So he paid retail price ($40K) and then traded it back in for $27.5K a month later. The trade-in was beat-down because of the CarFax. So the dealer sold the truck for a 15% profit, bought it back for 30% less a month later and will probably resell it for about $34K or a 15% profit on the buy-back.
CarFax told the buyer a story and he believed it. The dealership told him a story when he brought the car back a month later and he believed it. Then he accepted the deal.
The dealership played this game far better than the buyer did.
Different dealership, but what you say makes sense. The buyer had no patience and screwed himself out of $12,000 by selling the 4Runner rather than insisting of a take bake by the selling dealer. So what if he misses out on the Sequoia? There would have been others and if he worked fast enough he could have still bought the Sequoia he wanted.
First of all, when I buy a used vehicle, I don’t even bother with Carfax or any other similar “vehicle history report”. What’s important to me is the physical and functional condition of the vehicle at the time of sale, that the claimed mileage is legit, and that I can title and register the vehicle.
Second, most accidents which occur early in the life of a vehicle go unreported for the simple reason that no change of ownership occurs, and the insurance company does not wish to “brand” the title, and therefore have to pay a diminished value claim.
Third, all manufacturers, and certainly Toyota keeps track of the serial numbers of the airbag modules installed in the factory, and as warranty/recall replacements. I can remember when the big recall was done on the 2003-2008 Corolla with Takata airbags. A lot of people who purchased these cars used were blindsided when the repair was denied because “serial numbers don’t match” because at some point in the car’s life, a junkyard replacement was installed. Therefore, whether or not the airbags in this 4-Runner had deployed is a factual question which could be answered definitively.
Fourth, and more important, if I had purchased a vehicle as CPO, with a Carfax report showing no (or minor) accident history, and later on I was told that now Carfax shows a major accident, I’d go back to the dealer I bought it from, and demand that they either fix the Carfax or pay me the difference between what I paid, and what it’s worth with the undisclosed damage.
Fifth, and most important, all I can say is “My G*d, what a fool”. How could anyone be foolish enough to pay top dollar for a vehicle, then just one month later to be tired of it, and trade it in toward an older vehicle for more money? You can tell money management is not this man’s strong suit, and that he will likely end up broke when he’s older.
Data is data. Someone is lying about the report they got from CarFax.
I see 2 possible things here.
#1 - The Carfax report from the selling dealer actually did show a report that the accident was moderate and the airbags deployed, but they modified the report.
#2 - Dealers selling cars will get a different report from Carfax saying the accident is a minor, but that same dealer when trying to buy a car will get the real/actual report. I’m very skeptical of a dealer handing me a report they say is accurate.
I don’t see how there could be 2 different carfax reports on the same vehicle without some fraud going on. The question is - where do you put the blame?
Carfax is ONE tool to use when buying a vehicle. I wouldn’t use as THEE SOURCE. And any used vehicle I ever bought I’d get it inspected first. By Carfax’s own admission they only get a fraction of all repairs and service done on all vehicles.
Put me on the list of those who don’t feel sorry for this guy. The price he paid for a used vehicle could have bought something nice new.
+1
When you consider all of the money that he paid/lost over the space of about 1 month, he could easily have bought a brand-new vehicle with full warranty coverage.
The only thing I used Carfax for on my recent buy was to know where it spent it’s life before coming to me… And to see if any accidents were reported, doesn’t mean it was not ever wrecked, just means one was not reported… But the ones that showed a wreck and fixed (pictures still looked great, but not taking a chance) I stayed away from…
Well who knows but both may be correct. The dealer could have had an older carfax. If the guy would have paid the $40 or whatever for his own report it may have been updated. Either way, you choose to trade and taking the offer. Even for a perfect car, the dealer will find something wrong. Whether it can be certified or not for a bag deployment is another question. Ya don’t like the deal, don’t do it but got a feeling the first dealer knew a replacement bag had been installed based on company service records. Woulda likely been a dealer install and noted on the vin history. Going after the wrong party. But yeah, carfax should not be seen as definitive.
This whole thing is nonsense and it starts with the idea he’s out $12k. No dealer is going to give him the same amount he paid as a trade in, even if it’s only a month later. At least half of that amount is the cost of flipping that vehicle. The dealer buying it has costs and profit to consider. At best, he’s out $6k due to the diminished value and that’s being generous IMO.
A car fax being inaccurate……OMG that’s unthinkable 