A lady at work was trying to trade in her Escape. The dealer gave her an extremely lowball offer on her trade in. When she asked why, she said the carfax report shows her vehicle was totaled a couple of years ago and is now a salvage title vehicle. Gave her a copy of the carfax report. She's owned the vehicle since new and it's never been totaled, or even in a major wreck. Only damage was a few months ago that was fixed, not something a couple of years old. I've personally seen the vehicle several times per week since it was new and can verify it has never been anywhere close to being totaled.

She's talked to carfax. Had her insurance company write a letter, per carfax request, stating there has not been a claim on the vehicle. She's gotten a letter from the dealer who changed the oil about the time the car was supposedly totaled (same dealer she's trying to buy a new vehicle from) stating that they changed the oil in this time frame (which also shows up on the carfax report), but carfax is saying they verified the information with the company that reported it so they are not going to change the report. They also won't share who exactly is claiming the vehicle was totaled.

Anyone know any tricks for fighting carfax that don't involve lawyers? Currently she's getting a lexisnexus report as well as one from the state department of motor vehicles.

Also, any idea why someone would use her vin to report a vehicle stolen? Was it just a typo or is there some scam where they steal a VIN, declare it totaled, and then get a salvage title for a stolen vehicle?

 

If ANY goverment agency was envolved ... Expect the worst ... Nothing but headache to come ...

 

carfax is useless as teets on a bull. i don't pay any attention to a carfax report.
i have seen cars that were insurance totals that were then brought to my shop for repair that came back with clean carfax, no reported accidents, even though it had a salvage title.
also flood totals. obvious flood damage, and yet it has a clean carfax.
or cars that were sold 3-4 times by dealers that show only one owner.

 

Carfax shows my 89 f 350 as having 3 owners, and a salvage title. States the truck was in an accident with a Comcast aerial cable and totaled. I never had an accident EVER with this truck
It also states the mileage is incorrect and suspect a rollback odometer


I ordered the truck new in Dec 1988, took delivery in Feb 1989, and it has never left me. It has the same odometer that came with it, and it has never been owned by anyone but me.

The title has been changed, to take the lien release off, but that is it, it is in my name , as it always has been

Carfax is just another gimmick to make you pay /loose more money in my opinion, and I would believe what they say about as much as I would believe what the the weather person says about the weather

 

Exactly. Don't think it's a state agency. My guess is a body shop somewhere that may or may not be crooked. The thing that surprises me the most is Carfax hiding or protecting it's source when it's wrong. Why not allow a consumer to question a company who is reporting data on their vehicle?