Carfax Helped Me Buy A Wrecked Car
Here is my experience. I hope you can learn from it.
Here is my car...
It's a 2023 Nissan Rogue. It's nice, right? Well little did I know that despite my research and due diligence, I could still be sold a wrecked car despite having a clean title and a clean CarFax. Below is the timeline of events and lessons learned.
First Some Background
I was in the market for a late model used car for my son who was going to be driving soon. I wanted something that had not been in a wreck, had a clean title and a clean CarFax. I was also looking for a car that has some key safety features like blind spot detection and lane assist. I looked at a bunch of dealerships before selecting one with good reviews and high BBB score.
The Timeline
I met with the sales person. I told him we wanted a car without accident, clean carfax and clean title. We identified a Honda CRV, BMW X3 and a Nissan Rogue.
We test drove all three and decided to move forward with the 2023 Nissan Rogue because it was a late model with low mileage and still under factory warranty.
We finalized the purchase on Feb 21. I paid cash up front.
Shortly after the purchase, I started hearing a clunking noise from the front end. This happened when braking, starting off from a stop or driving over uneven terrain. "No problem!" I thought. It's under factory warranty so I will take it to a Nissan service center nearby.
On Mar 4 took it a Nissan Service Center for inspection. I told them I thought it could be something wrong with the suspension. They inspected the front end of the car. They found no issues with the suspension but informed me that there had been some sort of damage to the front end.
Since they didn't find any material issue of concern, and the noise was somewhat infrequent, I decided to live with it.
By early April, the noise was happening with greater frequency so on April 10th, I took it back for another inspection. They charged $250 for a detailed inspection and suggested a strut assembly replacement for $1500.
I was irritated at the thought of spending $1500 so I contacted the manager of sales manager to discuss the matter on April 11. I told him that the Nissan service technician had stated that they thought the car had been in a wreck. He stated that the car purchase agreement I had signed included a clause that I understood that all cars from their dealership could have been damaged as they could not ever know the true condition of a car. I thought this was interesting given the care had a clean CarFax.
Nonetheless, the sales manager did agree to reimburse for the inspection and replace the struts.
I was still concerned about the car so I opened case 16065015 with CarFax and indicated to them I wanted to file a buyback claim with them as the car had shown a clean CarFax but obviously was not clean. This is the response I got back.
Their cars looked great and they had a lot of great reviews and provided a free Carfax for each car. At the time I looked though, a lot of the CarFax's for their inventory did not meet my criteria of never having been in any any sort of accident. That was a no-go for me but I finally did find three cars that appeared to have clean titles and CarFax's without accidents. One of them was a 2023 Nissan Rogue with roughly 25k miles on it. "Wow!" I thought. "A 2023 Nissan Rogue still under factory warranty with a clean title and a clean CarFax! That's a no-brainer!" I decided to visit the dealership.
I was very disappointed with CarFax's response. I thought the whole point of CarFax was to protect the consumer in the event that what it shows is incorrect. But that's not how CarFax works (more on that later).
I dropped off the Nissan to be repaired in early May. By May 5th the struts were replaced, and I drove the car home thinking I had all this behind me. Unfortunately, the popping noise continued.
The noise continued with greater frequency so by July 6 took it to Pep Boys for alignment and an inspection. They said they thought the subframe had been damaged and recommended I take it to a body shop.
The noise continued with greater frequency and so on Sept 5th, I took the car back to Nissan to repair damage to the subframe. I decided I was just going to pay out of pocket so I could get the issue behind me. This cost me $2981.66.
On November 22nd, I decided to sell the car as we were in the market for a Jeep Wrangler. I thought I had resolved the issue with the car and so I felt comfortable selling it to another person.
This time I decided to run an Autocheck report on the car so I could hand the report to the prospective buyer. I was shocked to find it had been in a major wreck with airbags deployed on 10/25/23 (see below).
