2009 997.2 carfax surprise
#16
- CarFax gets their info on accidents thru a whole bunch of ways - thru dealers, major franchise chains (i.e. Macco), police reports, etc. Also as mentioned by the OP and others, sometimes there is a huge delay in getting a reported accident into CarFax, sometimes 1 year or 2 years after the incident
- If you go to the dealer to get it repaired, it will be reported to CarFax
- If you make a police report (which you usually have to for a car insurance filing), it will be reported by car fax
- If you go to a local repair shop, the odds are it will not be reported on CarFax. Local shops have no incentive to file reports to CarFax.
My friend paid under $800 out of pocket to get the bump fixed and bumper resprayed. Considering he had to pay $500 for the deductible if thru an insurance claim, as well as as an increase in future insurance rates - it was a cheap solution. The repair shop, when asked, replied that this would not be reported to CarFax.
After this, my takeaways:
- If its minor damage to the car, look into paying out of pocket instead of filing a police report and filing an insurance claim
- Find a respectable local repair shop (ask on the forums here) to get an estimate
- Take pictures of the damage before it is repaired, so you can show potential future buyers of the car the damage that happened. My opinion - always be honest about this on a private sale cause people will always know if something happened with a good PPI. Better to be honest and show pictures then not say nothing - even if there is no CarFax report.
- Any time you file a police report, or do an insurance claim its going onto CarFax - sooner or later. As everyone here mentions, its going to decrease the resale value of the car
#17
#19
Here is an article giving some insights on how CarFax is doing it:
http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/how...gra-1639660981
#20
Nordschleife Master
This in itself makes the system next to worthless imo. I give them credit though for managing to sell to the public and to dealerships accident reports that sometimes takes 2 years to be brought current.
#21
Rennlist Member
Carfax is by no means completely reliable and that shoud always be considered, which is why a good PPI is always highly recommended and checking with the Porsche dealer where the car was serviced. All of these things can help provide peace of mind but still no guarantee. The fact that this showed up later is a huge concern. Like the other member, I would first contact Carfax and ask them for more information, then contact the dealer where you bought the car. If the car was bought with a clean carfax, then something has to be worked out but not sure all dealers are going to assist like the other forum member was able to work out.
As for a $1200 repair job showing on carfax, yes the car will take a hit financially but the more documentation you have to show repair, what it looked like before, etc will help diminish that hit. I bought a car with a repair but it was a front bumper only, I saw the pics of before and after and it was relative to a car backing up and bumping the front end. Really not much damage but the owner forced the others car insurance to replace and paint the entire front bumper. $1200 is pretty minor so having documented everything is a way to convey that "minor" message.
As for a $1200 repair job showing on carfax, yes the car will take a hit financially but the more documentation you have to show repair, what it looked like before, etc will help diminish that hit. I bought a car with a repair but it was a front bumper only, I saw the pics of before and after and it was relative to a car backing up and bumping the front end. Really not much damage but the owner forced the others car insurance to replace and paint the entire front bumper. $1200 is pretty minor so having documented everything is a way to convey that "minor" message.
#22
As I mentioned an accident on mine showed up 14 months after the accident. The car was CPO'd and the work was so good that no one at the dealership could tell. There had been an accident as I was able to get a copy of the police report from the town in florida for about $15 which I showed to the selling dealer. It wasn't their fault but I should not be the one taking it in the shorts over a perfect repair that I was not aware of. Look at your original paperwork. My CPO paperwork was very specific about an accident free car.
#23
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
The car was the 3rd in a line of 5 cars. There were 4 stopped at a red light when a 23 year old girl On her phone rear ended one which then hit the next and so forth. The car got hit in the rear which then hit the car up front. No airbag deployment. Driver and passenger drive the car from the scene. Some bumper damage was noticed on the police report.
Car had both bumpers replaced with OEM parts and painted well enough that a paint meter could not tell the paint was not stock. No frame damage at all.
So a minor fender bender followed by a perfect repair still made my car worth between 20-25% less at trade in. My dealer did not believe the car had been hit, the repair was so good but when I gave him the customers name and address there was no way he could claim otherwise.
The police report had all the info I needed. It sucks but unfortunately the carfax thing has really changed the way used cars are valued.
All you have to do is look at threads on here to see how at least the enthusiast looks at cars with accident history. Usually the same. The car is not special, find a no story car.
Car had both bumpers replaced with OEM parts and painted well enough that a paint meter could not tell the paint was not stock. No frame damage at all.
