Used cars can be hard to judge, since body work and cosmetic repair can easily hide any underlying problems. This is where services like Carfax come in to give detailed histories of the car, for a nominal fee. As it turns out, this report can easily guide you away from spending thousands on a car that is bound to break down in no time at all.

Unfortunately, Carfax does indeed charge for their services. You will be spending around a ballpark figure of $30 for a single Carfax report. Carfax reports are able to be bought in bulk as well, which lowers the amount of cost per report. For dealerships and frequent buyers, the unlimited reports option would be a very good idea to investigate. Do keep in mind this will only last 30 days, however, and you may need to renew the subscription.

So long as you show interest in a vehicle at a used car dealership, you can try to pressure the salesman to pay for the Carfax report. Some dealerships do this as policy, while others will be hesitant and only consider doing so when asked. It is fairly interesting to think that you can save so much money simply by asking one question- but do be sure to show interest in the car to warrant need.

If you aren’t able to talk a dealership into getting the Carfax report, you will still be able to look at a free basic report that Carfax offers. This basic report won’t tell you much at all, but it will give you an indication of anything that may sound suspicious. You may then present your findings to the dealership and request the Carfax report again.

If you go to an automobile auction in most states, you will be given a Carfax report in the majority of cases. Auctioneers will make more sales only by offerings potential buyers more as much information as possible, so that they may judge their investment decision. As a result you will see that most auction houses go ahead and front the fees for the Carfax report for you, which is a nice incentive.

Don’t be afraid to pay for a Carfax report, but to save money you should make sure that you are absolutely certain you think you would like to purchase the car. Even though you can buy a Carfax report for relatively cheap, only around $30 or so, this can add up if your car search ends up being longer than expected.

In Conclusion

Few tools are as helpful as Carfax when buying a used car. Remember this next time you are at the used car dealership and need to buy a Carfax report to check against any type of deception or lies from salesmen.

Learn more about how to get a free Carfax report online and auto news.