Value of Carfax?

[Meadowdale]

Just wondering what people think about Carfax? How trustworthy is it to indicate accidents?

Who actually participated in providing data? For example if a car was in an accident who will report to Carfax? Body shops, insurance companies? Do they get an incentive?

I know that I owned a car that a small rear-end accident about 3 years ago. Got a new bumper, no frame or metal damage. Does not show up in Carfax...

[JoshDub]

Government related events are usually reported on carfax, so police reports from accidents, thefts, and title changes. Some shops, dealers and insurance companies report as well.

It is simply a tool to aid in the inspection of a car and it's history. It does not replace a good PPI. I always use them in conjunction with my own inspection or a PPI.

[Jahling]

It's like a credit report. It shows a snapshot of the history. It's also possible for it to contain errors, just like a credit report. I have seen accidents show up on Autocheck and not on CarFax and vice versa. As JoshDub said, it's just a tool.