I just learned a valuable lesson

[AwngCrush]

There is apparently a reason that dealers are so eager to throw you that Carfax. It definitely DOES NOT tell you the whole story.

Here is what Car fax told me happened at 83,000 miles

 

[AwngCrush]

And here is what lexus says happened

 

[AwngCrush]

On the bright side. My engine has half as many miles as the rest of my car

 

[terrapin]

I had the opposite experience with CarFax.

CarMax (not to be confused with CarFax) gave me a report from Experian that said "Transmission Replaced."

I ordered a CarFax report on the vehicle and it stated that the transmission fluids had been replaced, not that the transmission was replaced. I called the Toyota dealer and they confirmed that just the fluids had been replaced.

I too learned a lesson to not count on just one source.

Experian Report

CarFax Report

 

[GrouchyTech]

Visit the dealer and have them pull the national
service history. It will only show the dealer visits, but it’ll be more thorough than the CarFax or similar.

 

[bicycleagent003]

Visit the dealer and have them pull the national
service history. It will only show the dealer visits, but it’ll be more thorough than the CarFax or similar.

What about the service records through MyToyota or MyLexus.com? Would pulling them at a dealership be more through than those?

 

[terrapin]

In my case it was an LX and they stopped taking it to the Lexus dealer at some point so the service history with Lexus dead-ended.

CarFax showed me that they switched to a Toyota dealer in a different city and even gave me the correct phone number. If I recall, I tried to track the VIN through Toyota and it was rejected since it was a Lexus.

 

[GrouchyTech]

What about the service records through MyToyota or MyLexus.com? Would pulling them at a dealership be more through than those?

I’m not certain. I’m guessing it would be the same information that you would get from the dealership.

 

[PDoyle]

Check with your insurance agent too sometimes they can get info. using the vin

 

[Sajan]

What about the service records through MyToyota or MyLexus.com? Would pulling them at a dealership be more through than those?

Lexus history is pretty comprehensive from various dealers. I would add each car I was looking at to the portal. You can see a lot of info. But calling the dealer gives you more details about some of the entries.

 

[Sajan]

There is apparently a reason that dealers are so eager to throw you that Carfax. It definitely DOES NOT tell you the whole story.

Here is what Car fax told me happened at 83,000 miles

View attachment 4212229

This also has to do with how data is mapped between multiple systems. “Engine checked” is probably the catch all entry in carfax for all the things the tech documented in the Lexus service software.

 

[dudemancool1904]

Also google the vin. With so many online insurance auctions it’s easy to check to see if/what kind of damage it might have incurred.

 

[Sajan]

i was checking value of my car on carfax and I was caught off guard by what it showed..
checked the details and carfax was showing my miles at 166K. I only have 106K.
pulled a carfax report and it shows 3 oil changes at some random valvoline location far away.
called the valvoline place and they are like oh your vin shows a F150...i said what..
after some back and forth my educated guess is the service person entered a license plate very close to mine and and associated the wrong VIN in their system.

all fixed now but something to be aware of!
occasionally pull a carfax.

 

[dudemancool1904]

i was checking value of my car on carfax and I was caught off guard by what it showed..
checked the details and carfax was showing my miles at 166K. I only have 106K.
pulled a carfax report and it shows 3 oil changes at some random valvoline location far away.
called the valvoline place and they are like oh your vin shows a F150...i said what..
after some back and forth my educated guess is the service person entered a license plate very close to mine and and associated the wrong VIN in their system.

all fixed now but something to be aware of!
occasionally pull a carfax.

You should use the carfax app. Not only does it allow you to update and add your own service entries but it also gives you a free history report on vehicles you own.

 

[Sajan]

You should use the carfax app. Not only does it allow you to update and add your own service entries but it also gives you a free history report on vehicles you own.

will do.
the report only shows maintenance info it seems, not sales/damages etc.

 

[dudemancool1904]

will do.
the report only shows maintenance info it seems, not sales/damages etc.

Mine shows an actual history report but I think it’s paid for by one of the shops I used in the past.

 

[Sajan]

Mine shows an actual history report but I think it’s paid for by one of the shops I used in the past.

View attachment 4230266

ya i have gotten those sometimes from the shops.