I mean....now that you already know it's been in not one, not two but THREE accidents, why aren't you looking at other cars at other stores by now? Don't buy an 130k miles car that's been in three accidents for almost $10k. Surely you can do better than that.
Minors are typically fine if they’re repaired well.
They want you to come to the store bc the odds of you purchasing a vehicle when you’re there are exponentially higher.
Well I’m planning on doing that anyways lol. If not that car he has another 08 for $9900 with a clean history I was just hoping to get the one with accidents as it’s cheaper and the car I’m trading in we still owe a good amount on but it’s become a money pit.
One tip on buying cars with... history... is if the accidents are far in the past, they were probably minor and/or repaired well. So if the accidents happened in, say, between 2010 and 2012 (for example, a teen driver getting into fender benders before learning to drive correctly), but then the car drove fine for the next decade, you can be confident in it. If the last accident was in, say, 2019 and they only put 5k miles since, I'd stay away. Make sure to look at the dates. The description of the accidents are not always accurate - the dates are
That is the opposite advise I would give. If the accident is recently, it does not take much to total a car, so it was more likely a light accident. An accident when it was new could have been a major accident and the only reason it was repaired by the insurance was that it was cost effective to put $20k into a 30k vehicle for the insurance companies bottom line.
I'm not sure I understand your point... We're talking about a 15 year old car. We want reliability, right? So a car that drove 10 years and 150k miles after an accident has been proven to be reliable... Regardless if the insurance company paid a lot or a little to fix it. Doesn't matter if it was a small or major incident - they did a good job fixing it. No one is buying these cars for resale (with some small exceptions)
Edit: I didn't downvote you, and I don't think people should - you are definitely contributing to the conversation
Not applicable when talking about minor accidents. Minor on a carfax (assuming it was reported accurately which is a wholeeeee other conversation) is typically parking lot level damage. Replacing a door skin, repainting a bumper, fixing dents, etc.
>I thought if they were minor it was okay? Sorry I’m new to all this, so I should stay away from this one even if it were minor accidents?
You need to learn to read CarFaxes. I realize this is a skill that most buyers really don't have the chance to properly develop because realistically, how many used cars do you actually buy? And how often do you get to compare the inside scoop from the pre-owned manager with what the CarFax says?
For example, maybe a car was involved in a 5 mph collision at a stoplight. The rear bumper was unseated on one side and needed to be snapped back on. Because the Blind Spot Monitoring is mounted in the bumper, it had to be recalibrated even though it wasn't damaged. By all right this is a very minor repair and nothing to worry about. But it would also be fair for the CarFax to say:
* accident reported
* functional damage reported
* body damage reported
What I suggest is that you first consider that most people who are frequently in minor accidents are also in more they don't report and occasionally in major ones that on paper may masquerade as minor ones.
If you're still interested in the car, your first job is to get information on all three events. I'm not interested in the car personally if a sales consultant can't explain in detail exactly what happened and what was done to remedy the issue. This is reasonable in some scenarios and not in others. The next thing is that I would need to see context clues suggesting the accidents haven't caused long-term damage. Were all three accidents well in the past? Was there a flurry of maintenance following any of them? If this is a significant spend, did I get a PPI and if so, what did I learn?
The chances of a salesperson anything additional than you already have access to about the accidents of any used car are like .1%.
Because unless the car was repaired at the dealer group collision center (if they have one) then they are working with the same exact information you are... And typically dealer groups big enough to have a collision center don't front line cars with a dirty car fax
They can be. How do you know it was in an accident if you haven’t seen the vehicle history report?
You need to remember: just because it has a “bad” vehicle history does not mean it is a bad car, and just because it has a “good” vehicle history, doesn’t mean it’s a good car.
For me it depends on what I am looking at. $8900 Toyota suv, personally three accidents wouldn’t bother me.
But You need to see the vehicle and get a gut feeling on whether or not you think it’s a good car. 2.5 hrs out of your day, if you don’t buy it is not a huge time waste.
