uhehheh

Hi,

Would someone help me interpret Carfax for 2008 E350 CPO?

Here's the link:

CARFAX Vehicle History Report on WDBUF56XX8B203610


Actually, I have some questions over the "Detailed History" part.

Let me show you it first.





And here's the questions.

1) In the Owner 1 section, it says the type is "Personal". Well, it was first reported "Registered as personal vehicle", but for three times later, it was reported "Registered as lease vehicle."

So this owner 1 guy bought this car? or personally leased this car?



2) If the owner 1 leased this car, why there are three records of "Registered as lease vehicle", especially in 3 different states?



3) It looks like the Owner 2 leased this car again. But why all of a sudden it was sold at auction in Pennsylvania, as a fleet vehicle?



4) There's nothing specifically wrong for the record of "Door Trim Panel Replaced" on 09/20/2010, right?




I know that there are lots of questions, but if you answer at lease one of them, I would greatly appreciate it. I've googled a lot, but I still can't understand these things

And if there is anything else I should notice, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

220S

Personal car is used as personal car, whether leased or purchased. Otherwise it's a fleet, corporate, or taxi, etc..

It's fleet later because the dealer bought it at auction and it became part of their "fleet" inventory for sale.

Remember that all Carfax does is note anything that the DMV puts out. And each DMV sometimes records info differently than others. e.g., registration renewed and it's recorded still as a lease vehicle, etc., (ie, the lessee didn't buy out the lease, etc..)

Nothing to worry about. Although it looks like an error with the New Jersey DMV in Ft Worth, TX.

Carfax is worth looking at, but they're spotty at best. And sometimes with not a lot of info. You should also get AutoCheck (Experian) and compare the two for discrepancies. I've seen a Carfax report list a car as a two owner and the Autocheck list the same car as a four owner....

The best thing is to get the dealer to run the VMI on the vehicle. That way you'll know what's up with the condition, ownership, and service of the car.

hkycoldrct

Sure looks like a personal leased vehicle to me. The mileage kind of dictates that as well. You can ask the dealer to see the VMI which will give you a more detailed report on what was replaced or repaired on the vehicle. Carfax IMO is useless. If they refuse to show it to you, say thanks and walk out. If they tell you they can't because it has the past owner or lessee information on it tell them to white it out on the copy they show you. If the car is clean, they should not hesitate to show it to you.

uhehheh

@220S Thank you for detailed comment. Learned a lot from your comment.

@hkycoldrct I didn't know about the VMI at all. Thank you for good advice on VMI. I should request it when I see the dealer soon.