shkani04

hi, first off i would like to mention i am new to the forum. i apologize if this topic has been addressed but i could not find any info on this

So i am looking into buying an s2000, its been a month or so and i have run 3 s2000 vehicle reports on CARFAX


Carfax 1

this 2002 car had 4 previous accidents 5 previous owners and 82 k miles on it. history impact was +420. i didnt want a car with accidents on it or that many owners so i kept looking, thinking that if i bought this car it would be harder to resell. it also had exterior mods... so i would think it would be harder to resell


Carfax 2

This 2002 car ha 1 previous accidnet and 5 previous owners with 82k miles currently and it had a history impact of -770. It was modified exteriorly and a i think an intake or something, anyways i kept looking because i didnt want a car with accidents on it.


Carfax 3

this 2002 car has 4 previous owners and no accidents with 68k on it right now but the carfax history impact says -570. So less mileage, fewer owners and no accidents!!!... how is the history impact stil -570!? this car seemed super clean almost all stock. the guy who owned it is a mechanic. I was interested in this car but this carfax history impact set me back abit

does anyone know the reasoning behind carfax's madness? its driving me crazy... guidance please?

thanks in advance

Conedodger

I have no information about the Car Fax rating system, but I would be leary of buying a car with only 70k-80k miles that has had 4 or 5 owners.

redwing497

I'm not quite sure about how the CARFAX impact score works. For the first 2, you know the car has been in an accident (or 4!). Personally, I'd stay far away from #1. You could possibly get more info on what kind of accident #2 had. If it wasn't too bad, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. On paper, #3 looks like the best option, however CARFAX doesn't always show accident history. It all depends on what was reported to them. I'd have someone look at #3 to see if there are any telltale sign of an impact.

Without knowing anything else, #3 looks like your best choice and for now, I'd focus my efforts on getting all the info you can on that one. CARFAX is a decent guide but IN NO WAY is it the end all, be all for decision making. Good luck and PICS if you get it!

Conedodger

Google is your friend.

Although, the definition really doesn't help much.

CARFAX History Impact™ — Accidents, service records, number of owners and many other history factors can affect a vehicle's value. The CARFAX History Impact is a tool that analyzes millions of used car transactions to measure how the combination of all the information reported to CARFAX affects the value of a particular vehicle. The vehicle's retail book value plus the CARFAX History Impact will give you a more accurate measure of the vehicle's value. Use this tool, along with a vehicle inspection and test drive, to make a better decision about your next used car.

shkani04

I think im going to go look at number 3 today. number 1 will be hard to resell, just confused why the impact history is +440... only reason i entertained number 2 was because it had a hardtop... just wanted to see if you guys knew anything more before i drive 200 miles to check it out. any other opinions?

t3am 83rd

where are you located?

shkani04

St.louis, mo

i tried to google it, it was pretty worthless...

JDMProductions

Im going to go against the grain here and say that carfax is probably the worst tool available to customers buying a new car. Sure, it can be great sometimes, but so can a through inspection by a certified tech. It's not hard to tell by physical inspection if a car has been in an accident before. In my opinion carfax often gives buyers a very false sense of security by showing no accidents, when in fact there was an accident, which was just not reported. When people don't have full coverage, or insurance at all, and no police report was taken,(usually the case when accidents are not reported to car fax) they take their car to a cheap shop where workmanship will suffer due to inexpensive prices. When people have full coverage, and claims are filed, sure the accidents show up on car fax, but the vehicle was most likely repaired by a reputable shop with great work quality because the shop is being held to a higher standard, and making good money on the repair. Carfax will show very minor fender benders with no detailed information, in turn leading the customer away from a potentially good deal, and a great car.
Just my .02 from experience.

skkppy

i agree with jdm, that was very well put.

Jorsher

JDM said it. Don't judge a car by its carfax, that's what my gramma always said.

However, I'd probably stay far, far away from #1.