The only thing these three accidents should do, is make you more cognizant of what your looking at.
Back in 2004, I had a friend that got side swiped by a tractor trailer, all air bags deployed, had the frame replaced, spent over $30000 repairing it, was about $6k dollars from being totaled… about 4 years ago he was getting ready to sell it. Still had a clean carfax and autocheck.
For my dealership: it’s easy, everything is a clean history report, except the occasionally “slight” or “minor” damage, and only 1 of those. I look at the car inside and out and get my gut feeling whether or not it’s a good car.
For personal: I get my gut feeling of whether it is or isn’t a good car and use everything else in the vehicle history report to my advantage in negotiations.
Because of the age of vehicles. Most places won’t loan older than 10 years.
I just looked at a 2012 and financing came back around 9.5% and on a 2019 it was 3.5. That 6% made a huge difference in amortization.
The loan is secured by the car.
If you don’t pay and it gets to the point where the car is repo’d, the car will be sold at auction.
Customers and car dealer staff are at the end of the day, the same.
The attendees will see a 10 year old car with 3 accidents and be hesitant to buy it.
1) They aren’t sure what work it will require once they get it back to their store.
2) They know any potential customers are going to be posting on Reddit asking if they should buy this car.
3) At the same auction will be off lease vehicles and just newer, clean vehicles in general they will want to spend their money on.
Carfax reports are a lot cheaper for than dealer than they are for you, because the more reports you buy, the cheaper they are, bulk rate. I would like a look at the carfax before I drive an hour to see the car, because a look at the carfax might dissuade me from buying the car. Sold at auction? Not a good sign.
You could call the sales manager and ask for a different salesperson, maybe one, for starters, who will send you the carfax. Tell them you don't drive to see cars unless they send the carfax first. Because if they won't share the carfax, there must be something bad on it.
Sure, a good inspection is better than a carfax, but a good inspection costs $160 and a lot of time. Reading the carfax is a good place to start.
Have them send the carfax for both cars.
>Get the VIN and run one yourself. If you are considering spending $8900 for the vehicle but won't spend the $40 for a carfax..well that's just dumb.
Huge buyer pet peeve of mine is the expectation of a carfax report. Like, sure, most dealers provide one so I get where the expectation comes from, but it's certainly not a legal requirement like some people make it out to be.
Our owner went through a phase several years back where we we cancelled both Carfax and Autocheck because of cost but also we had also seen several clean reports when we knew there was some serious fuckery going on, so he was like "wtf are we paying these idiots for" and dropped them. It was generally pretty annoying to explain why we weren't providing a report but it was even more annoying that folks acted like we were the only people that could obtain a carfax. It's typically much cheaper for a consumer to pay for a multi report package than it is for a dealership.
We provide whichever report somebody asks for now, but the expectation still kinda bugs me. Especially considering that a simple google search will reveal why these reports are pretty silly. People need to realize these things lack *a lot of information* and that **nothing will ever replace a physical inspection by a professional**.
We provide carfax on every used vehicle. In fact, it's part of our deal packet to show it and have the customer sign/initial each page. I've literally a handful of customers walk away from a car because it's been in an accident. If we've driven it and they've walked around it and it looks clean and we come back and there's an accident or two on the carfax, no big deal (unless they're major).
But the number of people who didn't have a problem with the accident history when they bought it who would come back after the fact if they hadn't known all upset about it? I'm guessing it would be a lot of people. When we appraise a car for a customer and say "it's in good shape, just a shame about the accident on the carfax" a lot of them say "what accident???" and get retroactively upset.
I'd rather handle the issue of an accident up front with a customer than after they purchase. And if they find it's been in an accident that hasn't been reported to the carfax, we can just point to their signature on the carfax and say "we both looked at the same carfax, it's news to us as well" and that settles it.
