Looking for a used car, confused by Carfax

[newb001]

Hi. I've been looking for a 2013 or 2014 Buick Enclave and have found several that I like from various CarMax locations near me. The price is a bit better than CPO from a Buick dealer, but many of the ones I've found had no service history in the Autocheck (provided by Carmax) or Carfax (which I signed up for).

I finally found one that had a history on Carfax, but now I'm wondering if it has too much history. In addition, it shows as being a former 'personal' car, rather than 'personal lease' which makes me wonder if the person had problems and just wanted out of this car. What do you make of all this history:


08/23/2013 Vehicle sold
05/09/2014 5,733 Engine/powertrain computer/module reprogrammed PCM reprogrammed
10/17/2014 9,000 Passed emissions inspection
12/19/2014 10,352 Seatbelts checked
02/18/2015 11,351 Computer(s) checked Fluids checked
03/10/2015 11,854 Maintenance inspection completed Fuel pump module replaced
04/24/2015 12,829 Recommended maintenance performed
08/14/2015 15,569 Maintenance inspection completed Recommended maintenance performed
10/24/2015 17,000 Passed emissions inspection
12/18/2015 18,274 Maintenance inspection completed Oil and filter changed
05/20/2016 21,160 Maintenance inspection completed


At quick glance it looks pretty good (i.e. oil changes every 3k miles or so), but should I be concerned about the PCM, seatbelts, fuel pump...? Also, you'll see that the car was in on 2/18/15, 3/10/15 and 4/24/15 (i.e. 3 times in 2+ months).


Finally, does this make any sense:


Everything listed above was at one Buick dealer in VT, but then this happened (shortly after the last inspection on 5/20):


06/16/2016 21,641 Vehicle offered for sale (at a Ford dealer in VT)
06/21/2016 Vehicle sold
06/28/2016 21,714 Service Facility Pre-delivery inspection completed
07/14/2016 Auto Auction
07/15/2016 Buick Certified Dealer Chicopee, MA Offered for sale as a Buick Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle
07/15/2016 Dealer Inventory Vehicle sold


Then it appeared today on Carmax


So it looks like the original owner probably traded it in for a Ford, and I guess the Ford dealer didn't really want it so they sent it to auction, but why did a Buick dealer in MA buy it, certify it, but then sell it to Carmax (or why did Carmax buy it from a dealer and not from auction?)?


Thanks for any thoughts!

[dcjredline]

You would have to ask the buick dealer and carmax those questions. There are probably 100000000000000 reasons why they would. Had someone interested in that vehicle maybe, wanted one, good price, good condition. WHO KNOWS really. Id bet in 1 day that Buick dealer didnt actually certify it. They had it for sale which would probably fit into their "certified" category. IMO that is all a reason to be able to charge people more and nothing else. I wouldnt get hung up on CPO vehicles.

As far as your inquiry about the service, it looks to me like an owner who was going by the book and bringing the car in for its "scheduled" maintenance. Then sold it cause it was "old" to most people a 3 year old vehicle is OLD. 21k isnt very old though usually. It was probably a lease and just not recorded that way.

You seem pretty nervous about buying a vehicle because of your reactions to this all. Being a car guy it makes me sorta laugh. I do understand why some would be worried but this doesnt look (from here) like a bad thing.

[oldmodman]

It sounds like the first owner was a stickler for following the owners manual requirements for inspections and maintenance. Not a bad thing, just expensive.

Then they traded it in at a Ford dealer on a new Ford. The Ford dealer took it to the local auto auction since they may not have wanted it competing with their products on the lot.

A Buick dealer, being the logical people to buy it and then resell it at the highest possible price since it is their brand of vehicle, grabbed it at the auction and had a standing order for one from Carmax (which they may work hand in hand with all the time.) It's even possible that they traded it to the Carfax dealer for a car they wanted more. Or had a long time customer ask them for. This kind of stuff happen all the time at Los Angeles dealers.

As dcredline said, nothing to worry about.

[mwoolfso]

I agree with the above. Furthermore, the original owner took it to the same place - possibly a Buick dealership, and the repairs itself were definitely covered.

I would also say the car hopped due to trades and secondary market opportunities, all good, considering the low mileage and the fact that the car has a well documented history.

