issyz

test drove 06 350z with clean title but Carfax report has "not reported accident damage report." I asked the seller and he told me that he had to get the front bumper fixed. So question; what does this mean? and do you guys recommend it? The car is 06 350z with 1 owner w. 83k miles.

dcains

iTrader: (15)

How are we supposed to know, without seeing the car? If you're uncomfortable with it, perhaps have a professional have a look, or move on. IMO, CarFax isn't really worth the paper it's printed on, but YMMV.

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

10 years old 80k miles of the paint looks perfect then its probably had some attention given too it. I agree carfax is junk. I could wrap my car around a pole tow it home piece it back together and still have a clean carfax if I never asked for insurance money.

zakmartin

It could mean anything from cosmetic to structural. You need to look at the car and check the welds, look for paint repair, rust, etc.

If it was just a bumper cover, then it was probably nothing that would affect the drivability of the vehicle and was just a minor scrape or fender-bender. If it was an entire bumper assembly that needed replacement, then make sure that all the damage was fixed. Often, if it's a bumper assembly, then the car's also going to need new headlamp(s), hood, maybe quarter panel(s). The whole front end of the car is a crush zone and an impact where the entire bumper assembly was damaged will often require quite a bit of repair.

Remember, there's always going to be another Z for sale if you're not 100% comfortable making the purchase.

issyz

thank you guys for your singular insights. I am taking the car to a body shop to check the status. I recall, the headlights had some haze to it and overall the body was in good/mint condition.

zakmartin

Smart move taking it to a shop to get inspected. Hope it all works out.

Gs_350z

I recently was shopping for a lease return Lexus for the Mrs. Dealer had a free link to the carfax. Hit the link and didn't see anything to worry over. Took a chance and asked the dealer to email me the repair history. Turns out the vehicle had major front end damage requiring over $17k in retail charges!!! Tried to inform Carfax of the discrepancy and they requested I forward the info. Did so and eventually they told me it was up to the dealers to report and not them to investigate. Carfax never updated the report even though they had PROOF with the dealer letterhead on the work order.
You can imagine MY opinion of Carfax.