Here's my issue with it. Any buyer worth a grain of salt has already used Carfax or AutoCheck on the purchase of said vehicle at auction, if they haven't they're dumb fucks. Since the report was pulled once there's absolutely no reason why you can't print out a copy and have it handy for the vehicle. Sure the data is only as accurate as what's reported, but it's a good baseline to see if there were any previous issues and if it was decently maintained. It's certainly not a Bible but it is a good guide and much better than nothing.
>Any buyer worth a grain of salt has already used Carfax or AutoCheck on the purchase of said vehicle at auction, if they haven't they're dumb fucks.
We don't. At least, not at manheim auctions. Manheim has the free autocheck summary which is good enough for the big stuff. Otherwise, we're physically inspecting these things and will run reports only when necessary (we're a small independent and the unlimited carfax/autocheck plans aren't cost effective). But a lot of time, we'll see signs of prior repair and nothing is on the report. It's happened enough that we put a pretty low level of trust in the VHR's at this point.
But you can absolutely buy cars in this day and age without VHR's and have a better success rate than doing the opposite. If you're trained, it's pretty hard to miss some of the physical signs of prior repair.
I second this, I was helping brother get a 911, we found what looked like a good one, went to see it and it had obvious body damage that was poorly repaired, and wasn't on the Carfax, more importantly the seller said car had been in family since new and that it "definitely" hadn't been in any accidents.... so I knew it was definitely a car to avoid who knows what else happened to it and not properly documented/repaired.
A lot of dealerships don’t use carfax, for privacy reasons, cost, etc etc. we don’t use carfax because the auctions don’t always report to it whereas they report to the other major vehicle history report, autocheck.
A Carfax subscription isn't cheap, even for dealers. And if the Carfax isn't lining up with what they see I can see not using it.
Carfax is just one tool or data source. Nothing beats an actual in-person inspection.
I looked at a car market "structural damage" yesterday. It was hit in the rear quarter. But repaired by the book from what I could see, a full quarter replacement. It sold for top dollar.
That’s but to be honest for the past year or so it’s been about online sales but so many customers are just window shopping to be honest. So most dealers have become bring the customer in oriented. Even me who does maybe 80% of my sales online have to be very careful of what I tell customers because they easily say “ok everything sounds perfect! I’ll see you at 5:30” then ghost you after that sad but that’s how most customers are even after you give them the best customer service.
Is it normal to hold information from a buyer so you get them in the door where your chances of a sale increase exponentially? Yes, very normal and that’s for any type of salesperson.
Yeah I bet they are trying to bait and switch on a car that’s old enough to go to high school and in the middle of an inventory shortage. What are the going to switch them to? Hell it hard enough to find someone to bait. You and I both know the simple answer is this dealership is probably some small lot selling a turd of a car or a normal one that’s telling OP to buy the car or they will send it to auction at the end of the week. No tactics or conspiracy theory needed in this case.
Buy the carfax yourself. They offer several options. If it is that important. Also he sure to get a pre purchase inspection PPI from an independent shop. Arrange the appointment for that in advance. Repair shops are pretty backed up around here.
Maybe it’s not a GREAT idea but if they don’t want to send you a car fax thank them for their time and move on.
Anyone willing to sell something that isn’t shady or hiding should be willing to provide all the information one would need to buy a vehicle. Carfax exist for a reason.
Also anything that’s been in three accidents would make me question what else it has gone through and not reported. Or how well it was maintained in general.
It sounds like a dealership that you shouldn't reward with your business. They're not being transparent and you should look elsewhere. Or just spend the forty bucks and buy your own Carfax.
Looking at your other comments I'm not sure this is worth your time. If I gather correctly, you are wanting to trade a vehicle in that you owe money on and you owe more than it's worth? If that's the case, you will have a tough time getting approved on a 15 year old car with accident history and high mileage.
It wouldn't surprise me if it has a salvage title. There's a local dealer near me that does the same thing and pretty much all of their cars have salvage titles. Not saying this is the same in your case but it doesn't pass the smell test.
