DENVER—
You know where your car is going, but do you know where it's been?If you are relying on a CARFAX vehicle history report there's a chance you don't.
We tracked down a Longmont woman who bought a Saturn Vue with a rebuilt engine and hail damage.
But the CARFAX report on her car came back clean.
She didn't want to be a part of this story.
But Michelle Hagan thought it was important information to get out to all consumers.
"I was very upset."
Michelle was the original owner of the Saturn Vue. She only had the car a few days when she realized it had a bad engine.
"It only had 3 miles on it when I bought it."
Michelle returned the car to the dealer, and while it was in the lot waiting to have the Cam Shaft repaired, all Hail broke loose.
The Saturn got damaged in a hail storm.
"I was thinking, I didn't want it anymore."
Michelle asked the dealer, Saturn of Longmont, which is now Courtesy Mazda to take back her new dented up car with the rebuilt engine and the dealer agreed.
But the dealership would only give Michelle half the price of what she paid for the car.
"I paid $30,000, they were only offering 15,000. The manager told me the only way they could get rid of the car is if they take it to an auction."
Michelle took the deal, because no other dealership would touch the car "because it was a new car with a rebuilt engine," Michelle says.
But Michelle soon discovered her car went back on lot for a price of $23,000. That's when she pulled the car fax report and realized the facts were all wrong.
"It said nothing about the hail damage, nothing about the rebuilt engine."
A CARFAX spokesperson admits their history reports can be wrong, especially if the dealership or manufacturer fails to report the incident or mechanical problem.
"Unfortunately, there are some people who may not want to disclose information that would be beneficial for the consumer to know."
The dealership's general manager says he didn't know they were supposed to report to CARFAX.
When asked why they didn't disclose all the facts about Michelle's VUE to the new buyer, he gave us a statement which said in part, "the 'rebuilt' engine was not disclosed to the subsequent buyer (because) the warranty repair returned the vehicle to the original manufacturer's specifications. Disclosure is a non-issue."
