Seven07

...but with an accident reported on carfax?? No structural damage, just the rear bumper has been repainted. I mean the car looks like it's been fixed professionally too. How much does that hurt resale?

ASILVER

I just went through this...carmax had 2 07 GS's for sale, one with bumper damage one without at least per carfax............I bought the one without damage, but also b/c it was $2000 cheaper, and didn't have nav / backup camera otherwise they were identical cars in mileage age and color.

FWIW in the pics I could see a scratch on the rear bumper....and when I got the car they had done a ****ty repaint job on the bumper and so now I have to get it resprayed again b/c it looks terrible.

so had I known they were going to do a 1/2 assed repair in the first place I would have probably ponied up the extra 2k and got the one that looked perfect in the pics but had the accident on the history.

I think carfax only hurts your resale on a private basis, when it comes time to get rid of your car, if you trade it in they don't care what carfax says b/c you can't rely on carfax to tell the true full history of a car anyways.

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

it really only matters to the buyer. if it was in a bad accident then yes i would probably stay away but if it was something minor like a dented fendered or cracked bumper that got repaired, i wouldnt really care too much about it.

arnieosp

iTrader: (1)

I would, in a heartbeat. Carfax is overrated. It is only good to check if the car was totaled, or in a flood, or something like that.

greyhndfan

if the seller will allow it, take it to a lexus dealer for a full check up.. it'll be around 125.00. that's what i did.

msgs350

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I would as long as its fixed correctly and cleanly.

Resale depends on the buyer and how picky they are.

LexFather

Agreed, as long as it was fixed properly and nothing major. A lot of times it can be seen as a good thing as an older car gets new parts and paint.

I believe carfax goes by the police report so that can vary....

rld14

Well.... My car will soon have an accident on the carfax, got hit and run'd by a Soccer Mom in a Pilot (I chased her down, rang doorbell, her husband said F off or I will call cops, I laughed and said go ahead.. long story). Bumper needs $200 worth of paint.

Meanwhile I have seen cars with major frame repairs done and clean carfaxes.

Rule #1: Carfax is worth spit.

Rule #2: Look the car over, all body panels should be original, panel replacement, bondo, excessive paintwork = Car devalued.

levinsoy

Carfax is only good to check for big ticket items like flood, total, title, airbag deployed!!!

But if you go through your insurance to get anything done to the car even like minor scratches or somebody tapped your bumper and all they do is repaint the bumper or hood, insurance puts it into the Carfax as an ACCIDENT (which down the road screws up your resale value). Also, I bought my 06 GS300 AWD about 5 months ago and it had a clear Carfax but when I got the car and actually went through it I saw that the drivers side rear door was removed/replaced/definitely repainted. Where was Carfax to note that???

So basically there is nothing better that looking at the car yourself or having a professional check it out for you. Just because Carfax says that the car is clean just means nothing major happened that the insurance company's, dealers or the motor vehicle administration knows off. Still the car could have been hit and repainted and the person just did this out of pocket or knew someone at the bodyshop that never reported it to Carfax. My mom's car has been hit 4-5 times, and her Carfax was cleaner then my old car that had one accident noted in Carfax from my insurance company for scratches fixed on my hood caused by me cleaning snow from my car. KBB, NADA or Edmunds are good tools also to use to get an idea of price for car but not realistic prices, plus they do not buy or sell cars. Same for Carfax, it can help but also can really hurt your selling price if basically a body shop does some minor touch ups and it shows up as an accident.

GS350Lexus

iTrader: (5)

There was actually a video about people trying to buy a car at a dealer and carfax showed clean title. They come back in few months and it has an accident on it. Basiclly i was hit on a side by a car running a red light. Police report, insurance all that good jazz was made. Its been over 2 years CARFAX CLEAN!!!!!!! Friend tapped a pedestrian with no injuries what so ever no even a scratch, carfax shows car has been in a accident. Go figure with these guys. Read up about carfax a little more http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/carfax.htmlhttp://www.consumeraffairs.com/autom...x_sellers.html

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

thats why i choose CarFox

GS350Lexus

iTrader: (5)

What i suggest is AUTOCHECK.COM, they actually give you insurance if you buy the car and then later on the accident come's up previously before you owned it they will buy the car from you for the price you bought it. Now i wouldn't expect carfax to do that because they're source is very untrusted. Before i bought my lexus i ran both carfax and autocheck also had my dealer go around my car with a paint meter to check for paint work. On top of all that i took the VIN# and wen't to lexus find out where it was maintained and how often. Every 5k miles oil changes at the dealer. There are a lot of steps to take to make sure you are getting the real car for the price. It all matter's how deep you wan't to start digging history on it.

rld14

One thing, however, that Carfax is FINALLY starting to report is whether or not the car ran at an auction with a frame damage announcement. A number of dealers that I know of, have, for quite some time, made tidy profits by buying the "unibody/frame" cars with "clean" carfaxes and even selling them as CPOs.

mole

iTrader: (3)

My process is (yes I know it is a PIA but worth it to me):

1. call the dealer with the VIN and ask for all repair records / customer notes, may have to call a few, tell them you are ready to buy and want to know if you should bother bringing it in for an inspection.

2. Carfax and or autocheck and pay for the extra for the guarantee, you can upgrade to this after you see the report and think the car is for you.

3. take it to the dealer for a check, its ok to pay for that service if you are serious. The last car I bought was still within dealer warranty and so the dealer told me what they would replace / repair if I bought it. I ended up back there for about $600 worth of stuff under warranty.

4. take it to my indepent guy and pay for a check. My guy knows me and what I need to know when I buy a car. He's the ultimate and last step. He has found stuff the dealer didnt mention or find and tells me what I may need to think about and how much it will cost and when it will have to be done.

I do this with private party, if they wont let me do it I move on. With a dealer its simple with a 3-day return policy.

I know this seems like a lot but I in my experience, I am buying a car I am going to drive for a while and so its worth it to take the time and expense. It also has provided with me information that has told me not to buy a car or to negotiate on things the seller didnt know / acknowledge the car needed. I know I could do the inspection myself, but my personal methodology is that I hire experts to do the things that matter the most to me and in the end, its worth it.

When I have derived from my personal methodology for doing things I am more often disappointed than not.

rld14

On a late model car, regardless of Carfax/etc I'd be much more concerned with having a body shop inspect the car for previous accident damage.

OTOH, if you're seriously car shopping, spring the $500 for a used Elcometer on eBay and then just resell it on eBay once you buy a car.

The model you want is a 311F IIRC, the 311FNF also does aluminum bodied cars.