CARFAX perform a useful service, but they only display what was reported to them. Inspect anything you are considering thoroughly because there are many, many repaired wrecks which have no history. One way to check is crawl under the vehicle and use a bright light to look for repairs, areas with aftermarket coating which doesn't match the rest, etc.

 

A lot of great ideas on this thread. (Well except one, you know who you are lol). I have the old school light on a reel. Burns way too hot, never pointed n the correct direction and lucky if I go a month before I find a way to bust an old school rough service bulb that isn't easy to find anyway. I am going to try one of the new LEDs and a headlamp sounds like a good kicker.

 

How did we make this huge left turn talking about CarFax help to shop lights?

 

when looking at a used car or truck, i always bring a refrigerator magnet. put it on fenders and other places on the body. if it sticks, it is metal, if it don't stick, there is a lot of body filler in there from a repair to hide damage.
unless of course it is a plastic or fiberglass panel.

 

That's good advice and certainly reveals a lot of poor body repair if any had been performed.

I've almost always crawled under any vehicle under consideration to buy---can see a lot of "hidden" things that way. I don't take a rough service light with me though---have a trusted flashlight instead. Also looking under the hood just a bit more thoroughly than just what we can see with the hood open can reveal some things helping the decision to buy or pass.

And as said CarFax etc only shows public records of damage or repairs if they're reported. Its possible severe damage never making its way into any sort or searchable data bases for auto repairs.

 

​​​​​​... or aluminum.