CarFax Problems
04-22-2010, 05:26 PM
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2008 VW Rabbit
CarFax Problems
An interesting couple of items indicate the limitations of relying on CarFax to judge a vehicle's worth. Among other things, CF receives reports only from "selected states," not all of them.
"(t)he suit charged that CARFAX misled consumers into believing that its reports contain complete information about vehicle histories." http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...fax_class.html
rejected a proposed class action settlement that would have awarded users who relied on the report simply coupons to get more reports in the future: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...oh_carfax.html (Note: these may have been separate cases.)
if they've started getting reports from all the states, yet. Even so, what are the chances they get reports from all jurisdictions in which a crash might occur.
is highlighted by The New York Times, which reports "An analysis of motor vehicle records from September 2005 to August 2006 by Experian Automotive, which also provides vehicle histories, showed that 15,000 vehicles damaged by the hurricanes were retitled in other states, with 45 percent, or 7,000, getting clean titles." http://www.boston.com/cars/news/arti...rs_may_remain/
As a potential buyer, the only defense I have is to to buy a used car that kept its title in a single state, then paying for a really good Pre-Purchase Inspection.
In a 2007 class action,
An Ohio appeals court
I wonder
The magnitude of the problem
A lot of folks are overpaying for cars.
