I've never used Carfax before so I'd appreciate some pointers when viewing reports. What are some of the more subtle keys, if any, that might mean "stay away from this car"?

I think I can interpret the obvious flags like accidents and flood damage, but are there things the uneducated (me) might not be aware of that could mean big problems down the road?

Thanks loads.

 

One thing is if there is more than a year missing in the history, more research is needed.

 

CarFax only reports what is reported to them, says so in their disclaimer. That means that lots of stuff could have happened that is not on the report. I looked at an XK8 with a perfectly clean report, no missing periods, but you only had to lift the spare tire cover to see that major sheet metal repairs had been done . . . poorly.

 

Any discrepancies in mileage,ie, a lower mileage later than an earlier higher mileage report.

Cars that might have been in a flood. Look at the vehicle location to see if it might have been in a flooding location. TN, KY, New Orleans come to mind but there others.