Shopping for new truck and have question.

[asilverblazer]

2 hours ago, KARNUT said:

Then I wouldn’t be interested in buying it. Unless I knew you personally. That’s kinda of the point. 

Carfax is at best a joke and more appropriately called a scam.

 

I've seen clean car fax cars that were wrecked and commanded a premium price because of the clean car fax, do a little digging and you find that it was likely repaired (botched) in someone's backyard and worth 1/2 what was paid.

 

Flip side, we had a new Explorer Sport Trac way back in 2003, someone hit and messed up the rear door and running board. Not a bad crash - a fender bender in all rights except it was't the fender it was the door. I made sure that it was professionally repaired, with genuine Ford parts, no Bondo, perfect paint match etc. No one would have ever know it was hit - except for car fax. Instant 1500.00 to 2000.00 hit at time to get rid of it.

 

A 'regular' appearance at the dealer oil change line means what exactly? What oil was put in it, how was it driven, environment, other maintenance, etc... 

 

Meanwhile, Grumpys truck, the worlds best maintained, (probably) comes with extensive documentation that never makes it past the next buyer. Absolutely nothing on Carfax... suddenly it's the worst maintained.

 

Carfax is a cheap way for Big Data to sell a product to make lazy consumers feel better about their used car purchase. 'Buy Back Guarantee', good luck.

 

Carfax = the automotive version of Experian, Transunion and Equifax - junk big data, that no one is responsible for and only useful for extracting money out of the weakest player in the game, the lone consumer.

 

[KARNUT]

13 minutes ago, asilverblazer said:

Carfax is at best a joke and more appropriately called a scam.

 

I've seen clean car fax cars that were wrecked and commanded a premium price because of the clean car fax, do a little digging and you find that it was likely repaired (botched) in someone's backyard and worth 1/2 what was paid.

 

Flip side, we had a new Explorer Sport Trac way back in 2003, someone hit and messed up the rear door and running board. Not a bad crash - a fender bender in all rights except it was't the fender it was the door. I made sure that it was professionally repaired, with genuine Ford parts, no Bondo, perfect paint match etc. No one would have ever know it was hit - except for car fax. Instant 1500.00 to 2000.00 hit at time to get rid of it.

 

A 'regular' appearance at the dealer oil change line means what exactly? What oil was put in it, how was it driven, environment, other maintenance, etc... 

 

Meanwhile, Grumpys truck, the worlds best maintained, (probably) comes with extensive documentation that never makes it past the next buyer. Absolutely nothing on Carfax... suddenly it's the worst maintained.

 

Carfax is a cheap way for Big Data to sell a product to make lazy consumers feel better about their used car purchase. 'Buy Back Guarantee', good luck.

 

Carfax = the automotive version of Experian, Transunion and Equifax - junk big data, that no one is responsible for and only useful for extracting money out of the weakest player in the game, the lone consumer.

 

All the car dealers in my area use it. I guess they must hid the people who fill out the fake information that’s on there. All the dealerships buy their oil in bulk. The cheapest of course then sell it as the best. Places that report the most reliable vehicles in the past five years and beyond. Only recommend the vehicles being the best if they pay enough to the reporting agencies. The smart dealers don’t really change the oil they just change the sticker in the window, more profit that way. What really cuts into the profit is the extra money they have to pay the employees to sign a non disclosure agreement. Otherwise the whole scheme falls apart. So it’s probably foolish to trust CPOs, carfax, car check because they’re all crooks and just buy new. Theirs just one problem. They don’t seem to be any better. Funny that hasn’t been my experience. I must be lucky.

[asilverblazer]

18 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

...The cheapest of course then sell it as the best. Places that report the most reliable vehicles in the past five years and beyond. Only recommend the vehicles being the best if they pay enough to the reporting agencies. The smart dealers don’t really change the oil they just change the sticker in the window, more profit that way. What really cuts into the profit is the extra money they have to pay the employees to sign a non disclosure agreement. Otherwise the whole scheme falls apart. So it’s probably foolish to trust CPOs, carfax, car check because they’re all crooks and just buy new. Theirs just one problem. They don’t seem to be any better...

I see you've stepped in my cynicism. 

[KARNUT]

3 minutes ago, asilverblazer said:

I see you've stepped in my cynicism. 

It was meant to be amusing. In reality everyone has different experiences. 

[asilverblazer]

On 6/9/2026 at 2:23 PM, KARNUT said:

It was meant to be amusing. 

[Another JR]

My truck is probably one of the most babied and best maintained out of all the individual trucks discussed here. Premium fluids used, very short fluid change intervals, indoor storage, waxed regularly, low amount of towing with easy loads, minimal off-road use, and most driving done empty or with an 1800 lbs (40% of payload rating) popup Four Wheel Camper in the bed. It’s driven to full warmup every week during non-use periods.  All maintenance was performed by a roughly 60 year old mechanical engineer specializing in aircraft propulsion systems that has all the correct tools. 
 

You will not find a single maintenance record on Carfax for my truck other than the first oil change done at 300 miles due to my discovery of a dented filter from the factory or shipping. I have full personal records with receipts for fluids and filters.  Anyone would be lucky to buy my truck used.  Someone refusing to look at my truck due to lack of Carfax records would be missing out on a great truck.  I’m not selling, though.  My son will get it whenever I am done with it. 

[KARNUT]

1 hour ago, Another JR said:

My truck is probably one of the most babied and best maintained out of all the individual trucks discussed here. Premium fluids used, very short fluid change intervals, indoor storage, waxed regularly, low amount of towing with easy loads, minimal off-road use, and most driving done empty or with an 1800 lbs (40% of payload rating) popup Four Wheel Camper in the bed. It’s driven to full warmup every week during non-use periods.  All maintenance was performed by a roughly 60 year old mechanical engineer specializing in aircraft propulsion systems that has all the correct tools. 
 

You will not find a single maintenance record on Carfax for my truck other than the first oil change done at 300 miles due to my discovery of a dented filter from the factory or shipping. I have full personal records with receipts for fluids and filters.  Anyone would be lucky to buy my truck used.  Someone refusing to look at my truck due to lack of Carfax records would be missing out on a great truck.  I’m not selling, though.  My son will get it whenever I am done with it. 

I’ve bought a few vehicles from people I know that took great care of them. My Ridgeline is the most recent. 160K miles for 7K. Right at market value. A cream puff. At 200K miles it will need a minimum of 5K in maintenance. Grumpy just put a few dollars in his Reg Cap truck. Another cream puff. You’re still rolling the dice at those miles. I’ll hit the same milestone with the Odyssey in about two years. I like that you can use a service that tracks use vehicles for maintenance. Do you roll the dice or spend a little more get a lower mileage one with the maintenance already done. Spend 15K on a 100K mileage vehicle after maintenance done or spend 5K on one at 200K that’s 15 years old. 

Edited July 20 by KARNUT