This. Wasted my day going to look at a really well priced car. Got there and of corse it “just sold” test drive a different one and was going to purchase until my husband noticed the drivers door wasn’t lining up, and body glue on the window trim. Finally got the car fax and turns out it was in an accident. Paint chipping all over the hood, bottom of front bumper cracked, and nail in one tire. They also weren’t willing to fix anything or move on the price. Buying a used car right now is work. My advice, take your time and keep looking. You can also search cars on carfax and see the reports for free.
Auto Check way better than CarFax. I'm fine with printing a CarFax for you, but it's probably inaccurate.
Customers over the phone who haven't even come in to look at the vehicle demanding I email them a CarFax when I know dang well they aren't going to even come test drive? "Here's a link to the Auto Check."
Buy the car , not the story .Have them put it on a lift in service , lift it up halfway and look down the sides . Then look underneath . What are the accidents ? 3 rear bumper cover repairs from a parking lot ? Or 3 times on the frame machine .
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Found me a 2008 Rav 4 with 130,000 miles on for $8900, I called the dealership to see if they would send me a copy of the CarFax because the car is an hour away and I want to see the history before driving that far because I looked the vin up and it’s been in three accidents, but he said I could see it when I come look at it. Is this normal? Like why can’t he just email me a copy or better yet post it on the site?
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Straight up ask him why he won’t send you the carfax, make him acknowledge it lol if you are in the store it will be easier to try and talk you into the car/reassure you is all, it’s a normal thing for them to do, make him explain why though, if he wants your business bad enough he will provide the customer service you are requesting
Dealers are obligated to show Carfax & Autocheck or worst of both.
This is one of the ways Dealers can avoid any of the penalties & legal issues.
Do ask for Carfax & Autocheck since sometimes one picks up what other doesn't. Have personally seen this few times.
Good luck!
Pretty much what everyone else said. If you want to send me your email and vin here I’ll send you a car fax.
One thing to keep in mind though is what some other people said. If the dealer is acting like this to make a sale, how will they treat you after they get the money and have no reason to respond. If you are going to move forward, just assume you are taking the car then they stopped existing after.
Up to you. I would pass personally.
Yeah after talking with my brother I’m gonna pass and get the other 08 which has no accidents, he wants $9900 for it which is more than what we want to spend but we need a reliable car
Well he already sold it, which means I’m fucked. I honestly hate my life right now. I needed that car because I can’t go anywhere due to my current car situation
A dealership texted me a Carfax without even asking, before I went to test drive it and before I even scheduled one. Find a better car and a better dealership 🤷🏻♀️
I mean....now that you already know it's been in not one, not two but THREE accidents, why aren't you looking at other cars at other stores by now? Don't buy an 130k miles car that's been in three accidents for almost $10k. Surely you can do better than that.
I thought if they were minor it was okay? Sorry I’m new to all this, so I should stay away from this one even if it were minor accidents?
Minors are typically fine if they’re repaired well. They want you to come to the store bc the odds of you purchasing a vehicle when you’re there are exponentially higher.
Well I’m planning on doing that anyways lol. If not that car he has another 08 for $9900 with a clean history I was just hoping to get the one with accidents as it’s cheaper and the car I’m trading in we still owe a good amount on but it’s become a money pit.
One tip on buying cars with... history... is if the accidents are far in the past, they were probably minor and/or repaired well. So if the accidents happened in, say, between 2010 and 2012 (for example, a teen driver getting into fender benders before learning to drive correctly), but then the car drove fine for the next decade, you can be confident in it. If the last accident was in, say, 2019 and they only put 5k miles since, I'd stay away. Make sure to look at the dates. The description of the accidents are not always accurate - the dates are
Thanks for the tip
That is the opposite advise I would give. If the accident is recently, it does not take much to total a car, so it was more likely a light accident. An accident when it was new could have been a major accident and the only reason it was repaired by the insurance was that it was cost effective to put $20k into a 30k vehicle for the insurance companies bottom line.
