How to tell if an odometer was rolled back

We are seeing more and more cars with odometer issues at auctions. An odometer issue is usually labeled TMU (true mileage unknown) and sometimes isn't disclosed. Carfax, a vehicle history report company, released a report stating that almost 200,000 cars have the odometer tampered with every year, leading to an estimated $750 million in losses.

Odometer roll backs can be very costly. On older vehicles, which are the primary targets for rollbacks, a large difference in miles can double the cost of a vehicle. And cars with substantially higher miles typically have more wear and tear issues to go along with the increase in mileage.

How is an odometer roll back performed? On older cars, with mechanical counters, they sell odometer repair kits that allow you to manually adjust miles. On newer cars, with electronic counters, people will replace the entire gauge cluster with another cluster from a different vehicle with lower mileage.

Now that we know we want to avoid odometer issues, we need to learn how to spot it. First thing you should always do is get a Carfax or Autocheck vehicle history report. This report lists the mileage at the time of registration of the vehicle and will point out any red flags. Unfortunately, this will only catch some of the odometer issues. Cars that are kept for years by the same owner are the most subject to odometer issues. When you re-register a car as the same owner the mileage isn't updated, so a consumer manipulating an odometer on a car they have owned for 10 years will be hard to catch with a report.

The most reliable way is to have a complete inspection done on the car by your mechanic. Certain items, such as axles, bearings, body and subframe mounts and suspension condition will give you a much clearer indication of the true mileage on a vehicle.

Another way is the visible wear and tear. A driver's seat cushion that is flat, and worn is an indication of 150,000+ miles. The volume of rock chips on the hood are also a good indication, high volumes can mean high miles. Running your hand over a clean windshield is another trick, high mileage cars glass feels like sandpaper from the thousands of little rocks hitting it on a weekly basis. The volume of scratches, door dings, scuffs also add to the evidence of higher than declared mileage.

Odometer fraud has been an issue since cars first started coming with them. Stay ahead of the curve and buy an inspection report and have your mechanic inspect the vehicle before you buy it. Staying vigilant will not only save you quite a bit of money but give you a safer vehicle overall.

#odometer #fraud #usedcar