View Full Version : Carfax vs Carproof = DO NOT USE CARFAX!
There had been a few comments on beyond before about Carfax not being correct for Canadian vehicles. Someone that was looking at my vehicle for sale did a Carfax and then told me that I was trying to scam him. I, of course, was genuinely confused as I have never mislead anyone about any car I've ever tried to sell (Karma can be a bitch, eh?).
So, I did a Carfax and sure enough it was saying that the mileage appeared to be out of wack. That seemed odd to me because:
a) It's a digital cluster, and my understanding is that they can't really be rolled back.
b) The amount of KM's it was saying was VERY HIGH for the model year.
So, I then did a Carproof which then said that nothing was wrong with the odometer and everything looked as it should be. Of course, I trust the Carproof because it has ALL the information there (and the Carfax even had a bubble saying something about a clerical error).
Now, of course, I called the guy and told him what was up with the Carproof and he didn't want to hear it. Now, he won't buy the vehicle because Carfax was inaccurate.
Let this be a lesson: if it's a Canadian car, use Carproof!
Weapon_R
03-08-2009, 05:49 PM
Digital odometers are very easily rolled back, FYI. There are literally dozens of mileage correction tools easily available online to do this.
I thought they were harder to roll back but apparently it's easier than the older ones because it's impossible to detect and those little programmers do it in minutes.
rage2
03-08-2009, 05:50 PM
Digital clusters are the easiest to roll back without a trace of evidence.
Originally posted by Weapon_R
Digital odometers are very easily rolled back, FYI. There are literally dozens of mileage correction tools easily available online to do this.
I thought they were harder to roll back but apparently it's easier than the older ones because it's impossible to detect and those little programmers do it in minutes.
Originally posted by rage2
Digital clusters are the easiest to roll back without a trace of evidence.
Oh, well now I know. Thanks :)
max_boost
03-08-2009, 06:07 PM
Well did you buy the car new? Maybe it was rolled back previously and you didn't know.
Originally posted by max_boost
Well did you buy the car new? Maybe it was rolled back previously and you didn't know.
No, I bought used. I did a Carfax on it wen I bought it and it didn't show anything. I know that the odo wasn't rolled back.
Team_Mclaren
03-08-2009, 06:12 PM
imo thats why you do both. I also go with autocheck as well. It could very well be something that carproof didnt pickup. How was the millage out of wreck on carfax?
chkolny541
03-08-2009, 07:40 PM
Originally posted by A790
I know that the odo wasn't rolled back.
how do you KNOW? didnt we just establish that it can be rolled back without a trace of evidence
Originally posted by chkolny541
how do you KNOW? didnt we just establish that it can be rolled back without a trace of evidence
Because I did a carfax/carproof when I bought the car and they were both clean (otherwise I wouldn't have bought it).
kaput
03-08-2009, 08:59 PM
.
TomcoPDR
03-08-2009, 09:24 PM
Originally posted by A790
Because I did a carfax/carproof when I bought the car and they were both clean (otherwise I wouldn't have bought it).
Is it possible to trace previous owners of the vehicle? A lot of times they're pretty willing to provide vital info on vehicles they no longer have to maintain.
frozenrice
03-08-2009, 09:30 PM
Originally posted by kaput
I think it was here that someone posted a video where Dateline or one of those news shows interviewed carfax, and they admitted that sometimes it can take up to 2 years for them to get updated information. So it would be possible that your odo was rolled back when you bought the car despite the clean report.
It was Marketplace from CBC.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/01/15/marketplace-carfax.html
LOL You guys are really reaching here. The girl I bought the car from was like 821 years old, so I doubt she rolled it back. Plus, like I said, it came up clean when I regg'd it and the previous registrant was only 21,000km prior to when I regg'd it and matched the date she said she purchased it.
All of that is beside the point, I'm just warning people that Carproof is more accurate.
Team_Mclaren
03-08-2009, 10:33 PM
so what did the carfax show? im just curious cause carfax normally gets their millage information straight from registries
Originally posted by Team_Mclaren
so what did the carfax show? im just curious cause carfax normally gets their millage information straight from registries
It said that the mileage was higher on one reg then the other, with "INCONSISTENT MILEAGE REPORTED" underneath. Then there was a pic of some dude right underneath it and a message that said "IT'S HARD TO TELL IF THE MILEAGE HAS BEEN ROLLED BACK OR IF IT'S SIMPLY A CLERICAL ERROR- SEE A MECHANIC".
WTF?!
Team_Mclaren
03-08-2009, 10:58 PM
got a print screen of it? i have NEVER seem that. so unless:
1. its true, and its inconsistent
2. the person at the registries fucked it up while entering the mileage
rc2002
03-08-2009, 11:02 PM
I've done carfax and carproof and autocheck on the last two cars I've bought.
If you don't know the previous history of the vehicle - it makes sense to check them all. Even if your car is a Canadian car originally, it doesn't mean it never spent any time in the US.
Even with all the checks, the best is a thorough visual inspection.
The more I dig into this the more confused I get. See the pic.
Is there any way, aside from Carfax/Carproof, to confirm the mileage of a vehicle? I also did the autocheck and it didn't raise any flags about the odo either.
TomcoPDR
03-09-2009, 12:13 AM
Maybe the clerial error is that Carfax assumed the mileage being reported was in miles. And then a following report was in kilometers. Which through out the warning lights within the system.
Maybe, either way I'm going to let the people interested in the car know about it. *sigh*
googe
03-09-2009, 01:07 AM
Observant readers will notice that 66K kms is exactly 106K miles. Mystery solved.
Originally posted by googe
Observant readers will notice that 66K kms is exactly 106K miles. Mystery solved.
Opposite, but yes.
I was mostly pointing out the little dude in the bottom right talking about whatever.
Anyway, is there a way I can somehow verify the cars mileage aside from CarFax, CarProof, etc.?
rc2002
03-09-2009, 09:45 AM
Do you have detailed service records/history for the car? That would definitely help since the mileage is documented on every visit.
I would try calling Carfax and the registry that reported the mileage to get the issue sorted out.
X_EVO_X
03-09-2009, 09:57 AM
Originally posted by TomcoPDR
Maybe the clerial error is that Carfax assumed the mileage being reported was in miles. And then a following report was in kilometers. Which through out the warning lights within the system.
bingo
Carfax has touble with the miles/km thing.
911fever
03-10-2009, 02:25 PM
probably clerical error. I've seen it tons of times when i worked at Toyota.
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