Kelly, I have been in the business for decades. I worked for a dealer that spent huge amounts on TV advertising to improve our image. Our average salesperson had been there over 10 years. You can't find a store with a better culture to produce a high CSI. With all of this, everyone still thought it was a den of theives. Early on, I had high expectations that the internet might change people's perspective. It hasn't. As long as automobiles are a negotiated item, it isn't going to change.
To make matters worse, you have a large segment of the population that believe profit is a four letter word.
As far as CarFax, I think that they are pricing themselves out of the market. Dealers that use AutoCheck, are not losing business. It is more accurate. Uncle Joe used it without any problems. As I said, earlier, I have been burned with CarFax at the action. I had a clean CarFax report and AutoCheck showed a wreck. I ended up with the car back and this was a certified vehicle. It has happened more that once. I bought a couple of flood damaged cars that were perfect in both CarFax and AutoCheck. They had rusted seat hardware and a water line when you pulled the door panels.