Odometer reading– verify if mileage isn’t rolled back
A odometer reading in a car is a serious problem for new car owners. The declared mileage of the car can sometimes be simply a result of manipulated odometer. Rolling back the odometer is a problem around the world. A dishonest seller tempted by the vision of financial gain falsifies the odometer reading in order to sell a used car faster and for a higher price.
What is odometer reading?
Odometer reading is a process done globally. Consumers in Europe alone lose several billion euros a year due to odometer manipulation.
In the US, driver losses are estimated at at least USD 1 billion per year, and the average clocking the counter on the car is as much as USD 4.000.
This is the difference between the real value and the profit resulting from misleading the car buyer. In recent years, with the increase in the prices of used cars, this type of fraud has gained momentum. The reason is simple – the profitability of the crime has increased significantly.
Odometer readings are important information affecting the price and interest in a given car – cars with high mileage usually require more time to be sold and are cheaper than those vehicles with a lower odometer value. In practice, this means that cars that have been used intensively and are already heavily worn out are sold at prices higher than their actual value. To make matters worse, these cars not only break down more often, but also perform poorly when it comes to pollutant emissions.
Penalties for clocking the odometer
It is not surprising, therefore, that individual countries are introducing legislative solutions aimed at curbing this practice. Since 2019, Poland faces up to five years in prison for changing the car meter readings. In addition to diagnosticians during annual technical inspections, police officers are currently also required to check and write down car odometer readings during routine roadside inspections.
In the US, approx. 450.000 vehicles with clocked odometers are sold annually. This crime is punishable at the federal level by a fine of up to USD 10.000 and a prison sentence of up to 3 years.
In Europe, for clocking, the penalty varies from country to country and usually in addition to financial penalties, they also impose sanctions in the form of restrictions on liberty.
Some of the EU countries, such as Belgium, have very strongly limited this type of practice thanks to appropriate legislation. In addition, some countries, such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Slovakia, exchange data on the mileage of vehicles registered in the European Union on an ongoing basis.
How to report a clocked odometer?
As soon as the buyer of the car realizes that the odometer has been clocked in a recently purchased car, they should first contact the seller. The buyer should provide evidence that the odometer has been clocked and file a claim. You can choose to withdraw from the contract and return the car or reduce its price. The deadline for submitting a claim is up to 12 months from the moment of purchase and no later than one month from the discovery of the defect.
The purchase of a car with a clocked odometer can also be reported immediately to the police or the prosecutor’s office, but in such case you need solid evidence in the form of documents, e.g. a vehicle history report, which indicates a significantly higher mileage value than that resulting from the car odometer readings.
Buying a used car – what to pay special attention to
The clocking the odometer is one of the risks that must be taken into account when buying a used car. It is worth remembering that a privately used car usually covers at least 10.000-15.000 km. Cars with diesel engines usually cover 30.000-40.000 km. Therefore, whenever you encounter a used car which is at least a 5-6 years old with a mileage of less than 100.000 km or a 9-10 year old one with a mileage of less than 200.000 km, it should arouse your suspicions. Important, remember (exclamation point) In addition, in a several year old car with low mileage, there should be tires from the first assembly, i.e. those on which the vehicle left the showroom immediately after purchase.
With a large real mileage, when clocking the odometer is very profitable for the unfair trader, some elements of the interior of the car may be worn beyond the norm – the driver’s seat, steering wheel rim, shift knob or wiped down, as well as the buttons on the dashboard can often be used.
Check the VIN beforehand
Clocking the odometer is a common phenomenon and applies not only to the Polish market. In Germany, it is estimated that 30% of used cars put up for sale have their mileage manipulated. In Poland, no one has this type of data, but this practice is at least as common. The reason is simple – second-hand cars with high mileage are cheaper and take a long time until they’re sold. Sometimes it happens that in a car imported to Poland, the correction is made twice – first abroad and then again in Poland.
Drivers also receive vehicle history reports to help fight fraudulent car dealers. These are aggregated data on various types of information – including car mileage – collected on the basis of the VIN number. That’s why it’s so important to check VIN before buying a car. With the use of the VIN number, it can often be verified whether the car mileage given in the announcement is consistent with the facts.
Odometer reading on autoDNA report
The autoDNA service collects data on vehicle mileage and if it is available for a given car, it can be viewed in detail in our report.
At autoDNA, the market-leading VIN decoding tool, you can free VIN lookup on a given vehicle. All you need for this is the VIN number. In the reports, on used cars, you can find information that will allow you to check whether the seller is telling the truth or not. In the report, you can find data on various topics. One of them is the vehicle history or stolen vehicle bases. You can do a VIN check for free 24/7 throughout the year.
