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Carfax (company)
Encyclopedia
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
marketplaces.
by a computer expert named Ewin Barnett III working with Robert Daniel Clark, an accountant from Huntingdon, PA. The company is now headquartered in Centreville, VA 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 & Co.
.
Additionally, the company offers Hot Listings, which provides a free search of local used cars for sale, including access to Carfax reports. Finally, the company 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.
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.
Although Carfax continuously expands its database and resources, some information is not allowed to be provided. Under the 1994 U.S. Drivers Privacy Protection Act, personal information such as names, telephone numbers and addresses of current or previous owners are neither collected nor reported. Carfax does not have access to every facility and mistakes are sometimes made by those who input data. In the event information is disputed but cannot be verified, Carfax allows consumers and dealerships to add information to its reports.
In 2007, the company launched a carbon-neutral campaign at its Carfax 250 NASCAR Busch Series race, billed as the first-ever carbon-neutral stock car race. Working with the Conservation Fund, Carfax has sought to offset carbon emissions generated from its day-to-day business operations, including company-supported events, corporate travel and its marketing and sales operations.
To keep the cost of its products affordable, Carfax has invested in a new generation of customer support software that provides responses to customer questions.
Carfax has a large partner network including relationships with companies such as Edmunds
, Kelley Blue Book
, American Automobile Association
, Carchex
, AutoTrader, Cars.com
, and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
.
. 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
marketplaces.
History
In 1984 Carfax was founded in Columbia, MissouriColumbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
by a computer expert named Ewin Barnett III working with Robert Daniel Clark, an accountant from Huntingdon, PA. The company is now headquartered in Centreville, VA with a data center operation in Columbia. Barnett was initially trying to combat odometer fraud
Odometer fraud
Odometer fraud, also referred to as "busting miles" or "clocking" is the illegal practice of rolling back odometers to make it appear that vehicles have lower mileage than they actually do...
. By working closely with the Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
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
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
of just 10,000 records and were distributed via fax machine
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
. 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
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of R.L. Polk & Co.
R.L. Polk & Co.
R. L. Polk & Co. is a provider of automotive information and marketing solutions to the automotive industry, insurance companies, and related businesses....
.
Products and services
Carfax offers several free products and services and charges a fee for more comprehensive reports.Free products and services
The company offers four free 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.Additionally, the company offers Hot Listings, which provides a free search of local used cars for sale, including access to Carfax reports. Finally, the company provides Car Safety and Reliability Ratings, which provides access to reviews and other data from sources such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, part of the Department of Transportation...
, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is a U.S. non-profit organization funded by auto insurers, established in 1959 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It works to reduce the number of motor vehicle crashes, and the rate of injuries and amount of property damage in the crashes that...
, J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm founded in 1968 by James David Power III. The firm conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for industries ranging from cars to marketing and advertising firms. The firm is best known for...
, IntelliChoice and others.
Vehicle history reports
The Carfax Vehicle History ReportVehicle history report
A vehicle history report in the US contains important information about a used vehicle’s past. These reports generally show title records from each state DMV, along with salvage and insurance total loss records and accident records...
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.
Information sources
Carfax has access to eight billion records from more than 34,000 sources, including motor vehicle departments for all 50 U.S. states and all 10 Canadian provinces. The company's information sources include U.S. state title and registration records, auto and salvage auctions, Canadian motor vehicle records, rental and fleet vehicle companies, consumer protection agencies, state inspection stations, extended warranty companies, insurance companies, fire and police departments, manufacturers, inspection companies, service and repair facilities, dealers and import/export companies.Although Carfax continuously expands its database and resources, some information is not allowed to be provided. Under the 1994 U.S. Drivers Privacy Protection Act, personal information such as names, telephone numbers and addresses of current or previous owners are neither collected nor reported. Carfax does not have access to every facility and mistakes are sometimes made by those who input data. In the event information is disputed but cannot be verified, Carfax allows consumers and dealerships to add information to its reports.
Corporate overview
Carfax prides itself on providing a challenging and creative work environment, where t-shirts and jeans are favored over suits and ties. Staff events have included go-carting, scavenger hunts, softball, trivia games and other activities. A large company cafe seats 300 employees at weekly catered lunches, a company tradition that encourages better communication. Walking through Carfax offices might reveal basketball hoops, putting greens and dartboards. Carfax has been featured in Washingtonian magazine's "Great Places to Work" series.In 2007, the company launched a carbon-neutral campaign at its Carfax 250 NASCAR Busch Series race, billed as the first-ever carbon-neutral stock car race. Working with the Conservation Fund, Carfax has sought to offset carbon emissions generated from its day-to-day business operations, including company-supported events, corporate travel and its marketing and sales operations.
To keep the cost of its products affordable, Carfax has invested in a new generation of customer support software that provides responses to customer questions.
Carfax has a large partner network including relationships with companies such as Edmunds
Edmunds
-Companies:* Edmunds.com, provider of automotive information* Edmund Scientific Corporation, company supplying optics and other scientific items* Edmund's Auto Sales, Inc., Automotive Collision and Mechanical / Towing Company in Franklin, MA...
, Kelley Blue Book
Kelley Blue Book
Kelley Blue Book, headquartered in Irvine, California, is the United States' largest automotive vehicle valuation company. The company's website is a source for new and used vehicle pricing and information...
, American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
, Carchex
Carchex
CARCHEX is a Hunt Valley, Maryland-based company that provides extended auto warranties and Mobile Vehicle Inspections.-History:CARCHEX was founded in 2000 as a provider of pre-purchase vehicle inspections. In 2003, the company was purchased by Jason Goldsmith, a Baltimore-based entrepreneur and...
, AutoTrader, Cars.com
Cars.com
Cars.com is a website which was launched in June 1998. It is the second largest automotive classified site, second to only Autotrader.com. It is a division of Classified Ventures, which is in turn a joint venture by major media companies including the Gannett Company, the McClatchy Company, the...
, and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, part of the Department of Transportation...
.
West v. Carfax, Inc
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, OhioWarren, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...
. 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.
See also
- Used car - List of vehicle history services
- Vehicle title brandingVehicle title brandingVehicle title branding is the use of a permanent designation on a vehicle's title, registration or permit documents to indicate that a vehicle has been written off due to collision, fire or flood damage or has been sold for scrap....
- Vehicle identification numberVehicle identification numberA Vehicle Identification Number, commonly abbreviated to VIN, is a unique serial number used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles. VINs were first used in 1954...
- Lemon (automobile)Lemon (automobile)A lemon is a car, often new, that is found to be defective only after it has been bought. Any vehicle with numerous, severe issues can be termed a "lemon", and, by extension, any product with flaws too great or severe to serve its purpose can be described as a "lemon".-Origin:The use of the word...