Type Subsidiary Number of employees 500 - 750 (estimated) Founded 1984 | Key people Richard Raines Founder Ewin Barnett III Parent organization IHS Markit | |
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Industry Information Technology Services Founders Ewin Barnett III
Robert Daniel Clark Products Vehicle history reports Headquarters Centreville, Virginia, United States Profiles | ||
Carfax, Inc. is a commercial web-based service that supplies vehicle history reports to individuals and businesses on used cars and light trucks for the American and Canadian consumers.
Contents
History
In 1984 Carfax was founded in Columbia, Missouri, by a computer professional named Ewin Barnett III working with Robert Daniel Clark, an accountant from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. The company is now headquartered in Centreville, Virginia, with a data center operation in Columbia. Barnett was initially trying to combat odometer fraud. By working closely with the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association, in 1986 he offered the early version Carfax vehicle history report to the dealer market. These reports were developed with a database of just 10,000 records and were distributed via fax machine. By the end of 1993, Carfax obtained title information from nearly all fifty states. In December 1996, the company's website was launched to offer consumers the same vehicle history reports already available to businesses. In the fall of 1999, Carfax became a wholly owned subsidiary of R.L. Polk & Company. In 2013, IHS acquired Polk and Carfax, which added to its Automotive offerings. In 2013 Carfax introduced a free service to help vehicle owners keep their cars well maintained – myCARFAX. Car owners can track their service history, receive automatic service alerts and get critical information about open safety recalls reported for their car.
Products and services
Carfax offers several free products and services and charges a fee for more comprehensive reports.
Free products and services
In 2013, Carfax launched a new free service called myCARFAX. The service provides free access to vehicle service information reported to the company and alerts users to recommended maintenance.
The company offers four vehicle research services—Lemon Check, Record Check, Recall Check, and Problem Car. While these services are helpful, they do not contain all of the information provided in a full Carfax vehicle history report.
The company also provides Car Safety and Reliability Ratings, which provides access to reviews and other data from sources such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, J.D. Power and Associates, IntelliChoice and others.
Purchase price
There are three price tiers available for purchasing vehicle history reports from Carfax, each valid for 60 days from purchase: 1 Carfax Report for $39.99, 5 Carfax Reports for $49.99, or Unlimited Carfax Reports for $54.99. When purchasing the Unlimited reports it is stated in a smaller, lighter font "Unlimited Reports by U.S. License Plate," which many consumers may not notice or understand. Only after paying $54.99 are consumers informed that they are limited to 5 VIN checks. The unlimited refers to license plate searches. However, car dealers don't typically have plates on their cars. It should be noted, however, that used car dealers provide free Carfax reports.http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Carfax-for-Free Many private party sellers may obscure the license number or don't display it on their online ads. In these cases buyers should ask the seller for the license plate number. http://www.autotrader.com/car-recall/buying-a-used-car-from-a-private-seller-legalities-206951
Vehicle history reports
The Carfax Vehicle History Report is the company's core product. Users purchase either a single report or create an account for building multiple reports for different vehicles, allowing consumers to utilize Carfax over a period of time as they search for a vehicle. Additionally, buyers can request Carfax reports for free from auto dealers who offer Carfax service, and some automakers routinely provide Carfax reports as part of their pre-owned vehicle programs.
myCARFAX
In early 2012 the company launched a new service which uses service information reported to CARFAX to help vehicle owners with things like oil changes and routine vehicle maintenance. The service was later expanded to include alerts about open safety recalls issued by vehicle manufacturers. Vehicle owners who are interested in having service information included on their CARFAX Vehicle History Report can find local service shops who will report them to CARFAX.
Carfax used car listings
In April 2014, Carfax introduced another free service called CARFAX Used Car Listings. The new service gives used car shoppers the opportunity to search for used cars using make, model, and a vehicle's history. For example, consumers may search for vehicles with "no reported accident" or "service records".
Class action lawsuit
In a 2006 class action lawsuit, West v. Carfax, Inc., the plaintiff claimed that Carfax violated consumer protection laws by not disclosing the limitations of their service, specifically their inability to check accident records in 23 states in the U.S. while stating that their database contains information from all 50 states. The lawsuit was settled in May 2007 in the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court in Warren, Ohio. Carfax spokesman Larry Gamache said more than 10 million consumers were affected. The company asserts that it has major accident information from all 50 states and it backs up its claim with a buyback guarantee. The settlement in the West v. Carfax, Inc lawsuit was overturned and the lawyers for the class never pursued the case after that.