CARFAX is a leading service provider of vehicle data in the U.S. and Canada. CARFAX's free vehicle history reports contain important historical data about a car, allowing you to know nearly everything you would need about this vehicle. They could prevent you from unwanted hassles and offer you assurance before buying a vehicle.
What Is a CARFAX Vehicle History Report?
A CARFAX vehicle history report is an exhaustive report generated by CARFAX on the car’s history. From these reports, you will be able to discover details such as the car's title, accident and damage records, and owner history.
CARFAX provides vehicle data to individuals and businesses. The company is not affiliated with any car manufacturer, and the data in their reports come from government motor vehicle agencies, car repair/maintenance facilities, insurance companies, auto recyclers, and more. They are a trusted and useful data source for knowing the past history of a car thoroughly.
Why Is It Important to Check a Car's History?
If you're buying a used car, you want to know what condition it's in and whether there are any serious problems you should know about. That's why you should run a vehicle history report. This will give you an idea of how well the car has been cared for.
It also lets you know if the car was stolen, involved in an accident, passed over by many owners, and other important details. This information helps you in analyzing the condition of the car, enabling you to make an informed decision about buying the vehicle.
What Can You Get From a Free CARFAX Report
There is a wide variety of information you can get from a CARFAX report:
Accident Data
A free CARFAX report can tell you about the accident history of the vehicle: Whether the car was involved in an accident, where this accident happened, what damage it suffered, whether the airbags were deployed, and how the damage was repaired.
Service History
A CARFAX report provides useful information on service histories, such as maintenance work, car parts replacements, or repairs done by previous owners. It indicates whether the vehicle was well-treated, cared for, and is in good condition now.
Type Of Use
With a CARFAX vehicle report, you can know the types of use that a car has been put through. It can help you avoid buying a car that has been used for hauling heavy loads or one that was used as a taxi. That kind of use can shorten the life of a vehicle.
Ownership History
A free CARFAX vehicle report will also tell you the ownership history of the car, including the number of previous owners, the length of each ownership, its mileage, and registration details. If there have been a lot of owners of a vehicle, that may give you a clue that there is a bigger problem with the car than anyone knows about.
Can I Get A CARFAX Report for Free?
Because a CARFAX report is so comprehensive, it can be costly ($49.99 for a single report) for many people. But there are still several ways you can get one for free:
- CARFAX has a Used Car Listings section. If you choose to buy a car there, you'll be offered a free CARFAX report about this vehicle.
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- If the car you want to buy is listed under AutoTrader.com or Cars.com, it can be accompanied by a free car history report from CARFAX as well.
- Many dealers offer free CARFAX reports for their used car listings. Visit their website, and look for the link to the free CARFAX report for the car you want.
- When buying a car from a private seller, they can sometimes provide you with a free CARFAX report on the vehicle.
- You can also sign up for a CARFAX Car Care account to get the service history of your own vehicle.
Does CARFAX Have a Report for Every Car?
No, CARFAX doesn't have reports on all vehicles. For one thing, they only have information about vehicles with a model year of 1981 or later. Also, CARFAX provides reports for limited vehicle types, mostly cars and light trucks. No motorcycles or industrial trucks.
And even for those vehicles that have CARFAX reports, the details are not always 100% complete. They're generated based on the information offered by the data sources mentioned above. And if for any reason something like a mechanical problem or accident is not recorded by those sources, then you won't be able to see it in the report.
What Are The Alternatives To a Free CARFAX Report?
There are other viable options that can help you inspect the history and value of a used vehicle. The one we recommend you try is VinPit.
VinPit is a leading vehicle history service provider that allows you to look up vehicle details using its VIN and license plate number. With VinPit, you can easily find unreported damages and mileage rollbacks, verify previous owners, check maintenance records, and more. This will give you a comprehensive evaluation of the car's condition and value.
You can run a free VIN lookup fast and easily using VinPit. Their website user interface is friendly even for absolute beginners. And once you start the search for the VIN or license plate number, it will scan through its regularly-updated, massive database, and present you with accurate information about the vehicle the in a short time.
FAQs About CARFAX and Free Car Reports
Why would I need a CARFAX report?
A CARFAX report can be an important document for car buyers to review before making their final purchase decision. It can be used to determine if there are any issues with the vehicle that may have been overlooked.
Are CARFAX reports accurate?
Most details provided by CARFAX reports are trustworthy, but they are not 100% accurate. This is because CARFAX does not have access to all the information about every vehicle and it also relies on the accuracy of what is offered by its data sources.
What are the regular prices for a CARFAX report?
One single CARFAX report costs $49.99, but they offer discounts if you buy multiple ones at a time: $74.99 for three reports and $99.99 for five. On the other hand, VinPit reports are free.
Is AutoCheck as good as CARFAX?
AutoCheck is another established vehicle history report provider. Their reports have more reliable information compared to CARFAX. Autocheck helps you track cars at auctions, which is something CARFAX does not provide.
How can I check a car's history for free?
There are a lot of ways to check a car's history, but the best one is by running a quick VIN — vehicle identification number — lookup on a VIN check platform like VinPit. You can get accurate results easily without paying anything for the service.