CARFAX^® Vehicle History Reports™

CARFAX^® Vehicle History Reports™ are used by millions of consumers to help them make better used car buying decisions. Just as important, nearly 30,000 dealerships use CARFAX every day at acquisition as well as retail. With a database of more than 10 billion records from more than 34,000 sources both consumers and dealers turn to CARFAX to learn about reported title issues, ownership and mileage history, damage indicators, service records and more.

If a repair path you've been performing on a vehicle is sending you curveballs and things just aren't making sense, a CARFAX Report may help you find the solution. In addition to checking in ASIST for a bulletin, referencing the ESM or Service COMM for Warranty, the CARFAX Report is another resource that may help lead you to the root cause of a vehicle's condition.

While many – but not all – accidents are reported to CARFAX, sometimes the source of the problem isn't as simple as a previous accident. CARFAX partners with dealerships and aftermarket service providers to include VIN-specific maintenance and repair information on CARFAX Vehicle History Reports. These details may help determine probable causes while also providing you with a better awareness of the vehicle.

If you've been spinning your wheels when diagnosing and investigating symptoms on a vehicle, and there are too many squirrelly things going on, a look into the vehicle history may be just what's needed.

CARFAX^® Vehicle History Reports can include:

Mileage History - CARFAX collects mileage readings from thousands of sources to help you determine if the current odometer reading is accurate. Odometer fraud is alive and well, and a tampered odometer can throw off the maintenance schedule. A CARFAX Report can tell you if a potential or verified rollback exists or if the DMV reported an odometer problem.

Service/Repair - More than over 20,000 service and body shops report their work to CARFAX. Their records may help you diagnose possible problems on a vehicle and show that some level of service – such as oil changes or parts replacement – was performed. The specific date offers you a chronological progression of the maintenance history.

Damage/Airbag Deployments - CARFAX Reports can include reported accidents, from minor to severe. Details about the accident will often appear. This includes the type of impact, whether structural damage was incurred, if the vehicle was towed and whether the airbags deployed.

Improper repairs or non-working parts like the replacement airbag unit can directly affect other safety systems on the vehicle.

Type of Ownership - Having access to this information in your stall lets you know if the vehicle is/was a rental, commercial people hauler, lease, corporate or fleet vehicle or other owner type. This can provide some insight on the treatment and wear and tear on the vehicle. Other helpful information, such as if the vehicle was sold at auction (and/or how many times), may also be on the CARFAX Report.

CARFAX Vehicle History Reports provide information that may be vital to resolving any unsolved repair mysteries. They can help answer questions about previous damage, odometer accuracy and the vehicle's current service cycle. CARFAX compiles information from thousands of sources to help you better understand the vehicles you service. You can use this information to diagnose problems quickly and accurately.

Examples

Here are some TECH LINE examples of CARFAX Reports, which provided valuable insight as to why things weren't making sense to the technician during the vehicle repair service.

In this CARFAX^® Vehicle History Report™ the DMV reported odometer problems. CARFAX^® did an odometer rollback check that helped identify a possible odometer fraud.

Information describing a minor-damage collision is included in this CARFAX^® Vehicle History Report™. In this case, the report helped the technician identify the reason why the ICC Sensor on the vehicle could not be adjusted correctly, even after the part was replaced.