A vehicle history report is worth pulling. It covers title, odometer readings and anything an insurer or the DMV reported. But it only knows what was sent to it, and a lot never is. Here is what the gaps look like, with the numbers behind them.
The short version
- Carfax says it: it does not have the complete history of every vehicle.
- About 6 in 10 damage-only crashes are never reported to police. No report, no record.
- 4 in 10 insured drivers who crash pay for the repair themselves. Most never tell their insurer.
- Some rental fleets do not send damage data to history reports at all.
- One in five cars on the road has an unfixed recall.
What a history report actually is
Carfax, AutoCheck and the rest are databases. They collect records from insurance companies, state motor vehicle departments, auction houses and repair shops that choose to participate. If an event produced one of those records, it can show up. If it did not, the report has no way to know. Carfax puts it plainly on its own site: “CARFAX does not have the complete history of every vehicle.” (Carfax, vehicle history page)
Crashes with no police report
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that about 60% of property-damage-only crashes are never reported to the police. About 19 million vehicles a year are damaged in crashes where nobody is hurt (NHTSA, The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2019 (Revised), Feb 2023). A parking-lot hit, a backed-into pole, a fender-bender both drivers settle on the spot: none of it reaches a database unless someone files a claim.
Repairs paid in cash
Many people do not file a claim even when they could. In a 2024 survey, 39% of insured drivers who had been in an accident said they bypassed insurance and paid for repairs themselves. Of those, 57% never told their insurer about the incident. The reasons were practical: the damage was minor, the deductible was higher than the bill, or they did not want their premium to go up (LendingTree, August 2024).
Carfax itself estimates that as many as 40% of vehicles on U.S. roads have some damage in their history, and that a reported accident lowers a car’s value by several hundred dollars on average (Carfax, March 2022). An unreported one lowers the price by nothing.
Fleet cars with no paper trail
Large rental companies insure themselves, so a damaged rental car often produces no insurance claim. When a Boston TV station found dozens of damaged former rental cars sold at auction with clean reports, Enterprise told them directly: “We don’t send damage information to Carfax” (CBS Boston I-Team, November 2018). A clean report on an ex-rental is not the same as a clean car.
Recalls that were never done
A history report may list a recall. It cannot tell you whether the owner ever took the car in. Carfax counted 58.1 million cars, one in five on the road, with an unfixed recall in January 2025 (Carfax, January 2025). Run the VIN yourself at nhtsa.gov/recalls, then ask the dealer about anything open.
The reason it was sold
No database records why a car was traded in. Was it a growing family, a new job, a lease that ended? Or a repair estimate the owner did not want to pay? That answer changes how you read everything else in the listing, and only one person has it.
Use both
Pull the history report. Check the title, the odometer readings and anything reported. Then fill the gaps the only way anyone can: ask the person who drove the car every day. Our team does that for you, and labels every finding Verified or Owner-reported so you know how solid it is.
Looking at a used car right now?
Our team finds the previous owner and asks them. Start a report in about two minutes.
Or call (813) 550-5077.