Clocking widespread
Discussion
mp3manager said:
scooby jeff said:
Why?
(was a mileage correction/adjusting plug in tool)
Furious because this was advertised in the golf mk5 gti classifieds, and im a stickler for buying a car thats not been f
king clocked!Pr1964 said:
Anyone know how easy the new post 2007 BMW 3 series is to clock ?
I've just looked at a supposed 17,000 mile car and there's no way it's only done that mileage. more like 37,000 miles
I know this is subjective but I've looked at quite a few now. BMW say it's not possible WTF ?
any car can be clocked.I've just looked at a supposed 17,000 mile car and there's no way it's only done that mileage. more like 37,000 miles
I know this is subjective but I've looked at quite a few now. BMW say it's not possible WTF ?
what sort of wear did you see on the car? seats? gearstick? steering wheel? switches?
Pr1964 said:
A number of things showed more wear than on other cars yes seats & steering which could be explained by heavy user ie 20 stone bricky or scaffolder etc.
Overall it just felt wrong.
BMW salesman said clocking isn't happening anymore because of electronic detection etc Sounded like BS ...
On the VWs, etc, there is the mileage stored as well as some other data to do with speed/fuel consumption within the ECU. So if only the mileage is changed, it is detectable to a certain degree by correlating with the other. It is also a lot harder to change the other measurement - apparently.Overall it just felt wrong.
BMW salesman said clocking isn't happening anymore because of electronic detection etc Sounded like BS ...
Do BMWs have something similar ?
It just drives home the point that if you are bothered you really really need to look at the paperwork before buying, so many don't.
As an example, look at the cost of an average milage M3 CSL compared to one with ultra low miles. If you could find an unsuspecting buyer you could make 10 grand in a morning.
Cheeses me right off!
As an example, look at the cost of an average milage M3 CSL compared to one with ultra low miles. If you could find an unsuspecting buyer you could make 10 grand in a morning.
Cheeses me right off!
///Mike said:
It just drives home the point that if you are bothered you really really need to look at the paperwork before buying
The point is that the paperwork is irrelevant - they're all done before the annual service/MOT so that the paperwork is all present and matching.The number of places offering "correction" services to higher-end cars should give some indication as to how rife it is.
These sites have testimonial pages - not only are the owners bent enough to have it done in the first place, they're happy for a quote and a picture of the clocked car to go on the internet for an extra twenty quid off.
Trommel said:
The point is that the paperwork is irrelevant - they're all done before the annual service/MOT so that the paperwork is all present and matching.
The number of places offering "correction" services to higher-end cars should give some indication as to how rife it is.
These sites have testimonial pages - not only are the owners bent enough to have it done in the first place, they're happy for a quote and a picture of the clocked car to go on the internet for an extra twenty quid off.
Good point. I was thinking more of cars where they shave off a lot in one hit. That said you could just shave your annual millage off before MOT/Service time and get away with it. Its shocking.The number of places offering "correction" services to higher-end cars should give some indication as to how rife it is.
These sites have testimonial pages - not only are the owners bent enough to have it done in the first place, they're happy for a quote and a picture of the clocked car to go on the internet for an extra twenty quid off.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Yep, I hear you. I spend £600 a month on my finance payments because I do high miles. I could see why someone with fewer morals than myself could save a lot of money by going down this route. Would BMW not know if the ecu had been tampered with? I assume that this is where the milage is stored?All of these companies openly offering this service should be shut down!
Surely claiming to correct ALL locations the mileage is stored doesn't fit with the idea of matching the mileage of the car to a faulty odometer that has to be replaced?
Although having said that, said websites don't actually seem to care, all they do is put a disclaimer on to say its illegal to misrepresent miles when selling on, which isn't them breaking the law, its YOU.
Is it actually true though that they can erase miles from all sources, ECU or DME or whatever its called, rather than just the odometer?
If not surely you could just have the key read at a main dealer to give true miles?
I was thinking of telling one of my mates to do this after he bought an 06 320d msport last year with only 35k miles on the clock, the ominous thing for me mainly being the 'engine start' button text being badly worn by much finger prodding......
Although having said that, said websites don't actually seem to care, all they do is put a disclaimer on to say its illegal to misrepresent miles when selling on, which isn't them breaking the law, its YOU.
Is it actually true though that they can erase miles from all sources, ECU or DME or whatever its called, rather than just the odometer?
If not surely you could just have the key read at a main dealer to give true miles?
I was thinking of telling one of my mates to do this after he bought an 06 320d msport last year with only 35k miles on the clock, the ominous thing for me mainly being the 'engine start' button text being badly worn by much finger prodding......
ITP said:
I was thinking of telling one of my mates to do this after he bought an 06 320d msport last year with only 35k miles on the clock, the ominous thing for me mainly being the 'engine start' button text being badly worn by much finger prodding......
I've got an 06 1-Series with 45k and the start button text is pretty worn too.Pr1964 said:
Efbe said:
any car can be clocked.
what sort of wear did you see on the car? seats? gearstick? steering wheel? switches?
A number of things showed more wear than on other cars yes seats & steering which could be explained by heavy user ie 20 stone bricky or scaffolder etc.what sort of wear did you see on the car? seats? gearstick? steering wheel? switches?
Overall it just felt wrong.
BMW salesman said clocking isn't happening anymore because of electronic detection etc Sounded like BS ...
