I purchased a Certified Pre-Owned 2011 Toyota Limited Highlander from a reputable dealer on 8/25. The odometer reader on the car indicated 16K miles.in addition, the car fax report I was shown by the salesman indicated the same mileage, no accidents, and one owner. Later in the evening, I pulled out the owner's manual to set the clock. Enclosed in the owner's manual was evidence of two accidents. On accident was minor approximately $800. The other accident was $10,000 of damage to the front of the car and transmission. The paperwork concerning the accident indicated that the previous owner was from Mobile, Alabama and a State Farm claim number was recorded. The dealer's salesman had shown us a CarFax that indicated that the owner was from Acworth, Georgia! Since the dealership did not give me a copy of the CarFax, I decided to print if from their website. When I printed the CarFax for the car that I purchased (I matched the VIN numbers), it indicated that the car had not been in an accident, had 33K miles on it, and had one owner located in Mobile, Alabama. As I stated, the actual odometer indicated 17K.
As I was pulling out of my garage the next morning to visit the dealership, I saw a trail of transmission fluid following me! I spoke with the dealer's manager about my findings and asked him to pull the CarFax that I had been shown. The salesman had shown me the wrong CarFax and the stock number of the car indicated that it had came from the auction! The dealer was very upset with what happened. I was given a new car for the same price as the certified pre owned car that I had purchased. So, many things went wrong with my purchase, that I feel I need to speak out. My complaint here is with the real CarFax report for the car. This report indicated no damage and a different mileage. The dealer is guilty of failing to do a proper inspection (the leaking transmission fluid should have been caught and verify the CarFax mileage with the odometer. The report concerning the accident indicated that the mileage on the car had been 14K at the time of the accident. So, I believe the odometer reading might have been correct. If that was the case, the only correct information on the CarFax was that the previous owner had lived in Mobile, Alabama! Innocent people are believe the accuracy of car fax reports. CarFax is using their disclaimer to avoid liability and enjoying huge profits for their deception. The dealer needs to address some serious problems in the dealership, however they also relied on the CarFax report. I hate federal and state regulation but it is clear that CarFax needs to be regulated. I was stupid and learned a valuable lesson. Folks don't believe anything on a CarFax report!!!
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