Quote:
Originally Posted by greenhome
... carfax agreement states you must discover damage withing 30 days or something like that . I paid for carfax but was not protected, true story
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A Carfax report IS better than nothing, and I'd always recommend one.
However, if an accident is not REPORTED (by Police Report, insurance or the repair shop), it's unlikely CarFax knows about it either. Flooded out cars have shady repair shops fix them up without reporting them as flooders. Car rental agencies often have their own preferred repair shops and do not report some accidents this way (ask me how I know).
Your BEST defense is a very good mechanic that will take the time to really pore over your "candidate-for-purchase". I avoided a probable nightmare MB purchase by using a trusty mechanic. They look for things like repaint, a new front clip, mismatched VIN#s, replaced body and trim panels, shock tower damage & repairs, frame issues, etc. They may not catch all the "tricks", but a good mechanic, with an hour or two of your money, can tell you a lot about the vehicle. For instance, a new radiator in a pretty new vehicle is a sign of possible front-end repair-work - so then you look that area over even more closely.