CARFAX or AutoCheck?

As an Internet Sales Manager I used both major vehicle history reports: CARFAX and AutoCheck®. Both serve a purpose, but in this economic downturn it’s important to save money. That being the case, the best buy is the one that is better known in the auto industry, yet less known by private sellers: AutoCheck®. This is one situation where my position as an industry insider comes in handy.

On Dec 28, 2009 I found these prices online following a price increase by both companies:

• Single Reports
  • AutoCheck® $24.99
  • CARFAX $34.99

• Multiple Reports
  • AutoCheck® $39.99 – Unlimited
  • CARFAX $44.99 – Maximum of 5 reports

If you choose the single report package you can save 40% by buying your vehicle history report from AutoCheck®. (44.99 – 34.99 = 10 divided by 34.99 x 100 = 40%)

Other Benefits of AutoCheck

Speed is Crucial

As an Internet Sales Manager for a major dealership, we once took in a trade that came up with a clean report when we initially ran the vehicle history. However, a month later when I went to sell the car we ran a new vehicle history report that indicated an accident.

The dealership I worked for had a policy of NOT selling used vehicles that had been in an accident - period!

The result was that I lost a sale, the dealership lost a customer, and the customer was put through a process he was justifiably disappointed over, all because the speed at which the accident appeared on this vehicle history was not as fast as it could have been. A quicker turn around could have saved us all a lot of grief.

This is an example of buyer beware. No vehicle history report will catch every incident and this is another reason to have your own mechanic check out used cars prior to purchase. Want more examples? Below are two investigative journalism reports on the negative aspects of some vehicle history reports:

Shorter U.S. TV station report

Longer Canadian TV report

Speed is crucial, and it’s another reason for purchasing AutoCheck® because they deliver accident information faster. And you get twice as many number of accidents in your report when compared to CARFAX.

And just like CARFAX you get:

• available information on accidents, odometer rollback, lemon vehicles.
• a list of the number of previous owners.
• a buy back program is available.

But unlike CARFAX, AutoCheck® has another benefit, which is something I haven’t used so I can’t recommend it one way or the other:

• An AutoCheck® Score, which allows you to tell how a vehicle measures up against others of the same make and model at a glance.

Remember that no vehicle history report is perfect and getting any pre-owned vehicle inspected by your mechanic is always a good idea. Of the two, the better buy is AutoCheck®

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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.

The links I provide are often affiliate links that I receive a commission from if you click thru and purchase a product. I appreciate the support as this allows me the resources and time to develop my website (www.BayAreaCarGuy.com) and funds the development of my next book on how to buy a car from a major dealer. See my video explanation at http://bayareacarguy.com/sell-car-online-thanks-for-the-click/.