A CARFAX report shows a lot. It shows accident specifics, service history, and title information, all valuable things to know when buying a car. But your history report can’t reveal unreported fixes. Like this case of a 2021 Nissan Sentra with a questionable past, where mechanics found evidence of at least one impact and an unreported repair job. 

A customer brought in a ‘clunking, creaky’ 2021 Nissan Sentra with a hidden history

It didn’t take long for Sherwood and the team of mechanics at Royalty Auto Service in Georgia to find an issue with a 2021 Nissan Sentra. The owner had recently purchased the sedan and brought it in after noticing a “clunking, creaky noise on the right front.”

The CARFAX report said that the Nissan Sentra hadn’t had any impact at the front of the vehicle. The truth, however, was much, much worse. 

One of the mechanics pointed out a simple feature that could mean big trouble

Early on, Sherwood points out some hardware issues. In some cases, the hardware is mismatched, in others, the paint around the wells seems to have been scraped away or hastily repainted. In another part of the compartment, fasteners are missing altogether. Conclusion? Someone attempted repairs here that the CARFAX report simply doesn’t show.

Beyond fasteners and hardware, the mechanics point out panel gaps and inconsistencies in the paint. The wavy paint and panel gaps point to one thing: a repair job that didn’t return the Sentra to its OEM look. 

The ‘clunking, creaky noise’ at the passenger side front portion of the car was indicative of a troubling past

Sherwood quickly noted that, under the car tucked up into the wheel well, a bent bracket allowed an ABS cable to hang freely. Not ideal. He straightened the bracket out and reattached the cable. No issue there. But he also noted a used strut in place of a replacement OEM strut after a presumed wreck. Sherwood thinks one of the previous repair jobs involved replacing parts from the lower control arm and up. Extensive work.

The CARFAX report told a very different story

Now, the CARFAX report wasn’t entirely clean. The report showed minor damage. But nothing in the vicinity of the passenger-side front of the vehicle. Instead, the report showed a rear-end impact. Sure enough, Sherwood inspected the rear of the Nissan. The repair job was much more professional than the chaotic fix at the front. 

It’s certainly a case for the importance of a pre-purchase inspection (PPI). “It’s something you’d want to know about,” Sherwood said about the damage and the case for a PPI. “If you took this in for a pre-purchase, and the shop was able to see this, and say, ‘Hey, this has been damaged. Some repair work has been done on it,’” Sherwood said.

“Then you go back to the dealership, and then they would come off the price a little bit.” That PPI can save you big bucks in repairs and headaches. If nothing else, the dealership can declare the damage to other prospective buyers. “CARFAX is a great resource,” Sherwood said. “But don’t think it’s the end-all be-all. You still need to have a pre-purchase inspection.”

MotorBiscuit has reached out to Royalty Auto Service for comment via TikTok message.