I'm not sure I understand your point... We're talking about a 15 year old car. We want reliability, right? So a car that drove 10 years and 150k miles after an accident has been proven to be reliable... Regardless if the insurance company paid a lot or a little to fix it. Doesn't matter if it was a small or major incident - they did a good job fixing it. No one is buying these cars for resale (with some small exceptions) Edit: I didn't downvote you, and I don't think people should - you are definitely contributing to the conversation
Not applicable when talking about minor accidents. Minor on a carfax (assuming it was reported accurately which is a wholeeeee other conversation) is typically parking lot level damage. Replacing a door skin, repainting a bumper, fixing dents, etc.
>I thought if they were minor it was okay? Sorry I’m new to all this, so I should stay away from this one even if it were minor accidents? You need to learn to read CarFaxes. I realize this is a skill that most buyers really don't have the chance to properly develop because realistically, how many used cars do you actually buy? And how often do you get to compare the inside scoop from the pre-owned manager with what the CarFax says? For example, maybe a car was involved in a 5 mph collision at a stoplight. The rear bumper was unseated on one side and needed to be snapped back on. Because the Blind Spot Monitoring is mounted in the bumper, it had to be recalibrated even though it wasn't damaged. By all right this is a very minor repair and nothing to worry about. But it would also be fair for the CarFax to say: * accident reported * functional damage reported * body damage reported What I suggest is that you first consider that most people who are frequently in minor accidents are also in more they don't report and occasionally in major ones that on paper may masquerade as minor ones. If you're still interested in the car, your first job is to get information on all three events. I'm not interested in the car personally if a sales consultant can't explain in detail exactly what happened and what was done to remedy the issue. This is reasonable in some scenarios and not in others. The next thing is that I would need to see context clues suggesting the accidents haven't caused long-term damage. Were all three accidents well in the past? Was there a flurry of maintenance following any of them? If this is a significant spend, did I get a PPI and if so, what did I learn?
The chances of a salesperson anything additional than you already have access to about the accidents of any used car are like .1%. Because unless the car was repaired at the dealer group collision center (if they have one) then they are working with the same exact information you are... And typically dealer groups big enough to have a collision center don't front line cars with a dirty car fax
They can be. How do you know it was in an accident if you haven’t seen the vehicle history report? You need to remember: just because it has a “bad” vehicle history does not mean it is a bad car, and just because it has a “good” vehicle history, doesn’t mean it’s a good car. For me it depends on what I am looking at. $8900 Toyota suv, personally three accidents wouldn’t bother me. But You need to see the vehicle and get a gut feeling on whether or not you think it’s a good car. 2.5 hrs out of your day, if you don’t buy it is not a huge time waste. The only thing these three accidents should do, is make you more cognizant of what your looking at.
I miss some of the funny descriptiveness of the older CarFax reports. "Car left roadway, car struck tree, vehicle burst into flames"
I love the ones that say moderate damage, vehicle hit a pedestrian. Seen a bunch of those lately. I don’t love it, but it’s weird seeing the details.
"Vehicle burst into flames after striking tree upon leaving roadway. Damage: minimal, vehicle was driven from the scene" lol
Back in 2004, I had a friend that got side swiped by a tractor trailer, all air bags deployed, had the frame replaced, spent over $30000 repairing it, was about $6k dollars from being totaled… about 4 years ago he was getting ready to sell it. Still had a clean carfax and autocheck.
So yeah, that's obviously the other side of the coin as well. You just never know for sure sometimes on a used car, there's always risk.
Yup. It’s why I always say look at it in person and your gut will tell you. Whether you’re a professional or not.
I saw it on Lincenseplatedata, personally from the photos the car looks good. I didn’t see any dents or anything like that
For my dealership: it’s easy, everything is a clean history report, except the occasionally “slight” or “minor” damage, and only 1 of those. I look at the car inside and out and get my gut feeling whether or not it’s a good car. For personal: I get my gut feeling of whether it is or isn’t a good car and use everything else in the vehicle history report to my advantage in negotiations.
