Carfax error

[debbiej]

Most here know I've been struggling with selling my westy for about a year. Before that, I swore I'd be buried in it. But life has subtle ways of shifting things.

When I posted it on the samba a little while back, I had someone interested in it. But the carfax scared him off. He said it had rather bad milage discrepancies. this didn't surprise me, as I knew some of the history of my van.

The 84 camper was purchased at auction by a very good shop in tucson. They were looking for a westfalia with a blown engine because a customer had sold them a low miles 86 vanagon that had been totaled in an accident. (Side impact) they told me the engine from the wrecked van had milage in the mid 70's. They transplanted the engine, FI system, and some cosmetic parts like seats and grille from the donor van.

I love my van, and see it as beautiful. And it is. It has never broken down mid trip, (or anywhere, actually) and we have maintained it faithfully.


But the car fax shows the milage going from 177,785 in 2004 to 255,000 in 2007. I suspect this is when the engine blew, and the shop purchased it. Then the milage report goes from 255.000 to 788,492 in the next record, which is the next day! Clearly, this is an error, and I'd like to fix it. I have no documentation, but filled out the form on carfax to fix an error.

I'm thinking of calling the place where I got it, we have remained friendly and they are helpful. But I doubt after 8 years they could help me with this.
I've not much experience with car fax, and wonder if there are any tips for getting something changed, or is it that important.

I know the idea of trying to establish milage on a 31 yr old vehicle is silly and I'm hoping if I do go ahead and sell my westy, I'd sell it to a younger person who would see it as I do, and realize what a gem she is.

[djkeev]

Personally I don't give car-fax a moment of my time to even bother looking at it.

Maybe if you are buying a used 2013 it might be helpful sorting out a flood victim or major accident repair, but once you get back 10 years or more, what a waste of time!

Buying old cars, classic cars, specialty units such as our Westy's ...... it is all about current condition and how it runs.
For me, Mileage falls completely out of the equation with the passage of time.

I don't care if a unit has a million miles on it ......
it runs good?
It looks good?
It stops good?
No Signs of crappy rust hiding body work?
Price is right?

SOLD !!!!!!

Someone won't buy your great Van because of a CarFax listing Pfffft !!! Their Loss!
They Obviously don't know what they are shopping for.
If They have half a brain they should also realize that a simple keystroke error has occured.

I Do understand your frustration though, I can offer zero help in rectifying their mistake.... Sue them for providing false information and interferring with your ability to sell your Van? Obviously someone mistook a 2 for a 7...... Not being paid to think..... "How did they do a half million miles in a year??? So They keyed in the 7.... As a result YOU the innocent owner are forced to suffer.

Dave
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[debbiej]

Thank you, I agree and appreciate you input!

[RCB]

Potential buyer lost out debbiej. Heck.. 788,482 miles is "just breakin' it in "

[Yellow Rabbit]

Mileage statements on vwhicles this old don't mean much. At some point things break down due to age, not miles anyway. My state even refuses to list the mileage on the registration. Mine has low miles and i wanted it documented on the title. They wouldnt even fill in the field on their computer screen. I asked if they could simply type 60,000, they said nope its too old and we can't.

Good luck on your sale. Oh btw, someday you will regret selling it.

[Dave Wood]

I personally only like to use carfax type reports to get location and accident history. Not that every accident is reported. If there was an accident listed I would inspect the area noted in the carfax. Location gives me info on what kind of rust I may or may not be facing. Mileage is less of a concern. There's not much difference from 150k to 250k miles that would not be addressed by a new or rebuilt motor
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Dave
87 Vanagon GL

[j_dirge]

I think car fax is a waste of money and energy on something like a Vanagon. And if a buyer came to me with one in had (for a Vanangon) I'd see it as a red flag.
To me it says "I don't know what I am doing trying to buy an old car".. or.. "I think I can get your price down based on this meaningless piece of paper, here"

If I am in the market for a 25 yr old vehicle, I would either know a lot about the vehicle type already and do my own inspection.. or I take it to someone who knows the vehicle type.
The vehicle itself will show its "real" mileage by taking a peak around at the underbody and some of the out of way components.. like the front suspension... or the exhaust.

If a potential buyer tries to leverage a selling price based on car fax info.. AFTER you have explained the situation and provided some documentation, I'd pass on that buyer.

Westys continue to sell very well in CA. Out here you don't need to play that game.
Its "AS IS", plain and simple.

But if your market is weak.. then maybe the asking price is a tad high.
I do know that CA buyers are going out of state to find better prices...
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[beteljuze]

I agree with the others, a Carfax report on a much older car really carries little merit as it is only as accurate as the person (or place ) that did the reporting. It can also be obviously wrong. As stated above, on a Vanagon I would only use it to track where the van spent most of its life-rust belt vs dry climates.
Of course this info isn't helping your situation. I just Googled "can I fix Carfax errors" and got a Carfax Blog with comments from people saying they quickly fixed errors on their reports. Maybe this is something you can do.
Good luck to you, I hope it works out. I know for a lot of us the decision to sell our Vans is hard enough, this just adds to the misery.

