One of the better indicators about Carfax is their car buying protocol. They will only offer slightly lower than what they could get your car at an auto auction. The car I was selling was worth around 22k, they offered 16500. I decided to list it on car.com instead. Sold it for 21500 cash a week later direct to someone.

The way I look at it is that they make their money. The have built up this no haggle price bs and marketed it well. Most of their cars are baseline models with few exceptions, but you end up paying for the upper level models. Just do your due diligence no matter who you guy your car from.

Also, I would look locally, take notes, and search regionally. Usually you can haggle with dealerships across the SE, find a deal and spend a Friday picking it up from say Dallas or Atlanta. Could save thousands by never going into the dealer, and make them negotiate over the phone. Just search reddit.com for car buying advice. Those guys have figured it out.