[briarpatch]

I'd not be too concerned about the vehicle's history. The 'seatbelts checked' may have been in response to a customer concern, and it is mentioned in the service records because the dealer had to list it. Do a web search and see if this year/make/model had a history of fuel pump module issues...I'd bet it doesn't. Even if the original warranty has expired, there are several third-party warranties available out there. If Carmax does service, look into whatever warranty they offer just for ease of use.

[rlmccarty2000]

Carmax has a pretty good reputation. As far as Carfax, don't believe it. Check the car out yourself. Many things don't show up on Carfax unless the body shop turned the repairs over to the insurance company and the insurance company put it into the Carfax system. Could have hail or flood damage, just not reported to the insurance company. Carfax is a good place to start. A good mechanic is what you need to check the car out before you buy it.

[mwoolfso]

How Carfax works, and why you should take it with a grain of salt (http://oppositelock.kinja.com/how-carfax-works-and-why-you-should-take-it-with-a-gra-1639660981)

Carfax can be accurate or incredibly inconsistent. It's just an information source but even Carfax themselves would say they are not bible-like.

[BillyJack]

I work for a GM Dealer. As for the seatbelt issue, there was a recall on all similar vehicles during that time frame for inspection and possible replacement of the short belt on the drivers side. Any GM dealer can run a GM history report and see details of all warranty repairs. Also, why would you go to CarMax rather than a GM dealer if there's just a slight price advantage? A CPO vehicle gives you an additional year on the bumper-to-bumper warranty and an additional year added to the 5yr/100k mile powertrain warranty. That additional warranty coverage should justify a few bucks extra cost.

Bill

[brettS4]

A clean Carfax report is mostly worthless. My current car has a clean report yet I found tons of evidence of accident repairs during my first detail. The only thing I learned about my car from it is that the car was originally a leased vehicle and has been titled in three states.

Having your own mechanic look over the car before buying is much better than looking at a Carfax report. But Carmax is fairly reputable, I'm told.

[Eldorado2k]

A clean Carfax report is mostly worthless. My current car has a clean report yet I found tons of evidence of accident repairs during my first detail. The only thing I learned about my car from it is that the car was originally a leased vehicle and has been titled in three states.

Having your own mechanic look over the car before buying is much better than looking at a Carfax report. But Carmax is fairly reputable, I'm told.

I've been looking for a new car to buy lately and 1 of the cars I looked into had a Carfax available online for me to check out so I did.. Long story short I recall reading something about if you can prove that the Carfax is worthless [meaning it lied or wasn't aware of major damage] that Carfax will buy the car back from you.
Is that totally true? Are you aware of that? Or were you over it and just decided to keep the vehicle instead of going through the trouble of having them buy it back?

FYI I also think a Carfax is mostly garbage.. There's alot of people who swear by them and won't consider buying a car without 1. I take it those same people also believe NASA landed on the moon during the late 1960's. Lol.

[dcjredline]

How can they be 100% accurate if an accident is not reported? Do you expect them to have a drone flying around every single car in the country?

[Eldorado2k]

How can they be 100% accurate if an accident is not reported? Do you expect them to have a drone flying around every single car in the country?

YES! Lol
Or else shut em down for all this false advertising. We deserve justice! Lol.

[brettS4]

I've been looking for a new car to buy lately and 1 of the cars I looked into had a Carfax available online for me to check out so I did.. Long story short I recall reading something about if you can prove that the Carfax is worthless [meaning it lied or wasn't aware of major damage] that Carfax will buy the car back from you.
Is that totally true? Are you aware of that? Or were you over it and just decided to keep the vehicle instead of going through the trouble of having them buy it back?

Other than the evidence of repairs (only visible in certain light at certain angles), my car is very sound so it never bothered me. And the Carfax report didn't really influence my buying decision. Which is essentially my point. I consider it only a guide for checking what has been reported on the car. But you really need to do your own inspection.

Besides, even if a car has had a 'history' it isn't necessarily bad. Mine has 145k miles and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across the country and back.

[Eldorado2k]

Other than the evidence of repairs (only visible in certain light at certain angles), my car is very sound so it never bothered me. And the Carfax report didn't really influence my buying decision. Which is essentially my point. I consider it only a guide for checking what has been reported on the car. But you really need to do your own inspection.

Besides, even if a car has had a 'history' it isn't necessarily bad. Mine has 145k miles and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across the country and back.

Cool.. And I know how you feel. Well not exactly because your vehicle is much newer than mine, but my car had a "salvage" title when I bought it, did I care? Nope.

[brettS4]

It's been a long time since I've heard a 2001 being called 'much newer'.