Differences between Carfax/Autocheck NEED HELP!!

335AZ · 03-19-2013, 01:49 PM

Looking at buying a m6 and the auto check shows no accidents, but the car fax says accident with possible structural damage... He claims he hit a dog and it hit the oil pan so they said "possible structural damage" and this is why it isn't on auto check. If I decide to buy it how hard would it be to sell even if it's still under warranty with the "possible structural damage"? I was thinking about having bmw do a pre-purchase inspection and if bmw confirms there is no damage should I still buy it? Don't want to screw myself resale wise... All feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

Boostin FD · 03-19-2013, 02:13 PM

If it says it has an accident and you're worried about resale value, don't get it. Even if it was minor, that record on there is going to hurt you in the long run.

///M3THOD · 03-19-2013, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 335AZ

Looking at buying a m6 and the auto check shows no accidents, but the car fax says accident with possible structural damage... He claims he hit a dog and it hit the oil pan so they said "possible structural damage" and this is why it isn't on auto check. If I decide to buy it how hard would it be to sell even if it's still under warranty with the "possible structural damage"? I was thinking about having bmw do a pre-purchase inspection and if bmw confirms there is no damage should I still buy it? Don't want to screw myself resale wise... All feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

Just walk away. Possible structure damage will send 90% of buyers away.

IMO they both suck. No document will ever take the place of a thorough walk around, BMW VIN service history pull, and a PPI.

335AZ · 03-19-2013, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///M3THOD

Just walk away. Possible structure damage will send 90% of buyers away.

IMO they both suck. No document will ever take the place of a thorough walk around, BMW VIN service history pull, and a PPI.

Cool thanks guys decided to pass!

TTG · 03-19-2013, 06:57 PM

I would just get the car checked.

One of my old dailies had a scratched bumper bec the person who was trying to parallel park in front of me did not know what they were doing......and the fled the scene when they saw that I was actually in the car. Long story short, I had to file a police report and the front bumper had to be repainted..... Carfax showed that the car was involved in a collision. But in reality it was nothing but a resprayed bumper.

When I was selling the car, buyer wanted to take it to a body shop and body shop confirmed that the car had original paint everywhere sans the front bumper. I did not discount the car for the stupid carfax report.

Then a friend's M3 was sandwiched between 2 cars on the freeway and had 17K worth of damage and a clean carfax.....

I have zero faith in carfax and autocheck until i check the car myself.

Paladinjc · 03-19-2013, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TTG

I have zero faith in carfax and autocheck until i check the car myself.

+1

MRV99 · 03-20-2013, 12:06 AM

The differences between Carfax and Autocheck is how/from whom each respective company purchases the data which gets displayed in the Vehicle History report. Each company purchases its data from similar and very different sources. Some sources have been "locked" by one of the companies while others get mutual data like the DMV.

Not all repairs or reported when completed on a car so somebody could get into an accident and the damage is never reported. Car was still in an accident but no report.

With Autocheck you can by vehicle buyback protection which will provide a monetary compensation for purchasing a vehicle based on a report via Autocheck to later be found to have a value diminishing report after the purchase. You have to run the vin and register the vin once purchased to get the coverage.

As good as the data is, nothing beats a professional inspection.

dreamspeed · 03-20-2013, 01:24 AM

I'm no scientist but I dont think a dog that is small enough to slide underneath the car to hit the oil pan would be big enough to cause structural damage?

