Call Kurtis: Certified Used Cars
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Checking a CARFAX and buying a certified used car should give you peace of mind. But a clean report doesn't always mean the car is accident-free.
Angielen Pina's car passed the dealership's inspection and showed no problems on a CARFAX report. But we now know her car had been in a major front-end crash.
Pina bought a 2009 certified Toyota Corolla from Hanlees Hilltop Nissan in Richmond.
"When I saw the CARFAX everything looked fine and that was my final decision,"
It said the Corolla was accident-free. It also passed the dealership's "160-point inspection." But a few months after buying the car, Pina heard some unexpected news during a service visit back at Hanlees.
"The service guy he was like, 'Oh, your bottle water for the fluid bottle is cracked. It looks like it's been in an accident," says Pina.
Sure enough, an independent check of the car, found serious front-end damage. At least four major parts had been replaced.
"This happens very often where consumers buy certified cars that are actually wrecks," says Rosemary Shahan, founder of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, or C.A.R.S.
Shahan says state law requires dealers to disclose any accidents.
"If they don't it's usually considered fraud," says Shahan.
But in Pina's case the dealer said they knew nothing of an accident until she brought it back in.
"They're like, 'Oh, you're right, it has been an accident. What do you want to do?' I said, 'I want a new car,'" Pina recalls.
The dealership said the car passed their inspection, as well as a DMV report, and the CARFAX. So how reliable are these reports?
"Very often cars that have been damaged don't show up in car fax or auto check," says Shahan.
If you buy the car soon after it's fixed, it could take months for the accident to show up on any report. And it might not to show up at all, especially if the crash wasn't reported to police or insurance.
CARFAX said in a statement they use "More than 34-thousand sources to report vehicle history information." But they still recommend you "Have the car inspected by an independent mechanic or body shop prior to purchase."
Shahan agrees, "It'll be the best $100 you spend in the entire transaction."
Hanlees Hilltop Nissan admitted no wrong doing. But after our sister station in San Francisco started looking into it, the dealership agreed to swap Pina's car for a 2010 certified Corolla that has not been in an accident.
Shahan recommends checking out the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System website, which is run by the Department of Justice.
The site keeps tabs on cars that have been wrecked or stolen. Another thing to keep in mind when buying a used car is the fact that if your used car has been in an accident and problems pop up down the road from that accident, the factory warranty likely won't cover those repairs.
