Carfax shows work that may not have been done.

Insomniator

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
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Bought a car last year, Carfax showed new tires, brakes, 30k mile service done at the dealership right before I purchased it. With the car due for some service, I called the same dealer to get more detail of what was done prior to purchase -- the lady had no record of the tires/brakes/30k service being done that carfax showed. She saw the other entries before and after but not the major service.

Sooooo just now we brought the car to a trusted shop and they're saying the tires are definitely all original and need replacing (dry rot - 5 year old tires) along with the brakes. Its only been 12k miles since these were 'supposedly' replaced according to Carfax.

Think they faked the Carfax entry? Is that even possible? What would you all do?
 
Feb 25, 2011
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It's possible, if whoever serviced it for some reason provided CarFax with bad info. (They only can provide information provided by the shops that report it, they're not magic.) I've experienced the opposite problem - a car with a "clean" CarFax that had a bunch minor, repaired damage*. Until we ran the CarFax again a couple months later and it was all there. Shifty as ****, IMO.

In other words, CarFax is a joke.

*Once the car was up on a lift at the inspection place, we could see where things had been repainted. There were also a bunch of off-brand clips that had been used to reassemble things, and the passenger side rocker panel was missing clips. All minor, we bought the car anyway. Possible the previous owner was a half-blind geezer who ran over a bicyclist.

Not intending to be mean about it, but this would have been something to have inspected yourself when you bought the car - you should always have a third party inspection done at that time. Things like the tire manufacturing date are printed right on the outside of the tire. You might be able to "demand satisfaction" from the seller now, but it's been a while and I don't think you'd get very far.

Since they probably didn't do the 30k mile service, I'd be asking your preferred mechanic to check your brake fluid, transmission fluid, coolant, etc. They age. Easy to spot (usually can tell by the color.)
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
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Carfax has loads of errors. I had to pay a mechanic 50 bucks to do some non-work just so he could send them an update to make the record more accurate.

Sucks donkey nads.
 

Insomniator

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
6,294
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I had just never heard of it being the other way where someone may have deliberately added false information rather than leaving out stuff.

Yeah I should have gotten the car checked, but it was CPO and low miles, and we had a hook up from a friend know the GM and salesman so I foolishly for once thought maybe they wouldn't try to screw us.
 

mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
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Yes it is VERY odd that this would be in there, if not done, but I find it unusual that the tires and brakes would be reported at all, as normal maintenance items usually don't show up. Maybe if a dealer does it? I haven't let a dealer do these things in decades... I could see if a really shady shop billed for brake work and didn't do it but how do you fake new tires?

What was the scenario where you took it to a shop and they stated needs tires and brakes? Were you asking them about those or getting a complete assessment of the vehicle AFTER purchasing it (which seems a bit backwards) ?

Tires, read the date code to determine manufacture date. Tires 5 years old, meh they may or may not need replaced immediately, I'd look for signs of dry rot first as not all tires age the same, particularly high mileage tires with a lot of silicone age much better than others.

Brakes, roll up your sleeves and check them. Even without the wheel off you can run your fingernail along the rotor to see if it has grooves, "maybe" also see the pad thickness. Obviously taking the wheel off will give a much better view.

What I'd do is ignore the carfax as others suggested, doesn't really matter what it states if you need tires or brakes, but I would also question the "trusted shop" diagnosis as they are a business, there to make money and most would be ready and willing to replace anything that a customer asks about.

You really need to check these items yourself, or have someone do it that doesn't have a financial interest in selling goods and services.
 

dud

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2001
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You were fortunate. Even if the Carfax is inaccurate ... brakes and tires are (relatively) cheap and easy to fix.
 

Insomniator

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
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So, the two front tires were made in 2016 and look OK except for lowish tread life remaining. The two rear tires were made in 2013 and definitely have some rot issues. I haven't checked the brakes yet but so far its possible that some work was indeed done. Low tread life, and even low brake life could be chalked up to my wife driving like a maniac since we bought it.
 

dud

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2001
7,635
73
91
So, the two front tires were made in 2016 and look OK except for lowish tread life remaining. The two rear tires were made in 2013 and definitely have some rot issues. I haven't checked the brakes yet but so far its possible that some work was indeed done. Low tread life, and even low brake life could be chalked up to my wife driving like a maniac since we bought it.



Do you repair your own vehicles? If so, bleed the brake lines, and inspect/replace the brake pads/shoes. There are always deals on tires out there. You can get a nice set of tires (depending upon size for $500 or less, installed.

Good luck ...
 

Joebklyn

Junior Member
Dec 27, 2018
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Carfax IMHO is bullshit. Once looked at a clean Toyota Corolla at a N.J. dealership. salesman proudly showed carfax showing nada. I lifted the rear seat and found cubed safety glass, this is signs of an accident. I looked further and found more evidence of collision fix carefully hidden. Noped outta there.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,053
1,681
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Carfax IMHO is bullshit. Once looked at a clean Toyota Corolla at a N.J. dealership. salesman proudly showed carfax showing nada. I lifted the rear seat and found cubed safety glass, this is signs of an accident. I looked further and found more evidence of collision fix carefully hidden. Noped outta there.

I've often wondered about Carfax accuracy. I bought my 95 Trooper in 2002 after driving the 30 miles to see the car personally, then returning home to check the Carfax info with the VIN in hand.

I would think you would more likely get reliable data about accidents, as opposed to the service history.

I would always expect to replace the tires in the short term for a used car. I had to do it for the 87 Trooper that I only had for 2 years before a brainless college girl in pickup truck totaled it, and I had to do it for the 95 within six months.

The tire resellers always talk about the limits of tires and their deterioration from ozone over time. To me, the greater risk is wear revealed with the Lincoln penny test.

Last September, I was helping a friend recycle a huge tube-type 32" TV, which we put in my Trooper. I should've tied it down. The SUV made it to the bottom of the driveway, and as we passed over the street gutter, the TV pitched backward and shattered the rear window. So there are a lot of ways a window could be broken without the car technically experiencing an accident, or being reported as an accident.
 

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
4,025
859
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The "dealer autocheck inurl:vin" trick still works to access some dealer databases, which I am told may be different and more complete compared to CarFax reports.

You're welcome.