One of my co-workers lost her husband last year and for some reason keeps asking me for advice on purchasing used. Her current car is a money pit (1998 Mercedes S430).

She found a 2010 Cadillac CTS with 36K miles (vin# 1G6DN5EV3A0146241) but for some reason car is missing first 2 years of history on carfax. Does anyone have any idea why would first 2 year be just missing?

 

happens all the time.
clerical errors, etc.

carfax isnt the truth.
so, if its missing the first 2 years, who really cares?

its more important to see the latest histroy of the car.

so, if you can see general maintenance to when it was last traded, that's a good sign.

 

probably because nothing broke?

also, diy oil changes

 

Manufactured in 2010
First time registered in 2012

 

could be clerical error

or it could be that it really wasnt registered, ie; dealer loaner, dealer marketing car, etc.

it really doesnt matter at this point.
what matters is the latest history...and even then, carfax ISN'T the truth.

 

Go to or call a Cadillac dealer and have them run the VIN..

 

as a car guy, Acura-OC, i bet you can spot things that other people cant.

check out tires, making sure all tires are wearing even. check out if fluids have been changed and the general condition of wear and tear items.
look for orange peel and other obvious signs of re-paint.
you're looking for common used car pitfalls

 

I will help her look at the car during lunch hour. Will let you know how that goes.

 

Turns out car was in a rear end accident but looks clean and professionally repaired. Up to lady to make a decision.

 

what an awesome coworker

 

Got picture? not the car.

 

I went to go help a co-worker check out a car once during lunch.
2 hours later I got a stern ass whooping from my boss.

 

was your co worker at least a female?

 

Is it a Texas car?

 

She is 58 and I am 42.

She decided to take car to Cadillac dealership for pre purchase inspection.

 

Send photos of her to Whiskers.😉

 

CC me on it.

 

Carfax isn't a lie, it's just not always the whole truth. It's a nice nugget of information but you shouldn't put your whole purchase decision on what carfax says.

 

that's exactly what I said, no?

use carfax as a tool, not a bible.

 

She should upgrade to the W220 S class...much better than the one she has now.

 

No.

You said it wasn't the truth. That's the same as saying its a lie. When your aren't telling the truth what are you telling?

 

okay, so you knew what I meant.

 

lol has a money pit car....going to buy another money pit car?

I would have just done an Accord and call it a day.