Why does my car report an accident.Fairfax report no accidents

Carfax is based on volunteered info, so it's possible a car can be in an accident and not reported by them. Carfax may not report accidents under $3K in damages, and some of their info is based on data mined from insurance and car repair estimating software, which some companies may disable. Look at it this way - if they report an accident, it's a good bet that it's true. If they don't report an accident, then it only means one hasn't been reported, but it's no guarantee one hasn't happened to this car. Using more than one such service is sure to uncover past accident reports.

Any accident, of any dollar amount, in which the damages are paid for in cash and not reported to insurance will not appear on a CarFax or any other vehicle history. This is why a vehicle history report is a great tool to have, but only in addition to a mechanic's visual inspection or your own if you have the skill set.