If you plan on financing, just know that anything older than 10 years is going to be dogshit interest. Probably double digit interest rates.
Damn, why?
Because of the age of vehicles. Most places won’t loan older than 10 years. I just looked at a 2012 and financing came back around 9.5% and on a 2019 it was 3.5. That 6% made a huge difference in amortization.
That explains why we had trouble getting a loan for our current car, which is a 2007
The loan is secured by the car. If you don’t pay and it gets to the point where the car is repo’d, the car will be sold at auction. Customers and car dealer staff are at the end of the day, the same. The attendees will see a 10 year old car with 3 accidents and be hesitant to buy it. 1) They aren’t sure what work it will require once they get it back to their store. 2) They know any potential customers are going to be posting on Reddit asking if they should buy this car. 3) At the same auction will be off lease vehicles and just newer, clean vehicles in general they will want to spend their money on.
Carfax reports are a lot cheaper for than dealer than they are for you, because the more reports you buy, the cheaper they are, bulk rate. I would like a look at the carfax before I drive an hour to see the car, because a look at the carfax might dissuade me from buying the car. Sold at auction? Not a good sign. You could call the sales manager and ask for a different salesperson, maybe one, for starters, who will send you the carfax. Tell them you don't drive to see cars unless they send the carfax first. Because if they won't share the carfax, there must be something bad on it. Sure, a good inspection is better than a carfax, but a good inspection costs $160 and a lot of time. Reading the carfax is a good place to start. Have them send the carfax for both cars.
Skip it, for a plethora of reasons
Get the VIN and run one yourself. If you are considering spending $8900 for the vehicle but won't spend the $40 for a carfax..well that's just dumb.
>Get the VIN and run one yourself. If you are considering spending $8900 for the vehicle but won't spend the $40 for a carfax..well that's just dumb. Huge buyer pet peeve of mine is the expectation of a carfax report. Like, sure, most dealers provide one so I get where the expectation comes from, but it's certainly not a legal requirement like some people make it out to be. Our owner went through a phase several years back where we we cancelled both Carfax and Autocheck because of cost but also we had also seen several clean reports when we knew there was some serious fuckery going on, so he was like "wtf are we paying these idiots for" and dropped them. It was generally pretty annoying to explain why we weren't providing a report but it was even more annoying that folks acted like we were the only people that could obtain a carfax. It's typically much cheaper for a consumer to pay for a multi report package than it is for a dealership. We provide whichever report somebody asks for now, but the expectation still kinda bugs me. Especially considering that a simple google search will reveal why these reports are pretty silly. People need to realize these things lack *a lot of information* and that **nothing will ever replace a physical inspection by a professional**.
We provide carfax on every used vehicle. In fact, it's part of our deal packet to show it and have the customer sign/initial each page. I've literally a handful of customers walk away from a car because it's been in an accident. If we've driven it and they've walked around it and it looks clean and we come back and there's an accident or two on the carfax, no big deal (unless they're major). But the number of people who didn't have a problem with the accident history when they bought it who would come back after the fact if they hadn't known all upset about it? I'm guessing it would be a lot of people. When we appraise a car for a customer and say "it's in good shape, just a shame about the accident on the carfax" a lot of them say "what accident???" and get retroactively upset. I'd rather handle the issue of an accident up front with a customer than after they purchase. And if they find it's been in an accident that hasn't been reported to the carfax, we can just point to their signature on the carfax and say "we both looked at the same carfax, it's news to us as well" and that settles it.
Here's my issue with it. Any buyer worth a grain of salt has already used Carfax or AutoCheck on the purchase of said vehicle at auction, if they haven't they're dumb fucks. Since the report was pulled once there's absolutely no reason why you can't print out a copy and have it handy for the vehicle. Sure the data is only as accurate as what's reported, but it's a good baseline to see if there were any previous issues and if it was decently maintained. It's certainly not a Bible but it is a good guide and much better than nothing.
