliAngel]

Dude what the hell? I clicked on this thread and a 2 minute revolt.tv video ad blasted full volume and started playing. Has anyone else dealt with this? I get the ads, chuck, I really do, but is this something that's going to be more frequent? Really threw me off cause I couldn't believe it was AngelsWin.

 

On 9/18/2016 at 5:00 PM, mp170.6 said:

I do all regular maintenance items myself and keep good records, thus, nothing would appear on a Carfax. 

The reason I never buy used vehicles from a dealership is because I want to know WHY a vehicle is being sold.  That, to me, is a pretty big indicator of what to expect.  Put a private seller on the spot and nicely grill them for specifics.  As hokey as this sounds, you want a seller who is sad, not desperate, to sell.  People with emotional attachments to cars are the ones who usually maintain them well.  IMHO, the ideal seller is someone who purchased the vehicle new, or has owned it for a long time, and needs a different vehicle for work, family reasons, because they're moving, etc. 

94,000 miles is not "high mileage" anymore.  For a used Toyota or Honda, that would be considered low mileage.  I agree with the others that selling a month later is suspicious, even if he had to drive "20 hours".  Think about it, the hassle of selling this car and buying a new one will probably take another 20 hours for this seller, so his logic doesn't make much sense. 

By the way, another tactic that makes dishonest sellers nervous is to bring a flashlight and a checklist when you come to inspect the vehicle.  Get under the car and start looking for accident damage, excessive rust, or oil, coolant, power steering, brake fluid leaks, or anything, really.  It's amazing how much new information is suddenly revealed when you point out a problem.

This is great advice for anyone looking for a new or used car! Very valuable information for free. Nice post MP!

[Lou]

3 hours ago, CaliAngel said:

Dude what the hell? I clicked on this thread and a 2 minute revolt.tv video ad blasted full volume and started playing. Has anyone else dealt with this? I get the ads, chuck, I really do, but is this something that's going to be more frequent? Really threw me off cause I couldn't believe it was AngelsWin.

 

This is great advice for anyone looking for a new or used car! Very valuable information for free. Nice post MP!

no, it's never happened to me 

[Lou]

On September 16, 2016 at 1:17 PM, Taylor said:

Thanks for the advice, Nate. I told him we're passing on the car, and he said he already sold it anyway. Much ado about nothing.

he's lying 

[Taylor]

15 hours ago, Lou said:

he's lying 

I considered that, although he pulled the ad off Craigslist, too.

[nate]

Most important thing about buying a used car is not to rush and always have it checked by a mechanic, even if it only has 10k miles on it.

[mp170.6]

9 minutes ago, nate said:

Most important thing about buying a used car is not to rush and always have it checked by a mechanic, even if it only has 10k miles on it.

I probably wouldn't have a mechanic inspect a vehicle with 10k miles.  The manufacturer's warranty should still be valid to 36k miles, if not many more.

AAA has what they call the Vehicle Inspection Program (VIP) Rebate with the AAA Premier level of membership.  Have a used car inspected before purchase at an AAA-approved shop, and they will give you a $45 refund, one rebate per year.  The inspection usually costs $90-110 at most shops.  AAA Premier membership runs a little over $100 per year but includes 100-mile tows and one 200-mile tow per year.  This is what you want when buying a used car you aren't familiar with, just in case it implodes a week later.  And even then, you might want AAA Premier all the time. If not, you can always downgrade your AAA membership at your next renewal. The lowest level of AAA membership offers free tows for only 7 miles -- that's not enough to drive from one corner of Anaheim to the other.

The real value in having a mechanic inspect a vehicle is a WRITTEN report of their findings.  That becomes a bargaining chip for lowering the price you pay the seller.  Last year I did just this.  The shop found two broken motor mounts and the brake fluid needed to be flushed.  Estimate: $300.  I took their findings back to the seller and he eventually knocked $300 off his previously "firm" price.  I did the work myself for $100 in parts. 

All of this is a game of psychological football.  You want to maintain possession of the ball at all times, and even if you fumble, find some way to gain the upperhand again.