Carfax can make or break a vehicle's next stop

Perhaps the most important part of a high-mileage vehicle isn't anything within the car itself. It's the vehicle history report, which details the car's past with chronological data on mileage, repairs, recalls, accidents, number of owners, where the car has been registered, title issues and more. Dealers say the reports, which are offered by such vendors as Carfax and AutoCheck, are crucial in shaping their decisions regarding which high-mileage vehicles to offer for retail and which to send to auction. Scott Fredericks, 54, vice president of marketing for Carfax, spoke to Staff Reporter Richard Truett on the growing number of high-mileage vehicles being retailed by new-car dealers. Here are edited excerpts.