Is it suspicious when this appears in a Carfax

"Engine/powertrain computer/module checked"

Marlon

 

Do a search on the forum for Carfax. After dealing with them when I looked last year... I came away suspicious of their biz practice and did not buy from them. Got a better priced and better vehicle from a p-dealer in socal instead.

 

Miss read... thought you meant Carmax. That report may be ok... asked the seller for what was involved with the service/repair.

 

If a Carfax shows an accident, take heed.
If a Carfax shows nothing, don't assume anything.
In other words, Carfax is not even close to foolproof.
I had a $14k repair to my DD, which did not appear on the Carfax when I sold the car about a year later!

 

Wow, that's an eye opener. PPI PPI PPI, I guess.

 

+100

I had frame and flood damage to my old m3. Carfax showed nothing. PPI is the way to go.

 

Also educate yourself on what to look for when buying a car. Paintwork and frame repairs are pretty obvious if done poorly. If the car had the fascia or bumper repainted then I'm not too worried about stuff like that. I think it's pretty common in large cities with parallel parking. You may even consider the car if the hood or front fender was replaced. Those items just held on with bolts and if the paint work is outstanding then you'll never know. If there is frame damage or rear-end damage then try to stay away because that repair is pretty major. Also, keep in mind that some colors need to be faded into the other panels for matching so you need to be careful to make sure the work was done properly. Obviously, damage to any part of the car can reduce the price of the car so you could get an excellent deal if you can live with the repair.

 

That "engine control module' statement is on many cars that I considered. I never got a clear reason why or what actually was done.
My thoughts were that they were using the function switch and scrolling through the options for the customer, and possibly resetting something..

 

carfax doesnt meam much. have it checked at a porsche dealer