Carfax???

[Zogman]

Anyone ever use it?
We are looking for a good used car for our youngest daughter.
She is a Ford person. Thinking of a Ford Edge. Something similar. Nissan Rogue, Toyota Rav 4, Subaru???
Appreciate any and all ideas. Thanks in advance.

 

[lunkerslayer]

Make the dealer pay for it, absolutely i used it and imo it shoukd be part of the dealers responsibility to have it available and dealership worth its salt will do it no question ask.

 

[Ponyroper]

Subaru's are pretty good vehicles but nothing comes close to a well maintained Toyota. You can't kill them. I've had a couple of RAV 4's and highly recommend them unless you need to tow something heavy or haul lots of people or gear. My 2023 RAV 4 Hybrid will easily tow a 2000# trailer if it's set up right with electric brakes, sway control and a weight distributing hitch. I get 35-40 MPG around town and 32-36 at interstate speeds. Got 22 mpg pulling a 2000# pop-up camper back from Minneapolis but I didn't have electric brakes so I tried hard to stay at 65 but it kept creeping up to 70 on me. The RAV's brakes could handle the weight but I was worried about sway and trailer control. The standard issue RAV would probably get better mileage but I wanted the Woodland model because it had bigger tires and a slightly heavier suspension along with a few other accessories I liked. Problem is it's tough to find a late model Toyota for a reasonable price. You might as well buy a new one. The picture is my ATV trailer with my roof top tent mounted on a Harbor Freight ladder rack. The rig would have worked but there wasn't enough room in the RAV for all the gear I wanted to take along. I think it would have worked if I would have carried an E-Bike and a cargo storage box in the trailer instead of the 800# ATV.

 

[wslayer]

I've used Edmunds.com a few times. Some Car fax reports, whether vehicle is listed below/above book.
That's where I found my current truck.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

Put the word out to your friends and maybe they have a friend/relative that is wanting to sell their car. I have bought many cars this way.

 

[Retired-Guy]

Put the word out to your friends and maybe they have a friend/relative that is wanting to sell their car. I have bought many cars this way.

Edmund's or Carfax?

 

[NDSportsman]

Carfax won't show anything that hasn't been reported or done by a dealer or repair shop.

 

[Ponyroper]

I got the CarFax on my 2004 Cadillac Escalade after I bought it and it was full of inaccuracies. It listed that it had been reported totaled out by the insurance company which it had not been. It listed that it had been repainted green which it had not been. It is tan with the original pin striping still untouched. I'm glad I didn't get the report before I went to look at it or I might have missed out on a great deal on a cherry vehicle. It had 191,000 miles on it and I paid $4400 for it and it rides like...A CADILLAC .

 

[BrokenBackJack]

Carvana down here in AZ buys and sells a lot of vehicles in this area.
If you have a vehicle you can go to their website and enter your vehicle and they will send an email to you and what they will pay you for your vehicle. You don't have to sell but it gives you a rough idea/area on a trade in price.

 

[snow2]

If purchasing from a dealer my experience with dealers in my area carfax,some if not all dealers run vin #'s on trades in's coming in or vehicles purchased at auctions, checking history from flood vehicles,body damage exceeding $3k general maintenance all need to know info alot of your larger dealers websites will have caxfax info on their website if you're browsing inventory. My .02 goodluck,toyota,honda hard to beat.

 

[Zogman]

Thanks Snow.

 

[SupressYourself]

She is a Ford person. Thinking of a Ford Edge.

I just bought a 2015 Edge for my daughter. It's a nice rig, but shortly after, I joined a Ford Edge owner group on the Face Space, and I don't think I would have bought it knowing what I know now. Lots of torque converter, transmission, differential, and in the case of the 2.0L, complete engine failures.

I got the 3.5l v6 (non turbo) for it's (relative) simplicity and supposed durability, but even those have a ridiculous design where the water pump is "internal". So, if it starts to leak, it leaks coolant into your oil, you know, because water pumps never fail...

 

[MSA]

I dont know of a single body shop or insurance company that reports to carfax. I've worked in the body business for nearly 25 years, never seen any kind of damage reporting going on. I think the only way anything can end up on carfax is if its been totaled and the owner fills out a damage disclosure on it when they sell it....but I dont think youd see anything less than total loss damage like fender benders, Hail, or deer hits.

 

[MSA]

Anyone ever use it?
We are looking for a good used car for our youngest daughter.
She is a Ford person. Thinking of a Ford Edge. Something similar. Nissan Rogue, Toyota Rav 4, Subaru???
Appreciate any and all ideas. Thanks in advance.

Those are all decent vehicles....just don't buy anything newer that doesnt have a dealership in your town

 

[snow2]

I dont know of a single body shop or insurance company that reports to carfax. I've worked in the body business for nearly 25 years, never seen any kind of damage reporting going on. I think the only way anything can end up on carfax is if its been totaled and the owner fills out a damage disclosure on it when they sell it....but I dont think youd see anything less than total loss damage like fender benders, Hail, or deer hits.

Dealer repairs report claims including body repairs independent shops,no,however dealerships from out state tag vehicles via vin# that showup on carfax wheter a trade in or a dealship moving old inventory at a auction but this is Minnesota maybe that makes a difference whatever the case checking the history purchasing used vehicles should be automatic these days,flood cars, accidents, etc. Been years since I looked into carfax cost last check on a private party purchase was $35. Most dealers in mn have carfax vehicle history on all used vehicle inventory including maintenance said dealer completed.

 

[SLE]

Small fender benders also will show up if they were a reported incident to authorities. Had one from my old pickup which was a 2003 and had a small front end collision with another vehicle that happened in 2004. Truck got repaired at an independent shop who definitely didn't report it to car fax so it had to be found or reported through the police report.

 

[ktm450]

Have a 2014 toyota rav 4 unlimited. Just rolled over 150k this morning (bought it with 52k on it) knock on wood, i havent done a thing to it but buy tires, and general maintenance. I did put a receiver hitch and trailer wiring on it though, havent pulled much with it, the 14' aluminum trailer with 4wheeler a couple times is all. Absolutely love the car and will look for another one when this one dies. gets 25-26mpg, used to be in the 28mpg range but i put Toyo AT3's (had to go one size bigger tire to get them) on it it to use it as my hunting/work rig. gets around great in the winter time. highly recommended

 

[Allen]

When looking at these small SUVs, I'd be wary of anything with a CVT transmission. There are some notable models/years where those things were just absolute junk. I "think" they've gotten better, but I recommend visiting carcomplaints.com to check on specific models and years.

https://stmdailynews.com/cvt-transmission-problems-model-years-to-avoid/car

 

[shorthairsrus]

Anything made over the last what 5-7 years is a piece of shit. EPA and our govt has ruined cars and guess what nothing is being done about it. Congress can argue over stupid stuff like time changes but not fix the real problem