Once you have the Carfax Report
First let me explain exactly what a Carfax report is. It is a report provided by CARFAX Inc., an online company which accesses a national automobile repair database. This report will provide you with a detailed vehicle history, indicating if this vehicle has ever been in a wreck or has had major mechanical repairs. If this car has never had any problems then the Carfax report will show that as well. Carfax reports do not always contain every problem the vehicle has encountered. The report only contains the repairs as entered by reputable repair facilities. Small-time repair shops usually do not enter repairs into the national repair tracking system. Regardless of this caveat, having a Carfax report is always better than not having one!
If this car has ever had any major body or mechanical work performed on it, then you need to thank the salesman for his time, and start making better use of your own time by heading off to check out vehicle number 2 on your list of possible candidates.
Again, be very cautious and don’t let the salesman move you over to another vehicle on HIS list. You are in charge, and you have two other places where you should be looking prior listening to a sales schpeel from this salesman.
It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to buy a car that has been wrecked or has had the transmission overhauled when you have other, very similar cars on your list of candidates that may be in excellent shape to go and look at.