Signs of the possible odometer fraud
Odometer rollback and used car market
Even though it's illegal, odometer fraud continues to be a serious issue.
According to the 2002 NHTSA estimate, more than 450,000 vehicles are sold each year in US with false odometer readings.
I personally have seen a number of used vehicles with possibly rolled back odometers. Not too long ago, I came across the truck with a very low mileage, sold at a small used car lot. A closer inspection showed many indications of an excessive use. The history report revealed that the truck came from another state and its previously recorded mileage was in fact higher.
Modern cars are equipped with an electronic odometers, which was supposed to make the tampering with the mileage more difficult.
It turns out, however, that electronic odometers can be rolled back too with a special software.
So how can you actually find out if the odometer shows the true mileage? Of course, it's difficult to know for certain, but there are signs to watch for. Read on.
Check the car history records
Check the used car history report. If you want to pay seven or eight thousand dollars for a used car, it's worth to pay for a VIN history report. Aside from odometer rollbacks, a history report may contain another information about the car's past, such as flood damage, reported accidents, rental use, etc. Visit How to check used car history to learn more.
Check the condition of the interior
Check the driver's seat, steering wheel, driver's inner door handle, power window control buttons and the pedals for excessive wear. If you already looked at a few used cars of the same model, it's easy to notice.
If the driver's seat in car with 40K looks like the one in the photo, and you just saw another same-model vehicle with 70K with the driver's seat in much better condition, something looks fishy. |
This is how the steering wheel looks like in a car with 160,000 miles or 260,000 km. |
Look for oil change stickers
Look for oil change stickers, like the one in the photo. Usually an oil change sticker contains a recommended mileage or date when the next oil change is due. Typically oil changes are recommended every three months or 3,500 miles / 6,000 kilometers or so. Check the maintenance book for previous service records with dates and mileage. |
Under the hood
Look for stickers under the hood. If the air conditioning system has been serviced, there should be a paper record with the date and mileage placed somewhere under the hood or wrapped around some of the sir conditioner lines.
If the timing belt has been replaced, there might be a sticker that states when and at what mileage the timing belt has been replaced (see the photo). Some time ago, I came across the 1998 Camry with 124,000 km (77,000 miles) at one of the used car lots. I found the sticker on the engine showing that the timing belt has been replaced three years ago, according to the date, and the mileage at that time was 115,000 km (72,000 miles). Is it possible that for three years a car was only driven for 9,000 kilometers (5,500 miles)?
Check the tires
Look closely at the tires. Tires usually last between 30,000 and 50,000 miles (50,000 to 80,000 km). If you look at the tire sidewall, you can find a DOT mark that confirms that the tire meets the US Department of Transportation tire safety standards. The last four numbers of the DOT mark show the week and year the tire was produced. See the photo. This tire in the photo was produced in the 34-th week of 2008, which is August, 2008. Checking the tire production date will give you an idea whether the car still has original tires it was sold with or they were replaced later. If it's a 2010 used car with, say, 30,000 miles, it's reasonably to expect that it should still have original tires. If the car has all 4 tires dated with 2011 on the sidewall, you know that the tires were already replaced. Now look at the tire tread wear. New tires have a tread from 10/32" to 11/32". If the tires dated with 2011 are half worn, there is an obvious question: a second set of tires half-worn at 30,000 miles?
Mechanical inspection
As a last step before buying a used car, have a vehicle inspected by an experienced mechanic of your choice. Also, check our Illustrated used car checklist. We also offer a comprehensive step-by-step guide How to buy a used car.
by Vlad Samarin
