clocked car milages
Discussion
I'm shocked how common this appears to be.
My business has me seeing cars of a more sporting/prestigious nature every day. The difference in some cars with the same milage is phenomenal in terms of overall wear and tear on items like steering wheel, pedal rubber and handbrake wear. I know the driving style and journey influence these factors but ive seen enough to know.
My own car for example is a 1 prev owner e46 m3, 29k FBWSH etc, a customers car in at the moment has done a similar milage, two prev owners and FBMWSH and the difference is incredible. His looks, sounds, feels and drive like a 90k car.
How do people manage this? The original owner must have it clocked before each service or MOT. Or maybe the car has a haircut by the second owner and a new service history is forged.
It just makes me realise that one has to have every bit of awareness present when looking to buy used, especially when considering cars that attract a premium for low miles.
I couldn't do it myself, I actually see it as a form of theft, plus I would worry the new owner would get slapped with something horrendous. There must be some completely uncaring people with no regards for others out there.
My business has me seeing cars of a more sporting/prestigious nature every day. The difference in some cars with the same milage is phenomenal in terms of overall wear and tear on items like steering wheel, pedal rubber and handbrake wear. I know the driving style and journey influence these factors but ive seen enough to know.
My own car for example is a 1 prev owner e46 m3, 29k FBWSH etc, a customers car in at the moment has done a similar milage, two prev owners and FBMWSH and the difference is incredible. His looks, sounds, feels and drive like a 90k car.
How do people manage this? The original owner must have it clocked before each service or MOT. Or maybe the car has a haircut by the second owner and a new service history is forged.
It just makes me realise that one has to have every bit of awareness present when looking to buy used, especially when considering cars that attract a premium for low miles.
I couldn't do it myself, I actually see it as a form of theft, plus I would worry the new owner would get slapped with something horrendous. There must be some completely uncaring people with no regards for others out there.
Pig Skill said:
How do people manage this? The original owner must have it clocked before each service or MOT. Or maybe the car has a haircut by the second owner and a new service history is forged.
Don't BMWs hold the mileage in several places? Merc's certainly do - someone with access to MB's diagnosis computer can even tell the mileages at which the service indicator was reset.Some people are hard on cars though - we used to change company cars at 2yrs/60K miles. Mine looked brand-new, others were almost wrecked.
The sad truth is that most of the tatty low mileage cars you see are not clocked. They are just treated very badly.
You should see the state of many 1 year old 15k cars which end up at auctions due to early lease termination - many of them haven't got an undamaged corner and the insides look like they've had wildlife living in them.
You should see the state of many 1 year old 15k cars which end up at auctions due to early lease termination - many of them haven't got an undamaged corner and the insides look like they've had wildlife living in them.
As others have said above, two people with the same car can end up with a very different vehicle after a few years.
I've got a Fiesta diesel on lease currently, had it for 1 year and 14000 miles. I'm gutted that the nearside front alloy has a slight scuff on it (very slight), and its picked up a car park dink (again tiny) in the passenger wing. It has been regularly cleaned, polished and waxed, and when cleaned still looks and smells like new. When it comes up at the end of its lease as a 3 year old car with 45k on the clock, it will genuinely be a good buy for someone!
However, another person by now would have trashed the car. Bumper scuffs, chunks taken out of the wheels etc etc. Plus people drive differently - I coast up to junctions off the throttle for maximum mpg, others will brake hard and late putting extra wear on the brakes and other components.
I've got a Fiesta diesel on lease currently, had it for 1 year and 14000 miles. I'm gutted that the nearside front alloy has a slight scuff on it (very slight), and its picked up a car park dink (again tiny) in the passenger wing. It has been regularly cleaned, polished and waxed, and when cleaned still looks and smells like new. When it comes up at the end of its lease as a 3 year old car with 45k on the clock, it will genuinely be a good buy for someone!
However, another person by now would have trashed the car. Bumper scuffs, chunks taken out of the wheels etc etc. Plus people drive differently - I coast up to junctions off the throttle for maximum mpg, others will brake hard and late putting extra wear on the brakes and other components.
