I am trying to buy a used car, i am just curious

on the carfax report it says it was registered in Houston all its life.

its only these dates that the mileage was shown on carfax report

11-26-06 = 26 miles
11-12-09 = 4,000 miles
7-31-2013 = 4,610 miles

then on 8-1-13 dealer inventory Vehicle offered for sale


all other report says:

Texas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Houston, TX
Title #xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Registration issued or renewed
Loan or lien reported
Passed safety inspection

my question is how come those are the only dates that the odometer miles
were put in the carfax, all other just say registered on dates mentioned above and did not put the mileage?

 

CarFax is another work of genius. (Dealers): how can we invent a system by which potential buyers think they are getting important information about a car, but in reality, are not?
Welcome to CarFax. Information posted on CarFax is primarily done when someone brings their car into a nationwide chain repair shop, or has some kind of interaction with DMV. Accidents don't even get reported to CarFax unless there is a police report in many cases.
Rules of used car buying:
1. never buy a car from a dealer. They just bought the car from the person you should have bought the car from in the first place and have now marked the car up $4,000 just for you. The dealer knows NOTHING about the used car they are selling you, such as the history or how well the car was taken care of.
2. find a local seller and buy the car from a person you can look straight in the eye and ask lots of questions about the car. You'll know when they are telling the truth.
3. have any car you are thinking of buying, inspected by your mechanic.
4. do not rely on CarFax. It is about as reliable as Ye Old Farmers Almanac. It is for entertainment purposes only.

 

I'd question why only 4,600 miles in 7 years (600 in the past 4). That's weird. I'd ask for service receipts; if it wasn't maintained yearly, even with low miles, that could be a problem.

You can separate a lot of crap cars from possible candidates by using carfax. It helps filter the search, but don't rely on it as BurntZ suggests. Major repairs will be "off the radar" when done by a dealer, perhaps on a trade. ++ for getting it inspected before buying, the $100+/- you spend is well worth it.