I found a deal on a 1993 850GLT in pretty good shape last week and ran a Car Fax report on the car. The car was in Hawaii, California, Wyoming, and Columbia for routine service at various Volvo dealerships. The report was clean regarding collision, immersion, painting, or anything else adverse.

When I got home and started looking doing a pre-maintenance inspection, I found a little overspray underneath. Yesterday while I was looking at the front of the car, the radiator suddenly starts leaking water from the side. This is with the engine off and the vehicle cold. I made a call back down to South Carolina to talk to the fellow that owned the shop where I picked the car up from (the owner dropped the title off so I didn't talk to him), and he told me that he had been told that the car had hit a deer in Wyoming a few years ago and tore off the front; hood fenders, grill, radiator, and suspension. The Volvo shop that did the repairs did not report them so Car Fax was useless to me. I only paid $450.00 for the car with the intention of cleaning it up and reselling it, but would have passed if I had the information.

I would caution anyone buying a used car (especially a "sweet" deal) to be a bit more thorough than I was with this one, and do not put much faith in the Car Fax.



Regards