Go to AutoDetailing

r/AutoDetailing•5 mo. ago

TheresJustNoMoney

Why don't auto detail services ever show up on a CarFax?

General Discussion

That would show future owners how well-taken care of the vehicle was by a previous owner.

I looked at my previous car's CarFax and didn't see any of the times I had it professionally detailed for $300 after tip.

 

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[–]football2106Experienced 6 points 5 months ago 

You expect every detailer to upload every job they do to carfax? Does a potential buyer need to know every time a car’s been vacuumed?

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[–]TheresJustNoMoney[S] -9 points 5 months ago 

Well, if they were paid $300 for a deluxe comprehensive detail.

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[–]football2106Experienced 5 points 5 months ago 

$300 is hardly “deluxe”. A wash and wax lasts about 3 months. Putting that on a report means nothing a year down the road. Same goes for an interior detail. That can be ruined within a week if the owner regularly has kids and pets in the car.

The only stuff worth having on a Carfax would be a ceramic coating application and/or PPF since those services actually offer long-term value and protection for the vehicle, doubly so for PPF. Wanting anything else is a waste of time to the detailer and is irrelevant to the buyer.

“Oh good it got vacuumed in July of 2019” who cares?

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[–]Amethyst_Deceiver832 1 point 5 months ago 

Listen pal, Id love to give you another $1000 for your trade but you haven't vacuumed the thing since 2019. Im looking at the average auction prices and we're already losing money on this deal as is and I still gotta pay the guys the back to do 6 years worth of vacuuming on this thing.

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[–]tat21985 3 points 5 months ago 

I view it as akin to a bathroom reno in your house. Yes, it looks great and provides better function for you, but its also the least valuable part of a reno for a potential buyer. From a newbie to the mobile detailers, we are a rare breed when it comes to our vehicles, maybe 5% of the general population.

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[–]T3dd4 2 points 5 months ago 

Carfax most likely has an api integration connected to the dealer's CMS. Remember how a few years ago a bunch of hackers broke into CDK and halted a bunch of dealers nation wide from doing their job, yea that software system that runs a dealer. Not saying that software is not safe, but it's certainly not cheap, you need a good amount of revenue to make it worth it. 

Dealers do this because it cost nothing for them, no additional input from them. You are asking a detailer to manually log in a system, manually enter info, taking a good amount of time, for zero benefit on their end. A detailer most likely aren't running a system like a service department, but more likely a simpler invoicing system. 

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[–]CoatingsbytheBayBusiness Owner 0 points 5 months ago 

It's rather simple to have it show up on Carfax (like very simple nowadays)

Lazy detailer is your answer unfortunately

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[–]MakersMoe 1 point 5 months ago 

some details do show, like detailing done by a dealership (if you can call it that lol)

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