To give you an example of wear on steering wheel and gearstick on a bmw, this is the wear on a 160,000 mile bmw;
This is on a 1997 e36 328i, now I wouldn't expect the quality of materials in new bmws to be all that different, and from my experience of cars, this is about right for the wear on a 160k mile car.
Seat wear can be a bit difficult to gauge, however mine shows absolutely no wear on material seats. leather does wear own a lot more quickly though.
So basically if the gearstick and steering wheel look anything like this, and it's only been serviced twice, then run!
edit: no idea why these images have rotated when uploaded, and can't be bothered to redo it
you can still see the wear thoughEdited by Efbe on Tuesday 10th May 16:41
Efbe said:
To give you an example of wear on steering wheel and gearstick on a bmw, this is the wear on a 160,000 mile bmw;
That looks more worn than I'd expect, but then usage patterns vary. Here's a pic of the interior of my old 540i Touring at 162,000 miles when I sold it:
Ripe for clocking?
Pr1964 said:
It's still possible that excessive wear could be sue to heavy user ie big guy with rough hands and workmans clothing most likely in the building trade but they are also the type to go to a clocker and get the car adjusted.
It's a real problem not having trust in mileage. BMW's look to be amongst the worst.
you are completely right, but then again I wouldn't really want my car to have been owned by DelBoy or BobTheBuilder!It's a real problem not having trust in mileage. BMW's look to be amongst the worst.
I actually don't think BMWs are the worst. Taxi cars(avensis etc) and bland rep mobiles (Vectras/Mundanos etc,) are ripe for this, and probably (i'm guessing) a lot easier to clock.
hora said:
Efbe, but if the owner wears a lot of rings, likes hand lotion or works with dust, painter+decorator- the residual will transfer no matter how careful. I recently painted- washed thoroughly and the paint still found its way faintly onto my wheel..
...fancy selling it?
Yeppo, Thing is though all of this is quite easy to disguise with a new steering wheel, gear stick and drivers seat. gets a bit harder with sills and key holes, but still possible....fancy selling it?
Jobbo said:
hat looks more worn than I'd expect, but then usage patterns vary. Here's a pic of the interior of my old 540i Touring at 162,000 miles when I sold it:
lol, you may well be right! and thats the problem. though if it has been clocked, then the engine is in very good condition, so i'm quite impressed!You can never tell if it has been clocked just once for 30k after a taxi year.
On a slightly different note, at least f it has been clocked, it's quite likely the have tried to hide he high mileage signs, so there's a fair chance its actually been cared for better than a low mileage version! you just can't tell if it's done 150k, 250k or 350k!
But because of this I wouldn't be all that worried about clocking, engine condition is hard to botch, o just make sure you give everything a damn good checking over.
Just seen this on my local Gumtree
''Digital Mileage Correction Services
Mobile Service
While you wait at Home or Work
Majority of German Cars Covered
Ring for more details
Competitive rates''
Is it really that easy?
This was the only thread found in my search - just for the ''Holy Thread Batman'' replies
''Digital Mileage Correction Services
Mobile Service
While you wait at Home or Work
Majority of German Cars Covered
Ring for more details
Competitive rates''
Is it really that easy?
This was the only thread found in my search - just for the ''Holy Thread Batman'' replies
Harpo said:
Just seen this on my local Gumtree
''Digital Mileage Correction Services
Mobile Service
While you wait at Home or Work
Majority of German Cars Covered
Ring for more details
Competitive rates''
Is it really that easy?
This was the only thread found in my search - just for the ''Holy Thread Batman'' replies
it is... but...''Digital Mileage Correction Services
Mobile Service
While you wait at Home or Work
Majority of German Cars Covered
Ring for more details
Competitive rates''
Is it really that easy?
This was the only thread found in my search - just for the ''Holy Thread Batman'' replies
the way most of the clocking companies do this is just to change the odometer reading and not on the ECU as well. It is possible to do both at the same time, but harder to do iirc.
If only one is done, then you can usually do a reset on the car to set the both of them to the highest reading of either of them.
I know this is possible, because I did it on my e36 bimmer, and added 5kish miles on!!! 'doh!
Next time I go to look at a car I will be finding out how to do this on the model I go to see, and whether the seller likes it or not I will see if it changes.
While in the trade I needed a new instrument cluster for a freelander,which Ifound s/h but it had just 23k on it the car it was for was showing around 145k.
I googled mileage correction and called the first local number I came across.
The guy turned up an hour later,took ten minutes and chrged me £90 and gave me a proper reciept showing excactly what had beeen done.
while there I questioned him a bit but nothing too intrusive,just to get the general gist of his working day and he actually told me I was his first trade customer in nearly three years.
His words excactly were,I dont get any trade work its all private punters,cabbies and small firms,they are all bang at it!especially those on mileage related service contracts,lease car users on limited use policies and company cars being used for other purposes,pizza and takeaway deliveries etc.
I googled mileage correction and called the first local number I came across.
The guy turned up an hour later,took ten minutes and chrged me £90 and gave me a proper reciept showing excactly what had beeen done.
while there I questioned him a bit but nothing too intrusive,just to get the general gist of his working day and he actually told me I was his first trade customer in nearly three years.
His words excactly were,I dont get any trade work its all private punters,cabbies and small firms,they are all bang at it!especially those on mileage related service contracts,lease car users on limited use policies and company cars being used for other purposes,pizza and takeaway deliveries etc.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff