CENTREVILLE, Va. -

Car shoppers who use the Facebook app now have access to free Carfax reports through a new integration between Carfax and Facebook Marketplace.

The Carfax reports are provided by select dealers on their inventory as a result of the new integration, which Carfax says will mean buyers have more transparency and confidence when they shop for their next used car.

In other Carfax news, a new insurance total loss valuation service is now available through CarfaxForClaims.com, which is the company’s claims-centric web portal.

Regarding the Carfax/Facebook Marketplace integration, A free Carfax Vehicle History Report is visible to users whenever a Facebook Marketplace inventory provider who is also partnered with Carfax posts a dealer’s vehicles. Also, car buyers on Facebook Marketplace can filter search results by details shown in the Carfax Vehicle History Report.

For each listing with Carfax Snapshot, the most important vehicle history features for each listing are viewable for those in the market for a used car. With this feature, users can get quick details on a given vehicle's history, and that is available without the need to access the full Vehicle History Report.

In addition to the ability to include data points such as any reported accidents, damage and damage severity information, Carfax Snapshot can also provide open recall data, the last reported odometer reading and the type of vehicle use. Personal, fleet or rental are examples of type of vehicle use.

Carfax Snapshot can also provide a vehicle's number of owners and reported service history, and in addition, it can provide unique indicators for well-maintained and certified pre-owned vehicles. 

Whenever they see Carfax Snapshot in the vehicle listing, car buyers will be able to click and view a full Vehicle History Report.

Regarding the Carfax insurance total loss valuation service, Carfax said total loss adjusters, using Carfax’s VIN-specific History-Based Value, can determine a vehicle’s unique pre-accident value. Carfax says it uses pricing data from millions of used car listings and combines that with unique trim and options, mileage, condition, and location of each vehicle, along with hundreds of additional attributes coming from Carfax’s vehicle history database.

Global insurance executive and consultant Peter LaPlaca said in a news release that the existing practice of valuing a total loss vehicle based on the values of a few comparable vehicles is “fraught with subjectivity.”

“Furthermore, it does not consider the unique history of a vehicle and the impact of that history on the vehicle’s value,” LaPlaca said.

Carfax says it is helping to reduce this subjectivity. The company says it is also helping to increase accuracy in the total loss valuation process. The Carfax Total Loss Valuation report provides the loss vehicle’s value and history, and it includes information on comparable vehicles available for sale in the used car marketplace. The report selects these comparable vehicles from the millions of used cars seen on Carfax Used Car Listings (carfax.com/cars-for-sale). Presented in a side-by-side comparison, each comparable vehicle is based on similar year, make, model, trim, options, location, mileage and vehicle history.

 Carfax Banking & Insurance Group general manager David Lackey said that at the time that a consumer experiences a total loss, that consumer wants confidence that the insurance company is making him or her whole. He said the consumer wants to be sure he or she can “realistically purchase a replacement vehicle with their settlement.”

“The Carfax Total Loss Valuation Report presents a fair and trusted vehicle valuation that helps close total loss claims faster for the benefit of both the insurance company and the claimant,” Lackey said.