Just to let everyone know a little secret about carfax and other programs like that. There are only 2 ways a vehicle gets a "hit" on Carfax or similar programs. If the car had an insurance claim made against it, or if there isa police report (as in an accident report) on the car.

If someone or a rental company fixes the car under the table, no hits on the Carfax - vehicle comes out 100% clean. I know this because several different auto body shops told me that, and I just took my 99 in to be painted, only to find out that it had been wrecked while it wasa rental car, the rental company had it fixed, and sold it at auction. Just ran a Carfax on it - came back 100% clean.

Whoever did the work was an excellent body man, as no one could tell it had bondo for fenders, even two guys I took it to look at to get painting estimates. When they started to sand the rusty areas of the fenders is when they found all the bondo.

 

Thanks for the info.

One of the 7th gen Monte owners here, (I can't remember exactly which one, so I won't speculate) found out the hard way that his car got crushed around the passenger side A pillar and fender area.

It was done while on the car carrier coming from the factory, to the dealership. The dealership fixed it before it sold, and there was no record of it as far as Carfax was concerned.

I guess it's safe to say that it's still "buyer beware", as it's always been. But Carfax is definitely a help to weeding out most of the lemons out there.

 

there will always be a way around the system... always, there has to be....

carfax could never possibly hire somebody to go out ot every body shop and record the serial number on every car that comes through.. they can only require by law that it be reported. there will always be someone willing ot do favors or take bribes to not report.

 

Many many many cars come through body shops without reporting the accidents to the insurance company. Its a win-win situation for everyone really. The body shop doesnt have to deal with the insurance company, the insurance company doesnt have to pay for the damamge and the owner doesnt have his rates go up. The only draw back is that there is no history of the damage. I dont think it is illegal to not report it to your insurance or police, if you were the only one involved but if there was someone else involved and the damage exceeded a certain amount then you have to report it to the police. It is illegal however to tell someone there is no damage to a car when selling it, if there actually is damage.

 

That's also just plain immoral. Why would ANYONE lie to someone else about the vehicle's condition? I mean, I had my two side rocker panels damaged at a shop (just the body kit itself) and I STILL reported it. It's called being a decent human being. lol

Thanks for the warning, I didn't know that about carfax, but I do now! =)

Doesn't matter, I'm gonna have this monte until I either blow it up, or she decides to run away from home. lol

-Keegan

 

Well some people just dont have morals, everyone should know that by now. Some people could care less nowadays about other people as long as they get their $$$$$. Its really sad.

 

[align=center]Hi Member's reading my words, my thoughts[/align][align=center][:-][/align][align=center]I think the majority of the problems in our World,[/align][align=center]on our planet are caused by people being dishonest : ([/align][align=center][/align][align=center]I think CarFax can only report what they know, or[/align][align=center]are supplied. I use it just as guild, like Kelly Blue[/align][align=center]Black Book, or NADA etc.[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]I was taught that a person is only as good, or bad as[/align][align=center]the actions of their words. It's sad [X(]that so many[/align][align=center]are not truthful, but the world is just a big stage,[/align][align=center]and we are all actor's upon `it.[/align][align=center]I do my very best to speak true, but sometimes I[/align][align=center]won't `if the words, or acts `hurt.[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]I am flawed, since I am human, I have made many mistakes,[/align][align=center]but hopefully I have learned, not to repeat.[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]Are you part of the problem ? or Are you Part of the[/align][align=center]Solution to make it a better World, for you/family/friends,[/align][align=center]the world ?[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]What are you doing, to make it better ?
I ask myself ?[/align][align=center]
Honesty is the human quality of communicating and acting truthfully related to truth as a value. This includes listening, and any action in the human repertoire — as well as speaking.
Superficially, honesty means simply stating facts and views as best one truly believes them to be. It includes both honesty to others, and to oneself (see: self-deception) and about one's own motives and inner reality. Honesty, at times, has the ability to cause misfortune to the person who displays it.
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A friend of mine bought an '07 Ram pickup a little over a year ago.

Last year he fell asleep behind the wheel and got a guard rail. I think he said the damage was around $3500 to the truck? But his insurance fixed it.

A few months ago he was not paying attention and rear ended a guy's SUV who was turning infront of my friend. It was my friend's second accident in less then 1 year's time.

He asked the guy he hit to not call the cop. And he told the guy why. (2 accidents in less then 1 year, both his fault)

My friend has never been a dishonest person. And I expressed he really should have called the cops cause the guy he hit could come back on him for medical bills he could claim my buddy caused.

But they got a guy who owns his own shop to repair both vehicles and my friend pays the bill on both vehicles. So neither damage was reported to carfax or anyone for that matter.

 

same thing happened to me only i was the one to fix it all.
it was wrecked at the dealer. and the bodymen who fixed it did a butcher job. so anyways it turned into a full out paint job on the front end but it looks good now!
http://s298.photobucket.com/albums/mm262/minisz618/

 

In a previous car, a co-worker backed out of his parking spot at work while I was driving past him. Hecavedin the front fender. He didn't want to go through the insurance, and agreed to pay for the damage. Since I knew him well, I trusted him.

I didn't want him to think I was screwing him on price, so I got three estimates.
All three body shops asked me if it was going through insurance. If it was going through insurance, they were gonna charge a VERY different price. But since it was my buddy at work footing the bill, the only charged $750.



As for CarFax...

We don't have carfax in Canada, which is too bad. It would really come in handy. But because of that, it also causes a slight problem if someone were to buy a used car from Canada and bring it into the US. Wouldn't show up on carfax, even if the car had been totaled. I imaging buying a car from Mexico would be the same?