Carfax accuracy
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Carfax accuracy
According to Carfax, LS was inspected by an Exxon in Fairfax, VA, on Wednesday. That's nice, but I live in PA.
It really makes me question how accurate this service is. And what drives it? In talking to the owner of the Exxon station in PA, he mentioned that they own stations from VA to MD to DE to PA. So this must be them, in Fairfax. But it's not where my service was performed. I've seen this too on cars.com, where a car was serviced both in Naples, FLA, and OH, the same day (same dealership chain, has to be). Also, the only time I went to a Lexus dealership, that service is not on the Carfax. Similar on my BMW, almost all the services performed at BMW dealers are not there. No question shops pick and choose to report--what's their angle? Seems like the smaller shops report consistently. And wouldn't this imply Carfax is not that accurate? Oddly, I checked my 1998 Nissan, it is accurate since mid 1999, quite surprising.
It really makes me question how accurate this service is. And what drives it? In talking to the owner of the Exxon station in PA, he mentioned that they own stations from VA to MD to DE to PA. So this must be them, in Fairfax. But it's not where my service was performed. I've seen this too on cars.com, where a car was serviced both in Naples, FLA, and OH, the same day (same dealership chain, has to be). Also, the only time I went to a Lexus dealership, that service is not on the Carfax. Similar on my BMW, almost all the services performed at BMW dealers are not there. No question shops pick and choose to report--what's their angle? Seems like the smaller shops report consistently. And wouldn't this imply Carfax is not that accurate? Oddly, I checked my 1998 Nissan, it is accurate since mid 1999, quite surprising.
#2
A few months ago I spent over $700 on new tires and a synthetic blend oil change at Goodyear Tires and Service. I asked the young lady at the counter if GoodYear reported to Carfax. She implied she didn’t know the answer, so I called the 800 customer service center while waiting on my vehicle. They said no. I asked why and they had no answer.
Contrast that with one of their competitors NTB (Formerly Tire Kingdom) who reports every single purchase or service item to Carfax done under your VIN #. Since the previous owner of my Lexus had meticulous service records on the car I wanted to continue in the same vain. I now ask Service departments if they report before I decide to spend money with their company.
As for the accuracy, I’d be more worried about the items NOT reported than those you may find on the report.
Contrast that with one of their competitors NTB (Formerly Tire Kingdom) who reports every single purchase or service item to Carfax done under your VIN #. Since the previous owner of my Lexus had meticulous service records on the car I wanted to continue in the same vain. I now ask Service departments if they report before I decide to spend money with their company.
As for the accuracy, I’d be more worried about the items NOT reported than those you may find on the report.
Last edited by Propulsion; 10-13-17 at 05:40 PM.
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