On November 22 I opened another case with CarFax - #17247843
CarFax Response
Things I Have Learned
In talking to an attorney, I learned a new phrase: Title Washing. Title washing is the illegal practice of altering a vehicle's title to conceal its history, such as prior damage, salvage status, or other negative branding. This is often done to make the vehicle appear more valuable and easier to sell. Title washing typically involves transferring the vehicle to a state with less stringent reporting requirements or using fraudulent methods to remove branding from the title. NOTE: I am not implying or suggesting anyone involved in this transaction engaged in this practice. It was just a new term I learned in talking with an attorney.
I learned that having a "clean" CarFax does not protect me from buying a wrecked car.
I learned that the Carfax Buyback Guarantee only covers the following scenario: "The CARFAX Buyback Guarantee helps protect consumers from unknowingly buying a vehicle with a title brand issued by a department of motor vehicles. A "brand" is a specific mark on a Title to indicate certain problems with the vehicle. Examples of title brands include "Salvage", "Flood", "Lemon", and "Not Actual Mileage." CARFAX does not offer a guarantee for unreported accidents or other problems that do not result in a title brand."
I learned that CarFax can miss reported damage and AutoCheck can find it.
I learned that AutoCheck is much cheaper. I can get 5 reports for $60 versus 4 Carfax reports for $100.
I learned that CarFax actually gives out trophies to car dealerships! Wow! I thought they were in the consumer protection business! https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carfax-names-top-rated-used-car-dealers-nationwide-302049238.html
I learned that I should have looked more closely at the BBB before doing business with CarFax. https://www.bbb.org/us/va/centreville/profile/auto-services/carfax-inc-0241-4812
I hope you found this information useful. Please do your due diligence before buying a used car!!!!
Let's Take A Closer Look At Both Reports
Right off the bat you can see two totally different stories on this car. From CarFax's point of view, nothing bad has been reported. From AutoCheck's point of view, this thing has been in a major wreck with air bags deployed.
Further on in the AutoCheck report there is a section which seems to indicate that the title is a "State Title Brand." Here's what AutoCheck says that means.
A "branded title" is an official designation assigned by a state agency to associate a particular history with a vehicle. The branding system was put in place to warn potential owners about damage or other alterations to a vehicle that they might otherwise have been unaware of. The brands checked in this section are Fire, Hail, Flood, Junk/Scrapped, Lemon, Salvage, Rebuilt/Rebuildable, Odometer Brands (not actual miles, broken odometer, exceeding mechanical limits, mileage discrepancy, or suspect miles). Please note Grey Market and Insurance Loss or Theft brands are not checked in this box and can be found on other corresponding boxes.
So why didn't CarFax catch this? Your guess is as good as mine. Let's check back in with them and see how case #17247843 is shaping up.
What the heck? I don't want to upgrade the record! I want you to honor the CarFax BuyBack Guarantee. You know - this thing!
Oh but its not that simple. CarFax's BuyBack Guarantee has a much more narrow focus than you would expect. Specifically:
Under the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee, CARFAX, Inc. (“CARFAX”) will provide Payment to the Applicant if the Report states that the Vehicle does not have a Branded Title, but a Branded Title exists, and the following conditions are met:
Applicant owns the Vehicle at the time Applicant submits the Claim.
The Branded Title was issued at least 60 days prior to the date of the Report.
The Claim is submitted within 1 year after the date of the Report.
Applicant submits to CARFAX a true, accurate and complete copy of each of the following documents:
CARFAX Buyback Guarantee Claim Form,
Current Title issued to Applicant for the Vehicle,
Report,
Applicant’s bill of sale for purchase of the Vehicle and
Front and back of the Branded Title.
Full terms and conditions located here: https://www.carfax.com/company/carfax-buyback-guarantee-terms-and-conditions
So basically the burden of proof is high and its on me to prove my case on some sort of branding . Mean while, CarFax drags its feet with email exchanges.
