r/askcarsales • u/vehicularplain • 2d ago
US Sale Carfax "accident" but no damage
I am currently trying to sell my car private party. I was informed today by a potential buyer that when they ran it through Carfax it shows an accident/damage reported. I decided to run the Carfax myself and sure enough it says Accident - Damage reported. Roughly a year ago I was waiting to turn right at an intersection. I was looking to my left and stepped off the brake to roll forward prior to turning. Unknowingly there was a cyclist in front of me crossing the road that I bumped into. There was no damage to the car as I was only going 2 to 3 mph and the cyclist left. I notified the police because I wasn't quite sure what to do and I did tell the officer there was no damage to my vehicle. Turns out they filed a accident report and that is now what is showing up on Carfax. I did call the police department and confirmed with them there was no damage reported and the details of the incident. Is there a way to get this corrected on Carfax and if so what are my chances of actually succeeding in that.
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u/DavefromCA Former Sales 2d ago
Just tell the buyer the truth "there was no damage." Have documents ready. They may use it as a negotiating tactic, but if its a somewhat in demand car, just move to the next buyer. Are you sure there was zero damage? Not even a scratch?
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u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Thanks for posting, /u/vehicularplain! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of anything.
I am currently trying to sell my car private party. I was informed today by a potential buyer that when they ran it through Carfax it shows an accident/damage reported. I decided to run the Carfax myself and sure enough it says Accident - Damage reported. Roughly a year ago I was waiting to turn right at an intersection. I was looking to my left and stepped off the brake to roll forward prior to turning. Unknowingly there was a cyclist in front of me crossing the road that I bumped into. There was no damage to the car as I was only going 2 to 3 mph and the cyclist left. I notified the police because I wasn't quite sure what to do and I did tell the officer there was no damage to my vehicle. Turns out they filed a accident report and that is now what is showing up on Carfax. I did call the police department and confirmed with them there was no damage reported and the details of the incident. Is there a way to get this corrected on Carfax and if so what are my chances of actually succeeding in that.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
5
u/vpm112 Toyota Finance Manager 2d ago
There is a process where you can appeal a record to Carfax for removal, however, in my experience, you probably will lose because this event was posted properly as reported to them from the police report.
You can always get a copy of the police report and have that available to show prospective buyers that there actually was no damage as a result of the incident.