Car buyer urges caution on vehicle history reports

An experience with a Winnipeg car dealership has a Calgary couple warning the public not to rely on vehicle history reports that were supplied by other people.

Lisa Hargreaves says Haber Suzuki provided her a Carfax report saying the vehicle she wanted to buy had never been in an accident.

Months later, after the vehicle started to have problems, she discovered the vehicle had indeed been in a collision.

Hargreaves said the Winnipeg-based dealership told her they didn't know about the accident at the time of the sale.

"I feel betrayed by the dealership," she told CBC Newsfrom her Calgary home.

Report obtained from vendor

The owner of Haber Suzuki told CBC News his dealership got the Carfax report from the previous vendor when the vehicle was purchased at an auto auction in the United States.

Ben Haber acknowledges he replaced the original name on the Carfax report with that of his own dealership, but that is all.

Hargreaves and her husband, Darrel Hargreaves, had been searching car lots in Calgary last year, then turned to online ads in their quest to find the specific vehicle they wanted to buy: a Honda Odyssey van.

They found one with the options they wantedand at a competitive price on Haber Suzuki's car lot in Winnipeg.

Darrel Hargreaves flew to Winnipeg last October to complete the transaction, but only after they say they had received assurances that the van was in good shape and had not been in an accident.

'Absolutely clean'

An email from the salesperson described the vehicle as "absolutely clean."

"We're not going out there if this has been in an accident. Is there any way you can supply us with a Carfax or anything?'" Darrel Hargreaves recalled asking the dealership before he flew to Winnipeg.

"They said, 'We'll send you a Carfax.' So we looked it over. It had been in no accidents, so we said, 'We're good to go,'" he said.

The couple agreed to pay Haber Suzuki $29,500 plus a $399 administration fee for the 2009 Odyssey.

They drove the van through last winter, but around February it started to show problems.

Van made noises at turns

The couple said they noticed paint was peeling on the front bumper, and the van made a "clunking" noise on right turns.

So they took the vehicle to a Honda dealership in Calgary, where they were told the van shows signs of an accident and should be examined by an auto body specialist.

"I took it down to the auto body shop, and the guy took one look at it and said, 'For sure it's been in an accident,'" Lisa Hargreaves recalled.

She said the body shop told her there were signs of damage to the front end, the hood, the front bumper, and other places.

CBC News obtained an accident report from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles that confirms the van had been in a collision with another vehicle on Sept. 14, 2010.

Accident recorded in 2010

Carfax states it has had that accident in its records since Dec. 2, 2010, and it would have displayed that information in any reports generated about that vehicle since that date.

But the Carfax report the Hargreaves said they received from the dealership listed no accidents and was dated July 29, 2011five days after the vehicle was sold at auction.

In a statement to CBC News, Haber Motors states, "The Honda Odyssey was purchased by Haber Motors Inc. under the express representation that it was not involved in any major accidents and did not have any mechanical fault."

Ben Haber said he does not know why the information in the Carfax report he got from the previous vendor did not include the accident.

Haber said he was just passing along the Carfax report that came with the car from the U.S. auction.

Money refunded

After weeks of negotiation, Haber agreed to refund the Hargreaves' money in full and compensate them for various expenses incurred in flying to Winnipeg and buying the vehicle.

In his statement, Haber said the van has undergone three inspections since it was brought back to Winnipeg.

An inspection by his own garage concluded the vehicle had been in no major accidents.

He said an inspection by Colormelt Inc. found the van, "with exception to a few minor cosmetic issues, was reported as being in excellent condition with no indication of any major work being done to it previously."

And the statement said an inspection by "Winnipeg Honda reveals that no leaks or damage were found on the vehicle's undercarriage."

Haber provided CBC News with copies of the inspection reports by Colormelt and Winnipeg Honda, but has not provided a copy of the original Carfax report the dealership says it received when it acquired the vehicle.

The couple said they are glad to have their money back from the purchase, but Lisa Hargreaves said that does not erase the aggravation they have endured and the time they had to spend dealing with the issue.

"Do your own Carfax. Don't take the dealership's word for the Carfax," Darrel Hargreaves said.

Haber said his dealership does not rely on vendor-supplied Carfax reports anymore.

Related documents

The following document is the Carfax report for the 2009 Honda Odyssey that Darrel and Lisa Hargreaves obtained from Haber Suzuki in July 2011:

The following document is the Carfax report for the van, obtained by CBC News independently earlier this month:

The following is Haber Suzuki's response to CBC News. The dealership provided inspection reports from Colormelt Inc. and Winnipeg Honda: