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OPINION: CARFAX is extorting my dealership

You have a law degree we don't know about Yago?

No but my father was, so my 2 grand fathers, and 3 of my uncles that I grew up with. I did spent some time in court when I was growing up watching some of their cases.

Now to all seriousness, a system that tracks my personal property and possible reports to the government what I do on my private time?

I don't think I need to be a lawyer to get that case won.
 
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There are independent shops I'm sure would spend the money to be in that game (my dad works at one). I can see both sides of the coin, and most late model cars record more information than many realize-it's just not long term memory.

My question is- Would it actually lend credibility to the dealer? CarFax has built a brand-and done a great got of it. As a 3rd party site the public sees them as more trustworthy than a dealer. There are those in the general public that think there are 5+ invoices and, as I've noted before, that a new Viper only costs the dealer $16k. Why would they believe a report our techs pull?

Sadly, the past actions of dealers (and some continuing) have left us in a hole. For now we are left to pay other companies viewed as "above the dirt" to lend credit as we try to build our own.
 
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.
 


hmmm... I think they are preparing to blackmail the employees at this dealership. "We have video of your husband dancing with a fox." ;)

(Disclaimer: This post is intended to bring comic relief only, no opinion being offered or insinuated)