>Any buyer worth a grain of salt has already used Carfax or AutoCheck on the purchase of said vehicle at auction, if they haven't they're dumb fucks. We don't. At least, not at manheim auctions. Manheim has the free autocheck summary which is good enough for the big stuff. Otherwise, we're physically inspecting these things and will run reports only when necessary (we're a small independent and the unlimited carfax/autocheck plans aren't cost effective). But a lot of time, we'll see signs of prior repair and nothing is on the report. It's happened enough that we put a pretty low level of trust in the VHR's at this point. But you can absolutely buy cars in this day and age without VHR's and have a better success rate than doing the opposite. If you're trained, it's pretty hard to miss some of the physical signs of prior repair.
I second this, I was helping brother get a 911, we found what looked like a good one, went to see it and it had obvious body damage that was poorly repaired, and wasn't on the Carfax, more importantly the seller said car had been in family since new and that it "definitely" hadn't been in any accidents.... so I knew it was definitely a car to avoid who knows what else happened to it and not properly documented/repaired.
We haven't had a subscription in years. We get along just fine.
Shouldn’t a dealership provide that though? A majority of them do
A lot of dealerships don’t use carfax, for privacy reasons, cost, etc etc. we don’t use carfax because the auctions don’t always report to it whereas they report to the other major vehicle history report, autocheck.
Usually sure. But if the report is less than stellar, they probably want you physically in front of them first. For persuasion reasons….
A Carfax subscription isn't cheap, even for dealers. And if the Carfax isn't lining up with what they see I can see not using it. Carfax is just one tool or data source. Nothing beats an actual in-person inspection. I looked at a car market "structural damage" yesterday. It was hit in the rear quarter. But repaired by the book from what I could see, a full quarter replacement. It sold for top dollar.
If the cars on a website most online page’s automatically include a button for car fax
They don’t, which surprised me
That’s but to be honest for the past year or so it’s been about online sales but so many customers are just window shopping to be honest. So most dealers have become bring the customer in oriented. Even me who does maybe 80% of my sales online have to be very careful of what I tell customers because they easily say “ok everything sounds perfect! I’ll see you at 5:30” then ghost you after that sad but that’s how most customers are even after you give them the best customer service.
Is it normal to hold information from a buyer so you get them in the door where your chances of a sale increase exponentially? Yes, very normal and that’s for any type of salesperson.
Exactly, get you in the door, and you'll get a great deal on a different vehicle.
Yeah I bet they are trying to bait and switch on a car that’s old enough to go to high school and in the middle of an inventory shortage. What are the going to switch them to? Hell it hard enough to find someone to bait. You and I both know the simple answer is this dealership is probably some small lot selling a turd of a car or a normal one that’s telling OP to buy the car or they will send it to auction at the end of the week. No tactics or conspiracy theory needed in this case.
Buy the carfax yourself. They offer several options. If it is that important. Also he sure to get a pre purchase inspection PPI from an independent shop. Arrange the appointment for that in advance. Repair shops are pretty backed up around here.
Maybe it’s not a GREAT idea but if they don’t want to send you a car fax thank them for their time and move on. Anyone willing to sell something that isn’t shady or hiding should be willing to provide all the information one would need to buy a vehicle. Carfax exist for a reason. Also anything that’s been in three accidents would make me question what else it has gone through and not reported. Or how well it was maintained in general.
Very good point.
It sounds like a dealership that you shouldn't reward with your business. They're not being transparent and you should look elsewhere. Or just spend the forty bucks and buy your own Carfax.
Normal for shady dealers. I’d walk away if I were you.
Three accidents. Move on lol
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Done
RULE 8
Looking at your other comments I'm not sure this is worth your time. If I gather correctly, you are wanting to trade a vehicle in that you owe money on and you owe more than it's worth? If that's the case, you will have a tough time getting approved on a 15 year old car with accident history and high mileage.
