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How Can Used Car Buyers Protect Themselves?

If CARFAX Isn't the Answer, What Is?

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 8, 2005

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How can used car buyers protect themselves from getting stuck with a previously damaged vehicle?

Have an independent ASE Certified Master Technician or body shop physically inspect the vehicle, says John Adams, president of Auto P.I. Used Car Inspections in Austin, Texas. (www.autopi.com)

"A physical professional inspection can tell you more about a car than a CARFAX (vehicle history) report," Adams says, adding his company charges $125 for a 600-point inspection on used cars and trucks.

A physical car inspection, Adams says, should answer the following questions:

• How are the vehicle's mechanical and electrical systems operating?

• Has the vehicle ever been wrecked? What's the extent of the previous damage? Were the repairs done correctly?

• Is the vehicle's wear and tear consistent with the odometer reading?

• How much will it cost to make any needed repairs?

Adam says some used car buyers rely on vehicle history reports generated by an Internet company called CARFAX.

But a CARFAX report doesn't replace a physical inspection or disclose if a vehicle has any previous accident damage, Adams says.

"How is CARFAX going to know I wrecked my car unless the police department reports it?" he asks. Only police departments from "selected states" give accident data to CARFAX. "They won't learn about it from the insurance companies because they don't report their claims to CARFAX."

Adams and other car experts also say used car buyers should:

• Take the vehicle for a 15-minute test drive. During that test drive, listen to the engine, turn on the car's air conditioning and other electrical systems, and check the brakes to be sure they work;

• Never rely on verbal promises made about a vehicle. Get all terms and agreements in writing;

• Never let anyone pressure them into buying a vehicle on the spot;

• Be wary of companies that sell "certified" used cars.

"Unscrupulous dealers may sell certified used cars…without representing that the cars have been salvaged," Rachel Weintraub, senior counsel for the Consumer Federation of America, told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee earlier this year.

"Certified used cars are sold at a premium to consumers because of the more rigorous inspection required. However, sometimes the inspections either knowingly or unknowingly fail to identify a salvaged vehicle. Consumers are hit extra hard by having paid a premium for what they thought was a more thorough inspection, but then end up with an unsafe car (and one) with a warranty that is void due to prior damage." Some car makers won't honor the warranty on a vehicle that has previous damage.

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