Your Community Credit Union
CARFAX
Used Auto Vehicle History Reports
CARFAX is the newest addition to the products and services AAFCU provides for its members. If you are looking for a used auto, CARFAX can help you by checking the history of the vehicle for things such as manufacturer buyback (lemon), odometer rollbacks, major accidents, fire and flood damage, number of owners, changes in type of registration and recalls. The CARFAX report will also tell you what items are standard equipment on that auto and what safety equipment is included. We can run this check for you when you provide us with the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number).
Of course, protection comes at a price. If you were to access CARFAX on your own, through the main website of www.carfax.com, you would be charged $19.99 to run a single report, or $24.99 to run unlimited reports during a thirty-day period. You can get a better price by using the link at the left--CUNA (Credit Union National Association) has negotiated an agreement with CARFAX to provide reports at a reduced rate to credit union members. By using the link at www.aafcu4u.coop, you will receive the same report(s) at a reduced rate, $17 for one report, or $21.25 for unlimited reports in thirty days. However, the best deal all around is to come directly to the lending department at AAFCU. Once you've decided on an auto, bring in the VIN and we can run a report for you for only $10, due to a direct contract we have negotiated with CARFAX. You'll be required to pay the $10 fee up front, but if you finance the purchase of that auto through AAFCU, the $10 fee will be refunded. This fee is only refunded if AAFCU runs the report at your request, after payment of the fee. The fee will not be refunded if you use the link on the homepage.
Regardless of which link you use, when you open the page you will see 'FREE! Start here...' in the upper right corner. This is misleading. When you type in your VIN, this will tell you how many items show up on the report. It won't tell you what the items are until you purchase the report. To test the system, we ran reports on two used vehicles owned by AAFCU members. With this free check, both vehicles came up with seven items. For the first auto, the seven items were all things such as title issued, recalls and changes in ownership. For the second auto, the items included a major accident and the issuance of a reconstructed vehicle title. Every auto has had a title issued, and since you're purchasing a used auto, it will have had at least one change in ownership---so every vehicle will come up with items. Only the actual report would give you the information you need to make the best decision regarding the auto purchase you are considering.
Checking out a used vehicle through CARFAX before purchase may also provide you with a buyback guarantee through CARFAX. If you purchase a vehicle after receiving a CARFAX report and later find out about a problem that CARFAX should have known about, CARFAX will buy that vehicle back at the price you paid. When the report is run, it will include a listing stating whether or not the auto is eligible for the buyback guarantee.
If you have any questions or would like further information, please stop in or contact AAFCU using the website. We're always happy to help our members!
*AAFCU does not endorse or guarantee the products, information or recommendations provided by linked sites. AAFCU is not liable for any failure of products or services advertised on third party sites. Third party linked sites may have privacy policies that are different from AAFCU; and linked sites may or may not provide the same degree of security.
