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Navigating a CarFax Report

By Keith Griffin, About.com

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Understanding a CarFax Report

A CarFax report is an important step in judging a used car's viability and history.

Photo © Carfax.com

A CarFax report is a background check on a vehicle. Using the vehicle identification number unique to each vehicle, the report provides detailed information on everything from ownership info to accidents to the vehicle’s title history.

A CarFax single report costs $24.95, while a 30-day pass is available for $29.95. Get the latter unless you are positively, absolutely sure you’re only going to have one car researched. The beauty of CarFax is the reports are available instantaneously.

Millions of people obtain CarFax reports every year, but do they all know what they’re getting and the right way to read a report? To help make these reports easier to understand, here is a step-by-step guide to understanding a CarFax report. The following is based from a sample CarFax report provided by the website.

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