How Do I Get A Carfax For Free?
Free Service Temporarily Paused
We are sorry for the inconvenience, but our $20 (Vehicle History and Dealer Auction Pricing) Service is now taking a bulk of our time and we simply cannot get to the free checks fast enough any longer.
However:
What I can promise you is that if you participate in our Beta Testing Service that you will not only receive a vehicle history report from Autocheck (Experian), but you will also get real time auction data that will give you direct insight to what the dealer likely paid or will pay for you car. All that for only $20 while we test out our program with the general public…. (See Below)
Carfax Report Cost (2019)
The Cost Of A Carfax Report Is:
- $39.99 for one
- $79.99 for three
- $99.99 for 5
Autohitch Vehicle History Report “Offer”
The first way you can run a free vehicle history report using Carfax is to continue reading. Below, I will share with you an offer I am running exclusively during the Autohitch “Pre-Launch” period as a thank you for finding our website, clicking the link, and spending your valuable time with us by reading or viewing our content. Speaking of your valuable time, let’s get to it, shall we?
Carfax Used Cars-
Beware
It amazes me sometimes the amount of information that is out there about buying and selling used cars and that there is still so much people leave out. Is it intentionally done to protect car dealers? I’ll let you decide, but this trick with Carfax reports is a big one!
When you are shopping for a Used Car at a dealership that might offer you a Free Carfax Report, make sure you:
Check The Date The Report Was Run
A little scam some used car dealers like to pull (Maybe we can just call it a trick) is to run a vehicle history report with Carfax or Autocheck BEFORE they purchase the car at the auction. They do this because they know people don’t like seeing that a car came from the auction and if they can pull a report before the actual sale, there will be no notation of, “Vehicle Sold At auction”, on the report.
Why do they do this? Well, think about it: A car purchased from the auction is likely being sold by another dealer, which means: That dealer couldn’t or wouldn’t (For whatever reason) sell that car.
If the car was valuable or desirable, why would any dealer dump it at the auction?
All this being said, don’t get me wrong- There can be cars purchased from the dealer auctions that are just fine. Some of these cars may be sold by banks/lenders after repossession, or big franchised dealerships selling a car from another brand with some small defect that they just can’t retail out of liability concerns. Generally however, the rule of Thumb is going to be that a car sold at auction is a car another dealer couldn’t sell.
Walk Out!
If you do run into a dealership that has given you a new report with this change, please don’t buy the car from there. This isn’t a point system, or a game where you are rewarded for “Beating” the dealer. There are likely going to be more problems and you will be better off finding a more reputable store to buy a car from.
Carfax Buyback Guarantee (Not So Fast)
Timing is going to play another role in your Carfax Reports, especially if you intend on having the Carfax Buyback Guarantee on your side. I dare someone to actually find me a car buyer that used this guarantee successfully, but that’s another topic!
When it comes to the date of the report, you should again ensure that you get a freshly pulled Vehicle History (Carfax) report at or just before you buy a car, because if you don’t, you will fall outside of the Carfax Buyback Guarantee. Why? Because Carfax states in their Buyback Terms And Conditions that if a Carfax report was pulled more than 30 days before the date of purchase, you are not going to be covered.
For a list of more of these legal clauses that could terminate your coverage check out our other article, “4 Major Problems You Didn’t Know About The Carfax Buyback Guarantee.”
Getting A Carfax Without Paying (Is It Possible?)
This is an easy one- Ask the (a) dealership to, “Show me the Carfax” is so mainstream that there isn’t a dealership in business that thinks they can sell cars without ever providing some sort of documented vehicle history. Because of this, dealers are typically signed up to get multiple reports and pulling hundreds a month is a flash in the pan.
Is A Carfax Report Worth It?
Yes! Carfax and the newest member of the game Autocheck provide vehicle history reports that are absolutely essential to any used car purchase. Yes, this even applies to a certified pre-owned vehicle, not so much because it’s a major concern, but because the dealers that sell certified vehicles can pump out vehicle history reports at relatively no cost so, why not?!
