landru64

so i was looking at a very low mileage c55 at a dealer a little while back and when i called, the salesman told me that they were wholesaling the car because they found out the frame had taken damage during improper shipping from its previous home. so now i find the same car at a non-merc dealer elsewhere in the country, advertised as well on a well known auction site.

of course the carfax report says nothing.

just thought i'd share.... be careful out there folks!

bud4ya

Carfax sucks but is a guide to go by because sometimes it catches things. My example was I bought a BMW from a guy the swore up and down the car had not been re painted. I ran a car fax and it showed no accidents and him as the only owner which he was. Well after about a year or so of owning teh car the clear started peeling on the door. Since it was still under factory warranty I brought it to the BMW dealer and they said it had been re apinted on that side. So I go back and run another car fax report and what do you know it shows up as front end collision. Now if this had just happened before I bought teh car I could see that it would not show up. But this accident happened about a year after he bought the car and then he owned it for 2 years after that. So the accident happened 4 years before I bought the car. It took four years for Carfax to get this info.

My best advice is bring it to a dealer to be inspected and to a body shop to check the paint.

M-bENZ

GOOD TO KNOW THIS GUYS....

HLG600

It is not difficult to get around CARFAX. If ones pays a repair in cash, for instance, there it is simply not going to register in their database, as only insurance claims do. By all means better than nothing, but don't view it as a guarantee, and make sure to inspect any car thoroughly pre-purchase.

c32used

landru64

it's a little bit of a crusade for me. my c43 had two big REPORTED accidents and nothing on the carfax. i contacted carfax and they basically said they don't want to know. not kidding.

bud4ya

Right on. The Carfax is just a piece of paper that will get you started. Run one and if an accident shows up pass on the car and save yourself the $100 inspection fee. I would not never base my decision on carfax report because of the points listed below. Always get the car checked out by a mechanic/autobody shop.

Newzchspy

Not true, some carriers do NOT report to Carfax and many body shops do NOT either!!!

Code3 Performance

I always suggest Carfax and an inspection by a reputable mechanic you trust. Sucks to hear of the sleezy things some people do.

Slater126

You point out a valuable lesson -- it's just one step in the process of buying a used car. It's definitely worth the 10 bucks because it will point out some things but it's no substitute for a thorough inspection by a really good mechanic, especially on a car as complex as these.

A few years ago, I was looking at a late 1980s Golf GTI 16v. I don't remember the exact particulars but the car was being advertised with something like 120k on it but the Carfax showed that it had about 15-20k more miles on it 6 years earlier! The seller probably put a different speedometer in it to add to the value. The car looked good and you'd have never known but, due to the dishonesty, I passed, not to mention the fact that I would have some explainin' to do if I ever tried to sell it. The Carfax was well worth the small expenditure in that case, that's for certain.