Blatantly clocked back cars on Autotrader

[F10ben28]

You have to be so careful these days. So many unscrupulous people out there.

My last two cars I have phoned all the garages in the service books to confirm dates and mileage of services.

It's why you need to buy cars on condition! The amount of 5 series I saw on auto trader with relatively low mileage, yet the interior, especially the drivers seat looked like it had done treble that mileage.

[Gareth79]

battered said:

AFAIK it's still legal to say "xx000 recorded miles" even if you know that you have swapped out a speedo.

Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 a trader would need to declare if they know that a car's true mileage is higher than that stated. It's the same regulation that requires traders to declare when they know if the vehicle has previously been written-off:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/regul... (this is about omissions)

I'm sure it falls under other sections, depending on whether the trader clocked it themselves, what statements have been made about the car, and whether they know as a fact or just suspect that the mileage isn't correct.

[Fastra]

I wonder if there's some hidden feature in built in sat navs that can show the cars total mileage?

[VladD]

Fastra said:

I wonder if there's some hidden feature in built in sat navs that can show the cars total mileage?

You wouldn't want to buy a car that was built in Japan then.

[underphil]

something I like to check if I'm buying a <3 year old car with lowish mileage is that the tyres dot code have a date on them that tallies up with the car's date of manufacture. Could be fiddled, but dodgy traders don't need to bother going to such extremes

[CoolHands]

It's showing 85000 miles now, how many was it originally? Edit, ignore I see it was 110,000.

It's a shame - from the advert only 1 previous owner, you would assume everything's above board.

[Dog Star]

CoolHands said:

It's showing 85000 miles now, how many was it originally? Edit, ignore I see it was 110,000.

It's a shame - from the advert only 1 previous owner, you would assume everything's above board.

The semi-literate seller still denies it...

[Fastra]

VladD said:

Fastra said:

I wonder if there's some hidden feature in built in sat navs that can show the cars total mileage?

You wouldn't want to buy a car that was built in Japan then.

Ahhhhhh..

&#128512;

[daemon]

Did someone here bid it up?

I see its sold....

[Thermobaric]

Will the mileage discrepancy be obvious on the system should it find itself plugged into a BMW computer or does that only happen if BMW have logged a higher mileage than it's showing?

Can it be worked out from operating hours logged? I hear Ferraris log distance traveled in each gear which isn't amended when someone clocks it.

[daemon]

Thermobaric said:

Will the mileage discrepancy be obvious on the system should it find itself plugged into a BMW computer or does that only happen if BMW have logged a higher mileage than it's showing?

Can it be worked out from operating hours logged? I hear Ferraris log distance traveled in each gear which isn't amended when someone clocks it.

The key on a BMW holds the miles on the car (among other places its held) so i'd imagine handing a BMW dealer the key would tell a lot....

[Thermobaric]

I thought that was the case. Multiple keys, multiple places in the car mileage is logged yet it seems too easy for people to get away with clocking them.

[ToothbrushMan]

Beats a disconnected speedo for 11 months of the year.........

[daemon]

Thermobaric said:

I thought that was the case. Multiple keys, multiple places in the car mileage is logged yet it seems too easy for people to get away with clocking them.

So many people seem happy to not do ANY due diligence and will take a odometer reading at face value.

[exgtt]

Clocking is RABID at the moment, it's very widespread and no one seems to gives 2 hoots. Couple of decades ago it was pro ported as a serious crime, people getting life bans from auctions/prison and it's the urchins in today's society that are making a killing. No one seems to care anymore.

Edited by exgtt on Wednesday 2nd August 19:49

[largelunchbox]

I've seen it done, plug machine in, 5 minutes later mileage reading is any thing you ask for, £30, there's even you tube vids on it. If there's limited history assume the worse every time.

[Dog Star]

exgtt said:

Clocking is RABID at the moment, it's very widespread and no one seems to gives 2 hoots. Couple of decades ago it was pro ported as a serious crime, people getting life bans from auctions/prison and it's the urchins in today's society that are making a killing. No one seems to care anymore.

I know people in the car trade and I know they do it - having a best mate with a mileage correction company is a bit of a giveaway too.

It's why I always think that people who buy on mileage of a used car are very foolish. I've always assumed anything that's had more than two owners is clocked, buy on condition and condition only is my mantra.

I've had several inquiries about cars I've traded in over the years - a 405, a 406, a Fiesta and an MR2 (the 405 was from West Yorks trading standards) and the MR2 from an insurance company asking about condition as the new owner had had it stolen. I'd sold it over a year earlier with 142K on and the insco said it had 72K on.

In all cases they'd been either traded in or sold on AT to dealers. IMO they're all at it.

[POORCARDEALER]

I dont think it is anything like as widespread as it was years ago.....the "at risk" cars are ones on PCP or lease deals between 0-3 years old prior to their first MOT.

So easy to look at MOT history these days, you would have thought it would have all but eliminated the problem for over 3 year old stuff

[hondansx]

Most buyers have no idea what they're doing though. My normally intelligent mate thought they did a service as part of an MOT.

[M3333]

A number of BMW's I've sold have then reappeared later on with much less miles.

Really annoys me as i am anal with my history and log everything, even stuff i do myself on my older cars i have always done a home service sheet and put it with the history (yes sad i know!).

So i am guessing they shave a few miles off and throw a lot of the history away or stamp a new false book, pure greed to make a few quid but takes away the cars character and history.