So a minor fender bender followed by a perfect repair still made my car worth between 20-25% less at trade in. My dealer did not believe the car had been hit, the repair was so good but when I gave him the customers name and address there was no way he could claim otherwise.
The police report had all the info I needed. It sucks but unfortunately the carfax thing has really changed the way used cars are valued.
All you have to do is look at threads on here to see how at least the enthusiast looks at cars with accident history. Usually the same. The car is not special, find a no story car.
#24
Rennlist Member
Carfax is by no means completely reliable and that shoud always be considered, which is why a good PPI is always highly recommended and checking with the Porsche dealer where the car was serviced. All of these things can help provide peace of mind but still no guarantee. The fact that this showed up later is a huge concern. Like the other member, I would first contact Carfax and ask them for more information, then contact the dealer where you bought the car. If the car was bought with a clean carfax, then something has to be worked out but not sure all dealers are going to assist like the other forum member was able to work out.
As for a $1200 repair job showing on carfax, yes the car will take a hit financially but the more documentation you have to show repair, what it looked like before, etc will help diminish that hit. I bought a car with a repair but it was a front bumper only, I saw the pics of before and after and it was relative to a car backing up and bumping the front end. Really not much damage but the owner forced the others car insurance to replace and paint the entire front bumper. $1200 is pretty minor so having documented everything is a way to convey that "minor" message.
As for a $1200 repair job showing on carfax, yes the car will take a hit financially but the more documentation you have to show repair, what it looked like before, etc will help diminish that hit. I bought a car with a repair but it was a front bumper only, I saw the pics of before and after and it was relative to a car backing up and bumping the front end. Really not much damage but the owner forced the others car insurance to replace and paint the entire front bumper. $1200 is pretty minor so having documented everything is a way to convey that "minor" message.
#26
I still haven't heard back from Carfax after emailing them for additional information. A company that can cost you thousands has no humans to speak with. The GM of the dealer I purchased the car from did respond quickly. He stated that "we are a good company and we'll make it right." (Penske owned). I guess we shall see. He is contacting the previous owner and researching the cars file. Previous owner is suppose to fill out disclosures when trading in a vehicle. He is also contacting Carfax for additional details.
He noted that the source on the report is listed as "California damage report". He said normally when it's an accident the source is listed as the "DMV".
He noted that the source on the report is listed as "California damage report". He said normally when it's an accident the source is listed as the "DMV".
#27
Rennlist Member
Carfax has no reason to talk to you, there's really no motivation on their part. The dealer might have more leverage, dealers pay hundreds to thousands per month to Carfax depending on the account.
#28
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
In the carfax report for my car it showed where the accident occurred. I went into the Florida department of law enforcement website and found the police report. Cost me like $15. It will tell you everything you need to know including who was driving the car.
The crappy thing in my case was the po of my cayenne had bought the car at my dealership. Vacationed in florida where he got in the accident. He got the car fixed perfectly elsewhere and traded it in to my dealership without reporting it. It was traded in on another cayenne 2 months after the accident. I hate to think that he did it so it wouldn't show up so early after the accident.
I bought it 5 months later but the accident didn't show up for 6 months after that
The crappy thing in my case was the po of my cayenne had bought the car at my dealership. Vacationed in florida where he got in the accident. He got the car fixed perfectly elsewhere and traded it in to my dealership without reporting it. It was traded in on another cayenne 2 months after the accident. I hate to think that he did it so it wouldn't show up so early after the accident.
I bought it 5 months later but the accident didn't show up for 6 months after that
#29
To the extent one pays "full price" (whatever that is) for a car, a CarFax surprise could be an issue. An analogy: getting a great deal on last year's model and then years down the road realizing that it was already a year old when you bought it, and now the resale value is accordingly, lower. Today's car repairs can be truly amazing. Truth is, many day to day prangs, properly repaired, are no big deal. The car (SUV or whatever) still looks great and is totally reliable. IOWs, if you're planning to keep the car, so what? If you're planning to sell...bit more complicated, perhaps. Much depends on the buyer...and yes, you have to tell the truth.
#30
I'm starting to lose faith in Carfax and Autocheck reports. I am selling my 650i and the auto check reports an odometer roll back issue. In reality it was a human error at MVD when I registered it....they put the mileage as 3700 when I registered it when it was actually 37000. Of course you can't contact Autocheck and speak to a human. You have to email them...so far zero response on how to fix it.