Carfax Buyback Guarantee — What It Covers, and What It Doesn't.
The Buyback Guarantee pays out when a Carfax report missed a title brand a DMV had already issued. It does not cover accidents, it has a 30-day window and a 1-year deadline, and it caps the payment at 110% of Carfax's own value for the car. Here is every condition in the terms, in plain English.
See the Title Brands Before You Buy
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Quick Answer
- What is the Carfax Buyback Guarantee?
- A promise that Carfax may buy the car back if its report said the title was clean but a DMV had already branded it: salvage, junk, rebuilt, fire, flood, hail, lemon, not actual mileage or exceeds mechanical limits. It pays the lesser of what you paid and 110% of Carfax's value for the car.
- Does the Carfax Buyback Guarantee cover accidents?
- No. The guarantee is about title brands issued by a DMV. A car that was in an accident Carfax never heard about, but whose title was never branded, does not qualify.
- How do I make a claim?
- You need a Carfax report dated within 30 days before you bought the car, a brand issued at least 60 days before that report, and a claim filed within 1 year, with the claim form, your title, the report, the bill of sale and both sides of the branded title.
How a Buyback Guarantee claim works, in five steps
Every step has a date attached, and missing any one of them ends the claim. The order below is the order the terms check them in.
- 1A state brands the titleA DMV brands the car salvage, flood, lemon or one of the other listed brands. For the guarantee to apply later, that brand has to be at least 60 days old by the time the report is run.
- 2Carfax runs a report that misses itThe report says there is no branded title. It has to be dated before you buy the car, and no more than 30 days before.
- 3You buy the carYou pay a price and sign a bill of sale. Keep both, together with the report itself: all three are part of any claim.
- 4You find the brand and fileWithin 1 year of the report date, and while you still own the car, you send Carfax the claim form and the five documents the terms list.
- 5Carfax pays and you sign offIf the claim is valid, Carfax pays the lesser of the price and 110% of its value for the car. Accepting the payment releases Carfax from any other claim about that report.
The Nine Title Brands the Guarantee Covers
Carfax lists these as the DMV-issued brands the guarantee protects against. What they share is that a state wrote them on the title. That is the whole scope.
What the Buyback Guarantee Does Not Cover
The misunderstanding that fills the legal-advice threads ranking for this search goes like this: a buyer finds out the car was in an accident the Carfax report did not show, and assumes the guarantee applies. It does not. The guarantee is about a branded title Carfax missed, not about any history Carfax missed.
That leaves a lot outside it. A repaired crash, a flood car that was never branded, a rolled-back odometer the state never flagged, missing service history: none of these are brands, so none of them are claims. Even some brands are excluded by name, as the list alongside shows.
None of this makes the guarantee worthless. A missed salvage or lemon brand is among the most expensive surprises a buyer can have. It just means the guarantee is a narrow backstop, not a promise that the report is complete.
Outside the guarantee
- An accident with no brand. A repaired crash that never led to a branded title is outside the guarantee, however badly the car was hit.
- A salvage brand caused by theft. The terms exclude a title marked salvage because the car was stolen.
- A brand added without a new title. If a state added a brand to an existing title without reissuing it, that brand is excluded.
- A brand issued in error. A branded title the state issued by mistake does not count either.
- Older or non-car vehicles. The terms cover cars and light trucks with a model year no more than 20 years before the report.
Every Condition in the Terms
Read from the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee Terms and Conditions. The dates are where most claims live or die, so they come first.
Find the Brand Before It Becomes a Claim
A guarantee pays after the fact. Enter the VIN for a free preview of the records on file, then read the title brands and any insurance total loss before you sign.
How Much Carfax Actually Pays
“Buyback” suggests you get your money back. The terms say something narrower. The payment is the lesser of two numbers: the purchase price of the car, and 110% of the current Carfax History-Based Value.
The purchase price leaves out fees, taxes and anything sold alongside the car: warranties, insurance, reconditioning, accessories, parts and services. If you paid a lot more than Carfax thinks the car is worth, the 110% cap is what you get, not the price on your bill of sale.
The terms say the current History-Based Value, and it is Carfax's own figure, so a car that has lost value since you bought it may be capped lower than you expect.
A worked example
Hypothetical figures, to show the arithmetic only.
- Price paid$18,000
- Carfax value$15,000
- 110% of value$16,500
- Payment (the lesser)$16,500
What You Agree to When Carfax Pays
The payment comes with conditions of its own. They are worth reading before you accept, not after.
Any other claim over the report
Accepting a payment releases Carfax from every claim you have now or later about that report, including future Carfax reports on the same car.
Taxes on the payment
The terms make you responsible for any federal, state or local tax found to be due on the money.
The money, if the claim was wrong
If Carfax later finds you gave false or misleading information, the terms require you to pay the money back.
