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I’ve found a number of 7 year old RX-350’s to check out (all but one at dealers) and not a single one has a pristine carfax in this regard. A prior owner may have done his own changes or used a shop that doesn’t report but there’s no way to know. Is there any way to evaluate if damage was done or will it just make itself known in a year or two or ten.
I don’t have the luxury of waiting for the perfect car - I need a vehicle in the next few weeks. If I can’t find something I’ll have to buy a new, less expensive) car.
Long story short, Carfax is of limited value, and imho an indie's inspection is more valuable and not expensive, and worth it. And no, I didn't do it, and am lucky the dealership fixed things I reported after the fact (after delivery).
I didn't used to think it was worthwhile, until the LS430. It is worth it to pay an indie $50-$150 to inspect the car--someone that knows the vehicle aka a specialist. They spot things right off the bat. Uncover the rip offs and masking of issues.
Example--Lexus dealership multipoint recommended $6500 worth of work 3 weeks into my LS430 purchase. Indie recommended a $15 trans output seal be replaced as tranny was weeping, Lexus dealership did not even see that nor recommend. Indie stated none of the work recommended by dealer is needed nor do they think they actually looked at the vehicle, they likely went by 2006 model year in 2016. I joke that the fact that my multipoint has clutch fluid checked off is a hint no thought was put into it by the dealership, should be NA not OK.
imho Carfax is most useful for the CPO types of cars, older, very inaccurate. I was looking at a 2005 LS430 with a clean carfax at a Lexus dealership. The entire rear left quarter and right side had overspray, the dealer even replaced suspension components on only the right side per the pdf they emailed me, yet the report stated no accidents.
I’ve found a number of 7 year old RX-350’s to check out (all but one at dealers) and not a single one has a pristine carfax in this regard. A prior owner may have done his own changes or used a shop that doesn’t report but there’s no way to know. Is there any way to evaluate if damage was done or will it just make itself known in a year or two or ten.
I don’t have the luxury of waiting for the perfect car - I need a vehicle in the next few weeks. If I can’t find something I’ll have to buy a new, less expensive) car.
The gap is likely the last few years the car is owned/out of warranty. Many owners don't want to pay the high prices of getting their cars serviced at Lexus dealers especially after warranty so they either take them to independents which normally don't show up on a carfax or some will do it themselves. My cars would have gaps, does not mean they are not getting the scheduled work done, I do the work myself and I am gentler and more thorough then any mechanic not working on their own car. I would not worry about it too much. I doubt the owner never bothered to do oil changes once the warranty was out and it is not like oil change timelines are set in stone and if you go past them it starts damaging the engine, if the car has oil in it at the proper level the engine is unlikely to be damaged from old oil, you may get some sludge that can lead to problems down the road if it is not removed but it is not like engines grenade just because they have old oil and the owner went without a oil change for a while. I would not worry about it too much, just change the oil once you get the car if it makes you feel better, you can even do a engine flush if you really suspect the oil wasn't changed in a while.
I tend to agree the gap in itself isn't necessarily anything to worry about, there can be reasons and explanations for gaps that aren't necessarily bad, but there are clearly risks if you can't verify service history.
The best thing to do as others have said is to get a PPI done by a reputable independent. You could also consider two other things, you could see if other services such as Autocheck may have more information, and you could, if time permits, invest in something like a Blackstone oil analysis which will reveal a lot about the chemistry of the current oil and what might might be behind it if the results are adverse.
For instance, none of my cars display a service history on Carfax, because neither the shop or dealer I use report to Carfax, but my cars are maintained more than the maintenance schedule suggests.
there is a dealership in south florida JM Lexus that does not use for reporting through service department to carfax they are one of the most expsensive dealerships i have ever had my vehicle services at it was just close to me and my service contract covered repairs there but not once not even for oil changes and regular maintence that i have had done there when i lived in florida from 2012 to 2014 or every time i am in town visiting people and go in for things they have never reported to car fax the ones who run it is just greedy i think and sees no reason to report to car fax wondering if they charge them to report to carfax or just to lazy to do extra contact info by reporting
for carfax from the service department
so i know there are other dealerships out there probably that dont report either so its possible that someone uses a dealership that does not report to carfax but still has had all maitnance done perhaps its a toyota dealership since there is not a lexus service history for it if thats the case.
or maybe they did do all there own work to the cars.
On carfax for my RX300 (I am the second owner), it did not show any accidents. I went to autocheck and it did show that the vehicle was in accident on Long Island. Go figure.
Along with the others, if this is of major need to you, then going with an independent pre-purchase inspection is the no brainer option. Carfax doesn't claim to be entirely comprehensive.
On carfax for my RX300 (I am the second owner), it did not show any accidents. I went to autocheck and it did show that the vehicle was in accident on Long Island. Go figure.
This was clearly the case with the 2005 LS430 I went to look at. The plastic on the right side was gouged and when they sprayed the door some paint was on the rear right rim. The dealer was so *****-nilly too in emailing me an internal service order showing what they did to recondition the vehicle for sale. I stated that's strange you replaced suspension components on the right side only, where it looks completely damaged to me. I even put my finger on the overspray, gouges, and wheel, and the salesman ignored me lol. The final straw was when it could not start inside the shop. He told me don't worry if you come back tomorrow morning we'll have it started for you. Can't make this up. I do expect that from used car dealers, not a Lexus dealer. this vehicle is exactly what I envision as going to auction...I should dig through email and find the vin and see what it's disposition was....hold on
I googled the VIN and found nothing, but figured I'd snip what they sent me way back when. When I googled the p/n on the tires, they were the Dunlop OE SP5000s. When I saw the car in person, they were no such thing, knock-off no-name brands. So if a dealer does this, then it's really caveat emptor, and let an indie remove the shenanigans or at least point them out on a lift.
You should NEVER buy a used car based solely off the CARFAX report. Sure it can be a valuable tool in buying a used car, but you should also use other sources for information as well. Never buy a used car without getting a PPI done by a trusted mechanic.
I was using Carfax history to help narrow a list of possibilities down to a shorter list of cars to actually visit. I'd never buy one without a proper independent inspection.
For instance, none of my cars display a service history on Carfax, because neither the shop or dealer I use report to Carfax, but my cars are maintained more than the maintenance schedule suggests.
05-10-19, 05:47 PM
Gap in Carfax service records
