How to avoid an odometer fraud when buying a used car

Odometer fraud is the illegal practice of rolling back odometers to make it appear that vehicles have lower mileage than they actually do. Odometer fraud occurs when the seller of a vehicle falsely represents the actual mileage of a vehicle to the buyer.

According to the Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation at the U.S. Department of Transportation, odometer fraud is an important consumer fraud issue. In the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) 2002 odometer fraud study, it has been determined that 450,000 vehicles were sold each year with false odometer readings.  

Common examples of odometer fraud include situations where someone tampers with the odometer by rolling it back, replacing the odometer, or where the odometer rolls through all the digits and starts over.

Vehicles used in lease and rental fleets, that accumulate mileage very rapidly, are generally thought to be more prone to odometer fraud than new vehicles.

Most people genuinely believe that odometer fraud is rare, but in the contrary, it is extremely common, even nowadays that odometers are electronic instead of mechanic. However, it is often easy to identify an odometer fraud. There are so many things in a car that can tell us the real mileage apart from the odometer! So, the following is a list of actions you can take to avoid buying a car that has traveled around the whole world for a fortune:

1. Check the odometer itself

First and foremost, check the odometer itself! Does it looks like someone has been playing with it recently? Is it dirty inside or do there a good amount of dust on the other side of the glass? Also, can you notice fingerprints on the glass itself? If you notice any of the above, stay away! Also, if the odometer is mechanic, are the numbers well aligned?

2. Check the sits

The sits, specially the driver's seat, are important. If they look like someone has been sitting there for a long time, then the car saw many miles (or kilometers!). Also check the steering wheel. As discussed in Hints on securely buying a used car, it is a good practice to view a few used car of the same model, so that you can get familiar with the model and can easily distinguish a good used car from a bad one. If you are viewing a used car with 70.000 Kilometers (43.000 miles) that looks worse than one you viewed a few days ago with an higher mileage, then be suspicious.

3. Check under the hood for service stickers with mileage on them

4. Check the service book

5. Ask what the car has been used for

6. Tires and timing belt

Two things to always look for are tires and timing belt. If you are viewing a used car which is supposed to have 30.000 Kilometers (18.000 miles) and the timing belt has already been changed, then be suspicious. The timing belt is usually changed between 90.000 Kilometers (60.00 miles) and 170.000 Kilometers (105.000 miles).

Also, tires nowadays are rarely changed before 80.000 Kilometers (50.000 miles). So, if you are viewing a used car with new tires and 50.000 Kilometers on the odometer, be suspicious.

And if you want to know more about odometer fraud...

Visit the following websites:

• Odometer Information Overview for Consumers, Office Of Odometer Fraud Investigation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
• 2002 NHTSA Study: The Incidence Rate of Odometer Fraud, Office Of Odometer Fraud Investigation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
• US Federal Odometer Laws

Hope this helps avoiding used car mileage scams!

I will keep adding content to this page, and please let me know if you have any tip!

Until next time,
Giammarco Schisani
*Published the 27^th of September 2007
*Last updated the 28^th of September 2007