The Experian AutoCheck report might not be as well known as Carfax but according to a recent research report AutoCheck reports contain more accident data
Caveat emptor and buyer’s tools
At Auto Credit Express our business is to match up our credit challenged customers, who have filled out our bad credit auto loan application, with dealers in our nationwide network that can help them get this kind of a loan. By doing this, applicants can not only reestablish their car credit, they can also raise their credit scores. We also want our customers to be educated about getting a second chance car loan, since making a mistake could result in repossession, furthering lowering their FICO scores.
We also believe that the phrase “caveat emptor” was coined specifically for used car buyers. Like the Latin phrase for “let the buyer beware” suggests, the used car market is often a minefield. It just sits there, looking for all the world like any other meadow, until you happen to step in the wrong place and then – well, you can see where this analogy is leading.
Fortunately, there are a number of resources a used car buyer has at his or her disposal. One of the most important of these tools is the vehicle history report. Even though most of these reports contain the same basic information, there is a major difference in how they are marketed.
Carfax® versus AutoCheck
The difference between these two sites is immediately apparent from their respective web sites. Where the Carfax® site screams out the message “Buying a Used Car? Just Say – Show Me the CARFAX®!” the AutoCheck site, on the other hand, methodically explains what the reports are based on.
There is also an additional useful tool on the AutoCheck site – the “AutoCheck” score, which compares the car you are looking at to similar cars and, like a FICO score, distills that information down so that it can be easily understood for comparison purposes.
But the differences don’t stop there. According to a recent study conducted by Pipal Research, there is also a big discrepancy in the basic accident information found on both reports.
Pipal Research study
According to a study conducted in 2009 by independent research organization Pipal Research that compared data from both AutoCheck and Carfax across 23 vehicle brands with a sample that included more than 55,000 vehicles (including 5,685 with accidents), it was found that “AutoCheck vehicle history reports in the study had more than twice the number of vehicles with accidents reported as compared to Carfax®.”
In addition to detecting twice the number of vehicles that were involved in some type of accident, the report also found that the vehicle history reports generated by AutoCheck, as a group, reported “more than double the number of overall accidents” as compared to the group of reports from Carfax®.
The cost
With all this additional data, then, you might expect to pay more for the AutoCheck report than for a Carfax®. Here again, you might be surprised to learn that the AutoCheck report is actually less expensive than a Carfax report.
Looking at the AutoCheck web site as well as the one from Carfax® on March 30th of 2010, we find that Carfax® charges $34.99 for a single report, while you could purchase one from AutoCheck for $24.99 – a savings of $10.00 or 29%.
In all fairness, we should point out that you can purchase 5 Carfax® reports for just $10.00 more and you can run these reports any time within 60 days of purchase. But here, again, AutoCheck handily beats this by offering unlimited reports over the same 60 day period for the same price of $44.95.
So if Experian’s AutoCheck reports contain more accident information and, at the same time, cost less, why would anyone contemplating buying a used car with a bad credit car loan consider anything but AutoCheck? We can’t figure that out, either.
A part of your buying decision
In any case, be sure to run a vehicle history report on any used car you are thinking of buying. Although the information contained any of these reports may be incomplete, it can certainly be helpful in forming a basis for your buying decision. But there also are other things that you can do to finish filling in the rest of the car history puzzle.
Vehicle inspection
Ask the seller or dealer if you can borrow the vehicle and have it inspected (if they refuse, walk away from the deal). You should then take it to a certified mechanic – preferably one who is an ASE certified master mechanic. There are also companies that employ certified mechanics that specialize in used car inspections. This service normally runs between $100 and $200, but consider it money well spent, as a car with hidden damage could cost you thousands of dollars in repair bills as well as a lower resale value. This could be a real problem if you’re financing your car with a bad credit car loan, since the additional negative equity would make it much more difficult to roll out of your current high-interest loan and into a different car with a better loan rate before the first loan is paid off.
As we see it – the right kind of fruit and rebuilding your credit
The AutoCheck vehicle history report, when used properly, can be a valuable tool in making a buying decision, especially when it comes to determining whether or not your next car will be a cherry or a lemon.
Auto Credit Express has helped literally thousands of people with bad, blemished, bruised and tarnished credit buy cars and reestablish their credit at the same time. When you decide to buy a car, our online bad credit car loan application can be filled out in the comfort and security of your own home.
For more information, visit www.autocreditexpress.com to see what we can do for you.
