Will Carfax reports work consistently here?

I will suggest bringing a mechanic with you if you're not knowledgeable to purchase a car. If the seller is honest, he won't mind you bringing someone to check the car with you. Even at a dealership. Carfax works mainly if the car is serviced at a dealership or authorized mechanic, unfortunately most people in the island will take their car to a local guy. Make sure the VIN number match, look under the hood and the door panel to make sure the car have original parts.  if the vehicle have aftermarket parts, wheels, or accessories make sure you get paperwork for it. Specially if you are buying an older car. If you get pull over and your car have stolen parts it will be confiscated.

Is there a way to tell if a speedometer is turned back? We have a great mechanic, but he also has a really busy shop, I don't see him traveling a couple of towns over to inspect a car, no matter what we pay him. I guess we'll stick with our checklist and go from there. Thanks for the tips!

Listen to the engine and the lifters, you can tell a lot by the noice or lack there off, take it for a spin, when driving at a good speed take hands of wheel and apply the brakes see if it stays straight or pulls to one side, drive at different speeds, feel how the car shifts. Smell for refrigerant inside and outside the car. Drive by a friend have them watch the tires, if they wobble, maybe a bad tire or rim. Many things to look for. Gun it and step on the brakes hard see how it does. Drive in reverse, see how it moves and listen to the transmission. Check for oil leaks from different areas of the engine, where the engine and transmission meet and underneath. Try all doors and windows. Try the airconditioner, wipers, emergency flashers, high beams against a wall to see if aligned, if weird, it maybe alignment or an accident causing the front on the car to be way out

Sawman, Yikes, good to know though, I'll have to do some further reading on that myself.

Rey, Thank you Rey, those are great tips! Just to clarify, last time we used a checklist but there were two major hidden items, the odometer and the ac.  We even had a recommended mechanic look at the car and he didn't spot them. Now that we have more time (we only had 3 days to purchase a car last time) and a good mechanic things should go much smoother. I guess I was just wishful thinking about having a Carfax report.

I never take a mechanic with me but I have a pretty good idea what to check for because I used to fix my old cars when I was in the military. I been known to take up to 6 cars for a spin from a single car dealer before I decide for one or walk away.

Now days they are more like computers than cars so it requires special equipment I do not have. But the mechanical parts can still be checked the old fashion way.