My mates car has 4000k miles but looks like a 100k mile car, if that.
His brothers has 200k but looks like its been round the clock!
Incidentally. Every car can be adjusted without any signs it's been tampered with.
Also, cars within warranty that have been suspected of being clocked by the dealer are not flagged up as such. If they do the car gets taken away and they lose the warranty work that would have taken place.
Knock of 15k on a 30k Ferrari and you can ask a premium.
His brothers has 200k but looks like its been round the clock!
Incidentally. Every car can be adjusted without any signs it's been tampered with.
Also, cars within warranty that have been suspected of being clocked by the dealer are not flagged up as such. If they do the car gets taken away and they lose the warranty work that would have taken place.
Knock of 15k on a 30k Ferrari and you can ask a premium.
you can terminate a lease whenever you like, if you pay for it!
i suspect a lot of cars are just the result of abuse. there's a fat tw@t who i work with, he picked up a company car the second he was promoted (depsite the allowance clearly being a better deal, i suspect his personal finances precluded him impressing the neighbours any other way) 4 months later he gives a lift to the christmas lunch and the inside was like a pig sty. they say you can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats his car, and believe me, there's no conflicting messages with him, the sort of chap whose shoelaces are undone and shirt's hanging out by 10am...any lunch that's paid for by the company sees him filling his boots like he's not eaten in 6 months and try getting a drink out of him on a friday lunch.
conversely a fairly glamorous colleague opened her car door one evening as i was talking to her in the car park and i was quite shocked by the general grubbiness of the interior of her car...
i suspect a lot of cars are just the result of abuse. there's a fat tw@t who i work with, he picked up a company car the second he was promoted (depsite the allowance clearly being a better deal, i suspect his personal finances precluded him impressing the neighbours any other way) 4 months later he gives a lift to the christmas lunch and the inside was like a pig sty. they say you can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats his car, and believe me, there's no conflicting messages with him, the sort of chap whose shoelaces are undone and shirt's hanging out by 10am...any lunch that's paid for by the company sees him filling his boots like he's not eaten in 6 months and try getting a drink out of him on a friday lunch.
conversely a fairly glamorous colleague opened her car door one evening as i was talking to her in the car park and i was quite shocked by the general grubbiness of the interior of her car...
hora said:
jaedba2604 said:
there's a fat tw@t who i work with, he picked up a company car the second he was promoted (depsite the allowance clearly being a better deal, i suspect his personal finances precluded him impressing the neighbours any other way) 4 months later he gives a lift to the christmas lunch and the inside was like a pig sty. they say you can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats his car, and believe me, there's no conflicting messages with him, the sort of chap whose shoelaces are undone and shirt's hanging out by 10am...any lunch that's paid for by the company sees him filling his boots like he's not eaten in 6 months and try getting a drink out of him on a friday lunch.
conversely a fairly glamorous colleague opened her car door one evening as i was talking to her in the car park and i was quite shocked by the general grubbiness of the interior of her car...
That sounds like me, the former not the latter!conversely a fairly glamorous colleague opened her car door one evening as i was talking to her in the car park and i was quite shocked by the general grubbiness of the interior of her car...
It could just be how the cars have been treated, as other have said.
My current car is the same age and mileage as my old one, but you would not believe the difference. The last one wasn't bad, but the new one does not look or feel like a 14 year old car. Must have been looked after very well
My current car is the same age and mileage as my old one, but you would not believe the difference. The last one wasn't bad, but the new one does not look or feel like a 14 year old car. Must have been looked after very well
When I took my 335 in for a service I took my spare key and handed it in to the local franchise. When I went to collect the car the lad on the service desk correctly began questioning me on the mileage discrepancy on the key and the car. It had me worried for a few seconds then I realised the key mileage was much lower as I never used it....was impressed though.
Pig Skill said:
CoolHands said:
jaedba2604 said:
as i was talking to her in the car park and i was quite shocked by the general grubbiness of the interior of her car...
she sounds like my ideal date 
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