Also what is the definition of structural damage? Frame damage? Or just damage to the structure? And wouldn't that mean pretty much ANY kind of damage since everything is part of the structure of the car? Lol

03-19-2013, 01:49 PM	#1
335AZ First Lieutenant 19 Rep 364 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Atlanta iTrader: (0)	Differences between Carfax/Autocheck NEED HELP!! Looking at buying a m6 and the auto check shows no accidents, but the car fax says accident with possible structural damage... He claims he hit a dog and it hit the oil pan so they said "possible structural damage" and this is why it isn't on auto check. If I decide to buy it how hard would it be to sell even if it's still under warranty with the "possible structural damage"? I was thinking about having bmw do a pre-purchase inspection and if bmw confirms there is no damage should I still buy it? Don't want to screw myself resale wise... All feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!
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03-19-2013, 02:13 PM	#2
Boostin FD Bored all the time 382 Rep 2,173 Posts Drives: Batmobile Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Kirkwood iTrader: (2)	If it says it has an accident and you're worried about resale value, don't get it. Even if it was minor, that record on there is going to hurt you in the long run. __________________ Current: 2014 991 Turbo RS Past: 15 GT3, 17 R8 SC, Two 16 M4 GTS’s, Two 18 GT350R's, Two 13 RS5’s, 13 M3, 10 R8, 15 M4, 09 M3, 04 M3, 09 S5, 02 M3... It all started with an RX-7 (FD).
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03-19-2013, 06:57 PM	#5
TTG ... 935 Rep 4,326 Posts Drives: M340 Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Seattle, WA iTrader: (3) Garage List 2011 BMW M3 [7.84] 2007 335 Coupe (ret ... [9.00]	I would just get the car checked. One of my old dailies had a scratched bumper bec the person who was trying to parallel park in front of me did not know what they were doing......and the fled the scene when they saw that I was actually in the car. Long story short, I had to file a police report and the front bumper had to be repainted..... Carfax showed that the car was involved in a collision. But in reality it was nothing but a resprayed bumper. When I was selling the car, buyer wanted to take it to a body shop and body shop confirmed that the car had original paint everywhere sans the front bumper. I did not discount the car for the stupid carfax report. Then a friend's M3 was sandwiched between 2 cars on the freeway and had 17K worth of damage and a clean carfax..... I have zero faith in carfax and autocheck until i check the car myself. __________________ 2020 G20 M340 xDrive - Portimao Blue - ZDA\|ZPP\|ZPX\|1CR\|1PE\|6NW\|6WD 2016 F10 535i xDrive - AW - Retired 2011 E92 M3 - AW……………....ED April 29th, 2010 - Retired 2007 E92 335i -Space Gray.....ED Oct 19th, 2006 - Retired
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03-20-2013, 12:06 AM	#7
MRV99 Major 254 Rep 1,067 Posts Drives: 2017 M3 ZCP / 2017 RRS SC Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Naperville iTrader: (1) Garage List 2017 BMW M3 ZCP [0.00]	The differences between Carfax and Autocheck is how/from whom each respective company purchases the data which gets displayed in the Vehicle History report. Each company purchases its data from similar and very different sources. Some sources have been "locked" by one of the companies while others get mutual data like the DMV. Not all repairs or reported when completed on a car so somebody could get into an accident and the damage is never reported. Car was still in an accident but no report. With Autocheck you can by vehicle buyback protection which will provide a monetary compensation for purchasing a vehicle based on a report via Autocheck to later be found to have a value diminishing report after the purchase. You have to run the vin and register the vin once purchased to get the coverage. As good as the data is, nothing beats a professional inspection. __________________ 17 M3 ZCP -- 2017 Range Rover Sport SC --RIP-- 12 X5 50i Sport -- 11 M3 DCT -- 2011 X5 50i(Lemon) -- 2008 550 Msport -- 2007 x5 4.8 sport -- 2004 545 sport -- 2002 x5 4.4 sport -- 2001 540i Msport 2000 SL500 -- 1997 SL500
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03-20-2013, 01:24 AM	#8
dreamspeed Lieutenant Colonel 261 Rep 1,616 Posts Drives: 6MT Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (0)	I'm no scientist but I dont think a dog that is small enough to slide underneath the car to hit the oil pan would be big enough to cause structural damage? Also what is the definition of structural damage? Frame damage? Or just damage to the structure? And wouldn't that mean pretty much ANY kind of damage since everything is part of the structure of the car? Lol __________________
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