If you are in the market to buy a used car, you MUST understand the CF (CF) report that each used car MUST have. CarFax is either provided free, by the seller, or you, the purchaser, must pay for the report. The typical CarFax report is 25 pages in length – don’t panic there is a recap page or two that summarizes the rest of the report. There are six parts to the report:

Vehicle History Report. This is the first page of the CarFax and the most significant! This page at once sums the entire CarFax if 1) any accidents, 2) number of previous owners, 3) if the car was leased or corporate vehicle, 4) service records available, 5) detail event records 6) last odometer reading. One glance, at the CF, informs you if this used automobile is a turkey and not to spend another second of your time or if this car is worthy of more research.

A summary of 1) title problems, 2) ownership history, and 3) other data follow. Critical items that CF has found can be investigated in just seconds. Items CF has determined need to be investigated are spotlighted – this saves a lot of time and that’s the secret of CarFax.

The Details section, under the Vehicle History Report, shows all events, like accidents, change in ownership, state inspections, etc. in one handy location. Each owner of the car has a section with all the details CarFax has accumulated.

Vehicle Highlights. There are many sections in Vehicle Highlights. Ownership History segment reviews the number of prior owners and latest mileage. State DMV-Reported Title Problems is an enormous critical section. Check if the car’s title has been reclassified into: Salvage, Junk, Rebuilt, Fire/Flood, Hail Damage, or Buyback/Lemon titles. Bypass this used car, if this has occurred.

Warranty Check. This is a very handy segment that shows various kinds of warranty coverage and if there is some warranty left. Reject or confirm any seller’s claim about warranties in this section. Some of the types of warranty coverage tracked by CarFax are: Basic coverage, coverage of the Drive Train, Emissions coverage, Corrosion coverage, and if any of the warranties are transferrable.

Safety & Reliability Ratings. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tests are covered in this fantastic section. Front, side, and rear crash results inform you just how safe this used car is to drive. Injury, Collision, and Theft Indicator section rates this used car against all automobiles and gives you guideposts as to this automobile’s ranking – below average, average, or better than average. Manufacturer recalls and if they were done to the car are covered in the Safety Recall section. J.D. Power Rating is a wealth of information contained in the last segment.

Buyback Guarantee Certificate (Optional). If the used car qualifies, CF will buyback the car if they screwed up with damage warnings, odometer readings, titles, or a Lemon History reporting. Some cars flunk and this should be your test too – if CarFax won’t issue a Buyback Guarantee then you should NOT buy that used automobile.

Consumer Ratings & Comments. This last segment constitutes feedback from car owners of this same model, make, and year of car. Trust me, if there is a problem with this kind of car other owners will post their horror stories. Once you use CF you will advise folks of any problems you have with this make of car.

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