Driveway and CARFAX: Free Report, 7-Day Return and What to Check

Driveway says it offers the CARFAX report for every used car it sells, so you should be able to read the history before you ever click buy. Used cars priced under $100,000 also come with a 7-day/400-mile money-back guarantee, counted from the day the car reaches you. The surprises tend to be elsewhere: shipping fees are not refunded on a return, and the 60-day limited warranty leaves out every battery, hybrid and EV packs included, plus whole brands like Tesla and Rivian.

Driveway is the online store of Lithia Motors, which now brands itself Lithia & Driveway and, per its corporate site, lists more than 100,000 vehicles from a network of 450+ locations across the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Its July 29, 2026 earnings release calls the company the largest global automotive retailer and reports record originations of $884 million at its in-house finance arm for the quarter, so the loan offered at checkout may well be Lithia's own. Get an outside quote from your bank or credit union to compare. We read Driveway's FAQ and buying guides on October 15, 2026. Its site turns away command-line requests, so we could not link those pages for you below; we quote them as written and name each one in the sources. If you are reading this months from now, recheck the numbers, because return terms have a way of changing quietly.

What history report Driveway shows you

Driveway's used-car buying guide puts it in one line: "Driveway offers the CARFAX report for every used car we sell." Its pricing FAQ adds that it checks values against CARFAX, AutoCheck, NADA and Black Book before listing a car, and that prices are not negotiable. So you get CARFAX's version of the car's life, the same brand our Carvana report policy post covers, and you can compare it against the CARFAX report format CARFAX publishes so you know which sections to expect.

Look hard at where the car came from. With inventory drawn from hundreds of stores, the listing in front of you might be a one-owner local trade or a car sitting on a lot three states away. The ownership rows, the registration states and the odometer readings tell you which. A gap of a year with no mileage entries is worth one polite email before you order.

The 7-day/400-mile guarantee, in full

The money-back FAQ splits cars into three groups. A pre-owned car priced under $100,000 gets 7 days or 400 miles, whichever comes first. A pre-owned car at $100,000 or more, and any new car, gets 4 days or 50 miles. The clock starts the day you receive the car, and Driveway has to hear from you by 5 p.m. Eastern on the last day. Shipping fees tied to the purchase are not refunded. Driveway will refuse the return if you go over the miles, or if the car has been damaged, in an accident, modified, or picks up a new lien beyond Driveway's own financing.

Four hundred miles is a workable cushion for a test commute and a trip to your own mechanic. If you remember online sellers that have come and gone, our Vroom history policy post is a reminder to save the report and verify the VIN at delivery no matter whose site you bought from. Also, that 5 p.m. Eastern deadline lands at 2 p.m. for anyone on the West Coast, which is exactly the kind of detail people miss on day seven. Book an independent pre-purchase inspection for day one or two, while there is still time to act on what the mechanic finds.

The warranty excludes more than you would guess

Used cars under 80,000 miles qualify for a 60-day/3,000-mile limited warranty, per Driveway's limited-warranty FAQ. It is exclusionary coverage with no deductible, which sounds generous until you read the list. Every battery is excluded, hybrid and electric packs included. So are brake pads and rotors, shocks, the exhaust and catalytic converter, glass, trim and body panels. Maserati, Rivian, Tesla, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Bentley and Lotus are left out entirely, as are commercial-use vehicles and anything that was totaled or salvaged. You also have to get an authorization number from Driveway before a shop starts diagnosis, or the claim can die right there.

For a used EV, that means the most expensive part on the car gets nothing from Driveway. Lean on whatever factory battery warranty remains, and confirm it transfers with the VIN.

Delivery, registration and out-of-state titles

Driveway says its team registers the car with your DMV in most states, Nevada being the exception, where you handle it yourself. It also warns that some states require a car delivered there to be registered there, so it may refuse delivery to a state where you neither live nor work. If you are buying across state lines, our guide to out-of-state title transfers explains which out-of-state title lines are routine and which pattern points to title washing.

What to check yourself

Decode the VIN with NHTSA's vPIC decoder to make sure the year, engine and trim match the listing, look up open recalls by VIN, and run the title through NMVTIS. When the car arrives, match the VIN on the dash and door jamb to the paperwork. And read the CARFAX inside your Driveway account, not a screenshot or forwarded PDF; doctored files are cheap to make.

If you want an AutoCheck beside Driveway's CARFAX, the kind of side-by-side our Carvana vs. CarMax report comparison walks through, we sell both as a licensed reseller with no affiliation to CARFAX, AutoCheck or Experian. Guests pay around $5.50, members about $4.50, and a bundle sits near $6.75, against $39.99 to $44.99 at retail. Confirm at checkout, since pricing does change.

Sources

• Lithia & Driveway corporate site
• Lithia & Driveway second quarter 2026 results (July 29, 2026)
• CARFAX Vehicle History Reports
• NHTSA vPIC VIN decoder
• NMVTIS, U.S. Department of Justice
• Driveway FAQ: money-back guarantee terms, limited warranty FAQ, registration and delivery answers, price negotiation answer; Driveway Learn: What to Look for When Buying a Used Car (driveway.com, read Oct 15, 2026)