To get the full value of any Carfax Report, whether it be a free report or not, you must first know what to look for inside of it.
So check out our post on How To Read A Carfax where we cover 9 categories that could mean the difference between you buying a Lemon or a quality Used Car.
Why A Carfax Report Is Really Worth It
What truly makes Carfax reports worth every penny of the $39.99 is to check whether a car has a:
- Branded Title
- Salvage Title
- Rebuilt Title
- Jumped Title
Sadly I have noticed what feels like an uptick in the sale of these vehicles, and not simply because they are in high demand, but because buyers are being deceived. If you would like a more in depth review of vehicles that have been salvaged, check our post, “Salvage And Rebuilt Title Cars | Buyer Beware or Great Deal?”.
How Accurate Are Vehicle History Reports
Great question! Although I emphasized the importance of always obtaining a vehicle history report for any used vehicle, I will also emphasize that you take the information they provide with a large grain of salt. Why? Well, vehicle history reports have a well-known flaw within the industry, and that is that they only show what was reported from their sources. These sources include:
- The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS)
- DMV’s
- Insurance Companies
- Dealerships/Repair Shops (With Agreements)
In other words, if the information is never sent, it’s essentially as if nothing happened, and because ALL history reports are unreliable at best, you should only use them as guides. Guides that could save you time with upfront discovery or which could point you in the right direction when conducting an inspection. In summary- “Clean Carfax” really means “Keep Looking” and get yourself a vehicle inspection. (“Carfax Buying Guarantee Flaws”)
How To Get A Free Carfax Report Without Paying?
If you really want to get a free Carfax Report without paying– Ask the dealership. “Show me the Carfax” is so mainstream that there isn’t a dealership in business that thinks they can sell cars without ever providing some sort of documented vehicle history. Because of this, dealers are typically signed up to get multiple reports and pulling hundreds a month is a flash in the pan.
Other Free Vin Check Sources
- Third party listing sites– Many have now begun to include the dealers provided reports, or as in the case of Car Gurus, a high-level summary that can tell you enough about the vehicle to know if you should move on or move forward.
- VehicleHistory.com and ISEECARS.com – Not really a full history report, but they will tell you if there are any accident records or open recalls. In addition, they will give you some added information Carfax will not like: Price history, projected depreciation, the best time to buy, and other potentially important factors for car buyers.
- National Insurance Crime Bureau– The NICB’s Vin Check is a free service to help you identify if a car has been stolen or reported as salvage by an insurance company. Again, this isn’t the end all be all, but it is free and worth a 2-minute check, especially if you are shopping at a smaller dealership or private seller.
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Free Carfax Reports On Reddit
You may have seen this little free carfax reports hack going around on sites like Reddit, Quora, or even private blogs. I checked out the first two I came across and they certainly were not giving out a Free Carfax Report. It’s likely that people found something one day that they posted and just carelessly never removed the post. Save your time and use other methods or just pay for the real deal.
Alternatives To Carfax Reports (Similar Reports Available)
Yes, there are alternatives to the higher priced Carfax and even Autocheck reports, and one such service that I have tested is VinAudit. I compared it to a Carfax for the same vehicle and found no substantial difference in the information I needed to see. That being said, I have seen others with completely different results, so I’m sure this is on a case by case basis because VinAudit simply lacks the partnerships Carfax does to secure more information. Why is it cheaper you might ask? The name. They pull from most of the same sources with the biggest difference being that a Carfax will probably have more partnerships with dealers and shops to receive service records. But, in many cases, dealerships don’t even report their service to Carfax so again, what is that information really worth, 39.99?
Which Vehicle History Report Is Best?
From my experience, it’s about Carfax VS Autocheck, and that’s really because given the significance of the reason why you are pulling the report you want to stick with the most reputable names with the most resources. I would still give the edge to Carfax if for the only reason that they still have more partnerships out there to gather the most information possible. That being said, absolutely nothing wrong with Autocheck!
Claim A Free Vehicle History Report
To claim your free report, please submit (In the comment section below), your Vin Number. You will not be spammed or called as we are not selling you anything, just helping.
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