[bluebus86]

take carfax to court, they have an error in the report, and if it cost you money, they owe you. they cant go around spreading false information without consequence if it costs you money and it is provable that the info is false.

file a small claims action on them, that is what I would do.

I hate carfax,
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[ThankYouJerry]

Debbie - Carfax aside, there must be another reason why your Westy hasn't sold in over a year. Price? Description? Condition? Other? One reason that is immediate to me is... I searched on your profile and see that you do not currently have an ad for it here on TS! If you post one maybe we'd have some helpful insights into any other obvious issues. Like others, I hold zero stock in CarFax when purchasing a Westy.
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[chojinchef]

If someone used Car fax as an excuse, then it was to cover up the fact that they either did not have the money, or the blessing of the significant other.

Car fax and the other services like it is so fraught with issues of their own, that to base a decision solely on the report is setting yourself up for disappointment.

Off soap box

Has to be another reason it has not sold. Honestly, I have not looked at non Doka classifieds to know?

LP
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[insyncro]

Personally, I have a commercial Carfax account and it has saved my arse from getting into a bad scenario numerous times.

I have to agree with those that have replied along the lines that something else must be amiss for the van to not have sold in one years time.

When in doubt, lower the price.
Sad to say, but if it needs to go and capital is needed for other things, holding on too it is prolonging the inevitable and holding you at bay as well.
These are my opinions.
I am sorry to hear that you must sell, but sometimes we have to dump things to move on.

[IdahoDoug]

Whether folks here like CarFax or not, and whether they use it to shape their buying decisions or not is immaterial. What really matters is how the random buying public feels about it, and it is in your case an unfortunate state of affairs that car buyers DO value CarFax and it shapes THEIR buying decisions. In fact, I could make a case that you have hundreds of people reading your ad, and the more serious will check CarFax - perhaps 10. So now the most interested shoppers are getting a big piece of info that is a red flag. That's a really bad state of affairs.

I don't know how long ago you sent the letter, and I don't know how long you have known about this issue. But I'm sure it will take the usual bureaucratic length of time to get fixed.

I don't think you need to sue, etc. They (carfax) are in the business, and one look at your record and they will know you can't drive 500,000 miles in a single day without Atlas booster rockets. So they'll fix it. For them to push back and say "It stands" is ridiculous on its face.

So, I'm only guessing here. But I suspect you only recently sent this letter to CarFax and are now waiting for a reply. The reply will seem to take forever because it may be affecting your ability to sell the van. Bummer, but that's what I think you need to do.

Anyhow, hope it is resolved soon, and in your favor.
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[insyncro]

In my experiences, working with my county clerk, local DMV official and Carfax, I have been able to "correct" mileage irregularities.

Speedos drop dead all the time and get replaced, fact of life.
The amount of energy and how quickly you deal with it makes a huge difference in the end.

[atomatom]

[debbiej]

Thanks all. Actually I decided not to sell my van last year about a week after I put ads up on CL and the Samba and took all ads down then. Another year, passed, another tax day looms. A year older, both us and our parents. No easier to get away, although it still might be an option someday. I filled out the car fax form to correct an error just last night. I suspect I need to get a bill of sale from Stuttgart autohause, if they have one, for westy and doner van milage if I decide to pursue the error correction. I just wanted to see if I was "alone" in not considering a carfax milage discrepencay a big deal. There are no accident reports, and I found that my van started in CA, then lived in CO before moving to AZ and NM.

If is dosent sell, I'll be glad. But we kind of need the $$ right now and I hate to see it not used. So we'll try at least.

[VwTravis]

Carfax can be both a good thing and a bad thing. I like its ability to list accident history, however; carfax will not display out of pocket repairs. I seem to have the opposite problem as you. In my case the AutoCheck (not Carfax) displayed me as the only owner. It just shows that my westy was manufactured on 9/12/1983 and then purchased by me in 2011.
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[vanis13]

[debbiej]

boy, speeds like that should be a real selling point.

[debbiej]

I got an answer from car fax. They said the numbers are from DOT in AZ. If I get that record fixed, they will adjust the car fax. I may try, but I've decided it probably doesn't matter. It is obviously a mistake and the bill of sale when we bought it stated odometer was not actual milage. It runs well and looks good.

Also I read my own post, it should say "I've been struggling with the decision of selling my van." Sorry! I post an ad, change my mind and take the ad off. There is the struggle. I left the last craigslist ad up one day.

But an early spring get away clears the mind!