Where a dispute is heard
Any dispute is governed by Virginia law and heard in Fairfax County or the US District Court in Alexandria, wherever you live.
The Timing Gap Worth Knowing About
Two dates sit behind every claim, and together they leave a gap. The brand has to be at least 60 days old when the report is run. A brand issued in the last 60 days before the report is outside the guarantee, even if the report missed it.
The report also has to be recent: dated no more than 30 days before you bought the car. A report a dealer printed months ago and taped to the window does not count, however clean it looks. If the only report you have is old, run a new one before you sign.
Both rules point the same way in practice: the protection is strongest when you run the check yourself, close to the purchase, and read the physical title as well.
Carfax With a Guarantee vs Our Report Without One
We do not offer a buyback. What we offer instead is the records that show a brand before you buy.
A Carfax report
- Title brands, backed by the Buyback Guarantee
- Pays up to 110% of Carfax's value if a DMV brand was missed
- Guarantee needs the report run within 30 days of purchase
- Covers title brands only, not accidents or service history
- About $44.99 for a single report
Our full report
- Title brands as recorded, including salvage, junk, rebuilt and flood
- NMVTIS junk and salvage records, naming who reported the car
- Insurance total-loss records, which can exist with no brand
- No buyback guarantee: the brand and total-loss records are the protection
- $14.99 full report, or $9.00 each in a 10-pack
The insurance total-loss record matters here: the guarantee only covers brands, but an insurer can write a car off in a state that never brands it. Seeing that record before you buy is worth more than a claim you could not have made.
Related Checks and Guides
This page covers the guarantee. These cover the brands it is about and the history it leaves out.
Where These Facts Come From
Every condition on this page is read from Carfax's own published terms and help center, read on 26 September 2026. Carfax can change its terms, so check the current version before you rely on a date.
This page summarises published terms and is not legal advice. The Carfax price cited is the single-report price quoted by other providers when we last checked. CarCheckerVIN is not affiliated with Carfax.
Always check the VIN before you buy
The free preview shows title brands, theft status and open recalls in seconds, and flags whether accident and odometer records exist. The full history is $14.99 — one-time, no subscription.
Carfax Buyback Guarantee — Frequently Asked Questions
What the guarantee covers, how much it pays and how to claim.
What is the Carfax Buyback Guarantee?+
It protects buyers from unknowingly buying a car with a DMV-issued title brand that a Carfax report left out. The covered brands are salvage, junk, rebuilt, fire, flood, hail, lemon or manufacturer buyback, not actual mileage and exceeds mechanical limits. If a claim is valid, Carfax pays the lesser of the purchase price and 110% of its History-Based Value for the car.
Does the Carfax Buyback Guarantee cover accidents?+
No. It covers title brands issued by a DMV. An accident that never reached Carfax, on a car whose title was never branded, does not qualify. The guarantee also excludes salvage brands caused by theft, brands added to a title without reissuing it, and brands issued in error.
How much does Carfax pay under the Buyback Guarantee?+
The lesser of two figures: the purchase price of the car, not counting fees, taxes, warranties, insurance, reconditioning or accessories, and 110% of the current Carfax History-Based Value. If you paid well over Carfax's value, the payment is capped at 110% of that value.
How long do I have to file a Carfax Buyback Guarantee claim?+
One year from the date of the report. The report itself must be dated before you bought the car and no more than 30 days before, and the brand must have been issued at least 60 days before the report. You also need to still own the car when you file.
What documents does a Buyback Guarantee claim need?+
Five: the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee claim form, the current title issued to you, the Carfax report, your bill of sale, and copies of the front and back of the branded title.
Does my car qualify if the dealer gave me the Carfax report?+
The terms turn on the report's date, not on who paid for it: it must be dated before you bought the car and no more than 30 days before. The car must also be an automobile or light truck no more than 20 model years old at the report date.
What do I give up if Carfax pays a claim?+
Accepting the payment releases Carfax from any other claim about the report, including future Carfax reports on the car. You are responsible for any tax due on the payment, and you must repay it if Carfax finds the claim relied on false or misleading information.
Does CarCheckerVIN offer a buyback guarantee?+
No. Our full report, $14.99, lists title brands, the junk and salvage records reported to the federal NMVTIS system and insurance total-loss records, so you can see a brand and a total loss before you buy rather than claim afterwards.
Check a Title for Brands by VIN
Enter any 17-character VIN for a free preview. The full report lists title brands, NMVTIS junk and salvage records and insurance total-loss records in one place.
CarCheckerVIN is an independent vehicle-history service and is not affiliated with Carfax. Carfax and CARFAX Buyback Guarantee are trademarks of their respective owner and are referenced here for comparison only. CarCheckerVIN does not offer a buyback guarantee. Title records in our reports reflect what was reported to our data providers.
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