Is odometer tampering rampant?

[gearhead]

Sometimes when out looking at second hand units you will encounter the buy and sell person who claims to be selling you a fresh and low mileage unit. I often get this gut feel that it may not really be that low mileage a vehicle. Specially cars over 10 years of age with electronic odometers as opposed to the mechanical.

You can't prove it but there are signs that indicate the car is worn but the mileage doesn't seem to tally with that. Your thoughts?

Also are there legal ways to go after odometer tampering? If so where do you report cases and how can you prove it? Is that why some relatively new cars "lose" their casa records?

[renzo_d10]

My 13 year old car as of now has only clocked around 59,xxx km in it.

Yes, some do tamper their odometer readings to attract more customers.

However, you could determine the current state of the car by looking at other aspects other than the odo. reading.

[TholitzReloaded]

My 13 year old car as of now has only clocked around 59,xxx km in it.

Yes, some do tamper their odometer readings to attract more customers.

However, you could determine the current state of the car by looking at other aspects other than the odo. reading.

really sobrang dalang mo naman yata gamitin ang auto mo, anyway can they tamper a digital odo? i think replacing the cluster meter is much easier than to tamper the odo, Back to "0" state ung auto kahit bulok na ung body.. hehehe

[renzo_d10]

really sobrang dalang mo naman yata gamitin ang auto mo, anyway can they tamper a digital odo? i think replacing the cluster meter is much easier than to tamper the odo, Back to "0" state ung auto kahit bulok na ung body.. hehehe

Malapit lang ang mga pinupuntahan ko bro. Kaya ganun.

Malapit na nga siya mag 60k eh. 59,9** na.

[wowiesy]

Malapit lang ang mga pinupuntahan ko bro. Kaya ganun.

Malapit na nga siya mag 60k eh. 59,9** na.

i know somebody in the buy and sell business that swears that odometers (whether electronic / digital or analog) can really be tampered with.. he even cites an example of a guy who does it for about 2,500 per odometer... he describes the work as "..mas matagal pa magbaklas ng dashboard, gauge cluster kumpara sa pag tamper ng odometer... " he even described the status of the guy doing it for him na "... dati eh naka 2nd hand car lang, ngayon nakabili na ng brand new na kotse at cash pa ang ipinambayad..."

i suppose you can count this as part of the underground economy of the country...

[ans_lim168]

I think this is rampant especially with the buy and sell of used cars.

[oj88]

The odometer reading shouldn't be the primary determining factor as to the car's overall condition, as already mentioned above. A simple test drive and ocular inspection of the interior and exterior can tell more than just looking at a bunch of numbers.

Use the odo reading, however, to validate the seller's reputation. If he/she can lie about the mileage, nothing's stopping him/her from lying about any hidden problems about the car.