montreal mike

You just bought a 2004 model car with 60,000 kms on the electronic odometer. Price was right and the mileage sounds reasonable. But what if were really 100,000 kms OR worse? I am of the understanding there are shady characters with special gizmos who can oblige for fee.

Some thirty years ago you got a mechanic to hook up a drill and leave it running for 24 hours to rewind the manual odometer.

Nowadays it is a matter of 15 minutes.

Or do you even care?

scrubbedexpat091

Its always a chance one takes when buying used. Its illegal in most areas (in US atleast) so you could always report the seller to the authorities.

montreal mike

I think you are correct for the US. I am pretty sure it is not legal in this country too. But how would you even know if the gauge was tampered with electronically?

mandymoochops

I suppose the only way would be to take a proper mechanic with you to give their opinion as to whether or not the mileage is in line with the apparent wear and tear on the engine / suspension etc.

This in itself is not altogether foolproof as you could have genuine mileage on a vehicle that has been ragged to death!

Other than that how else could you find out? If the seller is iffy about you checking it then alarm bells would ring

Steve_P

We could have some questions asked of us should we ever decide to sell Mrs_P's 1999 Toyota Corolla, it only has 74,000 kms on it.

Some tips to help figure out odometer fraud at the bottom of this page.

http://www.carfax.com/car_buying/odometer.cfx

montreal mike

My concern is the price paid. If the body is in good shape, only minor nicks and dents, no rust, etc. etc. then it could last for years.

But what irks me is paying top dollar and being duped.

montreal mike

Thanks steve .. good info .. but it raises even more questions than those I had in mind.

Brownstar

Only time will tell, you've bought the car now so why worry unless something is wrong now?

montreal mike

Good point, but can one tell beforehand? The link Steve posted suggests there are ways to tell. albeit limited, and this is useful info for a would be used car buyer.

Brownstar

Have you never bought a used car? There are many things you can look out for, things like a shiny steering wheel, heavily warn pedal rubbers, sagging seats can indicate high mileage.

montreal mike

Yes I have bought a fair number used over the years. Last brand new car was bought in 1980. I then decided against paying for new car. Never had any major problems or nasty surprises. And I know there are tell tale signs as you suggest.

I was just interested whether odometer tampering, suspected or actual, was something that posters here were concerned with or was it just another one of the risks we all face.

Canada2006

We've bought a couple of used cars with odos around 60 000km. From the general state of the cars they seem still in good condition so I think the reading is right.

We always buy from mainstream dealers too so hoping that gives some more credibility to the vehicle...

Canada2006

What did you buy BTW?

4d32ftw

look at things around the car that may suggest its right or wrong.

look at the seats are they worn? are the bolsters still in shape ?
are the pedals worn, is the steering wheel worn, what shape is the material on the seat belt like as it can fray over repeated use. its the small things that don't get changed that can give it away.

altering a digital odometer can take 30 seconds.

i'd always ask for recipts to show any service records so you can match them up.

geedee

I bought my car from a main dealer of the marque I was buying. It was nearly 5 years old and had 100k on it, but came with a 2 year / 40k full warranty.

As it had always been dealer serviced, they pulled up every single record from the central database from when it was new. I had a record of everything done to the car, and the mileage at the time, so I was able to see if there were any oddities. Now that's a Full Service History (a la the UK)!

So, smug as I am, it went out of warranty 3k ago (I put 40k on it in just over a year).... and the bloody thermostat went! 1500 bucks, thank you very much... ching ching.

The moral is buy one with a full service history. I know not many cars seem to have them here, but that's due to the public's apathy.