carfax

July 20, 2025

Car Shopping

Why a "Clean Carfax" Doesn’t Necessarily Mean It’s a Good Car

When it comes to buying a used car, many folks treat a Carfax report like the ultimate stamp of approval. However, the importance people place on a good Carfax is massively overrated.

A Carfax is a useful tool. We always review one before buying any vehicle, and you should too. But here’s the catch—it’s a tool to rule out bad cars, not to confirm good ones.

Too many buyers make the mistake of thinking, “The Carfax is clean—this must be a great car!” That’s not how it works. A clean Carfax doesn’t guarantee the vehicle’s current condition. It just means no major red flags showed up in the history.

A carfax can’t tell you the current condition of the car… if the car smells like smoke, if the transmission slips, or if there’s an oil leak. 
🛑 A Carfax can be a deal breaker.
✅ But it should never be a deal maker.

There’s other factors you have to determine about the car that a carfax doesn’t tell you…. Such as the current quality of that given vehicle and that given time. A carfax tells you nothing about the current condition of a vehicle. It only provides insight on the history of the vehicle. You don’t know if it smells like smoke, or there’s a massive engine leak or a bad shift in the transmission. The carfax never tells you those things. Ever.

So, you can look at a carfax to help you avoid buying a car because of issues in the vehicle’s history, but you never want to buy a car solely because the carfax is good.

If you’re serious about getting a good vehicle, you need more information. You need someone with real experience who can assess the current condition of the car—something a Carfax can’t do.

So yes, check the Carfax. But don’t stop there. Work with someone who actually knows how to evaluate the current condition of the car you hope to buy.

Need help finding a solid vehicle? That’s what we do. Give us a call—we’d love to help you find the right one.