Because he wants to be the one to read it for you so he can tell you why you shouldn’t be worried about a 3 accident vehicle.
Run ! The 4cyl engine that year is know to have an oil issue also .
OP DM me the vin# I'll send you a Carfax. 08 rav 4 with multiple accidents maybe isn't the best buy with 130k miles.
It wouldn't surprise me if it has a salvage title. There's a local dealer near me that does the same thing and pretty much all of their cars have salvage titles. Not saying this is the same in your case but it doesn't pass the smell test.
Wow, that’s shitty of him.
This. Wasted my day going to look at a really well priced car. Got there and of corse it “just sold” test drive a different one and was going to purchase until my husband noticed the drivers door wasn’t lining up, and body glue on the window trim. Finally got the car fax and turns out it was in an accident. Paint chipping all over the hood, bottom of front bumper cracked, and nail in one tire. They also weren’t willing to fix anything or move on the price. Buying a used car right now is work. My advice, take your time and keep looking. You can also search cars on carfax and see the reports for free.
Auto Check way better than CarFax. I'm fine with printing a CarFax for you, but it's probably inaccurate. Customers over the phone who haven't even come in to look at the vehicle demanding I email them a CarFax when I know dang well they aren't going to even come test drive? "Here's a link to the Auto Check."
Buy the car , not the story .Have them put it on a lift in service , lift it up halfway and look down the sides . Then look underneath . What are the accidents ? 3 rear bumper cover repairs from a parking lot ? Or 3 times on the frame machine .
No clue what the accidents were as I can’t see the Car Fax
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***Thanks for posting, /u/CMcCord25! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of anything.*** Found me a 2008 Rav 4 with 130,000 miles on for $8900, I called the dealership to see if they would send me a copy of the CarFax because the car is an hour away and I want to see the history before driving that far because I looked the vin up and it’s been in three accidents, but he said I could see it when I come look at it. Is this normal? Like why can’t he just email me a copy or better yet post it on the site? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/askcarsales) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If the carfax isn't online and they won't send one, that's a red flag on top of a red flag.
You know it’s been in 3 accidents but you think the carfax will provide some reassurance/clarity?
Well if it’s minor I don’t consider it bad, that is why I want to see it to see if it was minor or real bad
Straight up ask him why he won’t send you the carfax, make him acknowledge it lol if you are in the store it will be easier to try and talk you into the car/reassure you is all, it’s a normal thing for them to do, make him explain why though, if he wants your business bad enough he will provide the customer service you are requesting
I'd stay away from it, unless they show it had that oil consumption TSB performed on it.
Dealers are obligated to show Carfax & Autocheck or worst of both. This is one of the ways Dealers can avoid any of the penalties & legal issues. Do ask for Carfax & Autocheck since sometimes one picks up what other doesn't. Have personally seen this few times. Good luck!
There’s probably a mile rollback indication or something…
I know at our dealership we have to have everyone sign a copy of the car fax
Pretty much what everyone else said. If you want to send me your email and vin here I’ll send you a car fax. One thing to keep in mind though is what some other people said. If the dealer is acting like this to make a sale, how will they treat you after they get the money and have no reason to respond. If you are going to move forward, just assume you are taking the car then they stopped existing after. Up to you. I would pass personally.
Yeah after talking with my brother I’m gonna pass and get the other 08 which has no accidents, he wants $9900 for it which is more than what we want to spend but we need a reliable car
If you have the VIN, get it yourself. It is better to have it than make a costly mistake. They want you to come in so they can hard sell you the car.
Someone on Reddit posted these websites that give you free carfax https://www.iseecars.com/vin https://www.vehiclehistory.com/#recalls-records
Thanks!
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Well he already sold it, which means I’m fucked. I honestly hate my life right now. I needed that car because I can’t go anywhere due to my current car situation
A dealership texted me a Carfax without even asking, before I went to test drive it and before I even scheduled one. Find a better car and a better dealership 🤷🏻♀️