KSL INVESTIGATES

What can you do when Carfax reports a crash that never happened on your car’s report?

Mar 24, 2022, 6:20 PM | Updated: Jun 19, 2022, 9:54 pm

ST. GEORGE, Utah – When someone looks to buy a used car, they are likely going to want some assurance it doesn’t have major hidden damage.

A popular way to know if a car has been in a wreck is by checking the car’s vehicle history report. But what happens when that report is wrong? It happened to a St. George woman, and it was going to cost her more than $10,000 when she went to trade in her old car.

When Sloan Judd bought a used car from a Southern Utah car dealership, she was offered evidence the car had never been in an accident.

“They had the Carfax report,” Judd said.

The report was clean – no indication of a crash. But warp forward a few years when Sloan went to trade in the car but found the formerly clean Carfax report showed her car had “structural damage” for an apparent accident that happened before she even bought it.

“At first I was like, this can’t be our car,” she said. “This has got to be the wrong car.”

That new blemish was poised to cost Judd big time the car dealer told her.

“They would take it (the old car), but they lowered my trade-in value by $13,000.”

She did not want to lose her shirt over what seemed like a mistake, so Judd decided it was time to call the KSL Investigators.

According to its website, “CARFAX has billions of records received from thousands of sources across the U.S. and Canada.”

The KSL Investigators asked Carfax which one of those thousands of sources reported the major ding on Judd’s car?

“We do not share that,” said Emilie Voss of Carfax.

What she would share is that, yes, mistakes do happen. And they have a squad tasked with righting the wrongs.

“We have a team who that is their whole job, to investigate issues like this,” Voss explained.

Investigate Carfax did and just like that, some good news for Sloan Judd.

“In this case, it was information that this (car) had damage and it turned out that it didn’t have damage once we did look into it,” said Voss. “But it was a mistake made by one of the data sources.”

Carfax removed the damage report and with that now-clean Carfax report in hand, Judd traded in her old and got a fairer price.

Because mistakes do happen or because sometimes accidents happen but are never reported, it is always a good idea to have a mechanic look over any used car before you buy it.

KSL 5 TV Live

KSL Investigates

Matt Luers says the "No Soliciting" sign at his Sandy home is hard to miss, but solicitors continue...

Matt Gephardt & Sloan Schrage

What are the rules & your rights when ‘No Soliciting’ signs don’t keep salespeople at bay?

While many Utahns put up signs to keep solicitors from knocking on their doors, a man in Sandy says the knocks keep coming. He decided to Get Gephardt, who explores what those signs really mean.

11 months ago

Car driving...

Matt Gephardt

How you can lower your car insurance costs even as rates continue to climb

It would be a good time to double check with your insurance agent and make sure you are getting all the discounts available to you. Auto insurance rates are catching up with the costs of, well, everything that has gone up thanks to inflation.

11 months ago

For months, the KSL Investigators have examined why only a small fraction of reported sexual assaul...

Daniella Rivera and Keira Farrimond

The challenge of consent: Utah’s rape law & low prosecution rate

“Listen up,” Rayley Wadsworth pleaded with social media users in a video filmed inside a stationary car last month. “If you’re in Utah, or a woman in Utah, please listen for just a second.”

11 months ago

(KSL TV)...

Matt Gephardt and Cindy St. Clair

Layton woman struggles to claim money owed to her from her dissolved business

Utah's Unclaimed Property Division has millions of dollars that it wants to reconnect with the rightful owner. But for a Layton woman, getting her money back has been easier said than done. So she decided it was time to Get Gephardt.

11 months ago

Hopes that were lost as part of a land collapse. (KSL TV/Chopper 5)...

Mike Headrick and Cindy St. Clair

Draper City: Building laws make it hard to say ‘no’ to risky development

The question was posed to KSL Investigators — how could Draper City allow development on hazardous land? It turns out, saying “no” is a difficult option.

11 months ago

(KSL TV)...

Matt Gephardt and Sloan Schrage

Get Gephardt helps Utahn get refund for not-delivered TV

If you pay hundreds of dollars for a new TV, you expect to GET the TV. But when a West Jordan woman couldn't get her TV or a refund, it was time to Get Gephardt.

11 months ago

Sponsored Articles

Stack of old laptops with dark background...

PC Laptops

Old Laptop Upgrades You Need to Try Before Throwing it Away

Get the most out of your investment. Try these old laptop upgrades before throwing it out to keep it running fast and efficient.

Happy diverse college or university students are having fun on their graduation day...

BYU MBA at the Marriott School of Business

How to Choose What MBA Program is Right for You: Take this Quiz Before You Apply!

Wondering what MBA program is right for you? Take this quiz before you apply to see if it will help you meet your goals.

Close up of an offset printing machine during production...

Les Olson IT

Top 7 Reasons to Add a Production Printer to Your Business

Learn about the different digital production printers and how they can help your company save time and money.

vintage photo of lighting showroom featuring chandeliers, lamps, wall lights and mirrors...

Lighting Design

History of Lighting Design | Over 25 Years of Providing Utah With the Latest Trends and Styles

Read about the history of Lighting Design, a family-owned and operated business that paved the way for the lighting industry in Utah.

Fiber Optical cables connected to an optic ports and Network cables connected to ethernet ports...

Brian Huston, CE and Anthony Perkins, BICSI

Why Every Business Needs a Structured Cabling System

A structured cabling system benefits businesses by giving you faster processing speeds and making your network more efficient and reliable.

notebook with password notes highlighted...

PC Laptops

How to Create Strong Passwords You Can Actually Remember

Learn how you can create strong passwords that are actually easy to remember! In a short time you can create new ones in seconds.

What can you do when Carfax reports a crash that never happened on your car’s report?