understanding car fax

Why are you even still considering this car? One major accident is enough.

No matter how enticing the price is, keep in mind that the car has been fixed by third-parties and it's not going to be anywhere near how it came out of the factory. Whatever you save on this you'll probably pay long-term in maintenance and other hidden costs.

It depends on the manufacturers. From what I've read over the years, I'd say no.

Also when they deploy it's an obvious metric that the accident is noteworthy, but if they didn't deploy you can't really infer much since it could have been the case where they were simply not triggered by the circumstances of the accident.

sero wroteThanks for the suggestion, I am fully aware of the concerns you mentioned.
However how come the car was in a "major" accident and the carfax shows air bags were not deployed?
Do airbags deploy if the car is not started?

Generally speaking, air bags do not deploy if the car is hit while parked and unoccupied. It generally needs the ignition switch to be turned on, and it the case of the passenger side air bags,,needs to sense that someone is occupying the seat. So, the car could have been hit while parked and more or less totaled (ie the cost to fix it exceeds the vehicle value or loan outstanding). Since you are set on buying it, get another set of eyes on it and make sure there is no damage to the underside or other parts that may compromise the structure of the car. You should also check the gaps around the hood, doors and trunk and make sure they are consistent all the way through. Since you saw a picture of the car getting hit from behind, make sure everything is fixed properly--iow, not the lebanese way.

That being said, if everything doesn't check out given what you know, walk away and look for another car, or get a better deal on the car.

sero wroteHello

I am planning to buy a used car and I have one in mind. I got the car's carfax and I have some questions.
carfax link: https://www.scribd.com/document/369501971/Carfax

In the history section I can see a "Total Loss reported" for owners 1-2, a severe damage for owner 3 and a severe damage for owner 4.
does this mean the car was in multiple accidents (3 severe accidents to which one of them was a total loss)?

I am asking this because in the detail History, I can only see 1 Damage Report on 01/14/2016 for owner 2

The car dealer (relative of mine) said that the car was in a rear-end accident, and showed me the car's images before shipping to Lebanon. The accident is not severe and slightly damaged the rear-end only.

Would you recommend this car?
Did it have 1 total loss accident? or 3 accidents?

01/14/2016 Total Loss
Basically the car got into an accident here and the insurance company paid the claim on it rather than fixing it. The car was probably sold by the insurance company to an auction.

02/24/2016 Salvage Title/Certificate Issued
A salvage title car has been substantially damaged (usually in an accident), deemed a total loss by the owner’s insurance company, and had its title “branded” as a salvage. So here, the department of motor vehicle in the US changed the title of the car to Salvage since it was reported as a total loss by the insurance company.

10/13/2016 Rebuilt Title
Once a vehicle is fixed after earning a salvage title, it's given a rebuilt title. In most cases, a rebuilt title is only provided after the car has been fixed and inspected by the state or jurisdiction that issues titles. So here, the car was repaired and inspected and got a rebuilt title.

10/24/2016 Salvage Title/Certificate Issued
The car got into another serious accident here just like above. It was probably sold at an auction again.

12/2/2016 Rebuilt Title
Same as above. It got repaired and inspected again and got a new rebuilt title.

So yes the car was in multiple accidents. If you post the car's VIN, I may be able to get you all the pictures of the accidents.

Maybe what you were shown were the pictures of the last accident, but not the first one.

Man ... It had 3 owners before ! Why would they even sell a "good car"?

The first one totaled it
The second one totaled it
The third one threw it away because it wasn't worth fixing anymore.

Don't do it. The price is too good for a reason! I won't even get in that car and drive over 50.

Look in the gulf countries around us for good deals on Benz.