In my experience, CarFax misses some information, so take it with a grain of salt. It's best to confirm the information with your DMV. For instance, California's DMV has a website that provides smog check histories for a VIN/license plate number. This information can give you hints about where the car's been and how often it's been sold. Check the maintenance records. AAA might even be able to help. Finally, Volvoworld has a table that converts the VIN # into information about the particular car, eg engine type, year of manufacture, transmission, etc.