Mileage discrepancy! advice required.

[robbo79]

Hi all. I am interested in a car and was making arrangements to go and view thios car when i decided to do a hpi first. all was fine except the mileage. the advertised mileage was 94k. yet the check said it had done 154k in 2006!! the car is a bmw 316 and 2003 reg. i thought it was a bit strange that the car had done 154k miles in 3 years so i questioned the seller. he seems really genuine and provided the things i needed to do a past mot history check. the results are below and clearly show a discrepancy between 2006 and 2007. could there be a genuine reason why? also there was a change made in 2007 to the model of the car! any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Date of test:
27/06/2012

Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:
86,409 Miles

Test number:
679949572172

Test expiry date:
29/06/2013



Full Test History, starting with first recorded vehicle and test results


Registration mark:
WF03EOG

Make/Model:
BMW / 316

Colour:
BLACK

VIN/Chassis No:
WBAAT52020FU58266

Approximate date of first use:
31/03/2003

Type of fuel:
Petrol



Date of test:
27/03/2006

Certificate issue refused (Fail)

Odometer reading:
148,532 Miles

Test number:
510076586084

Test station name:
SYTNER NOTTM

Test station number:
1ALQ15

Test station telephone number:
01159341414

Test class:
IV

Reason(s) for refusal to issue Certificate

Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases (7.1.2)

Windscreen has damage to the swept area in excess of a 40mm circle outside zone 'A' (8.3.1d)

No Advisory Notice issued


Date of test:
28/03/2006

Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:
148,532 Miles

Test number:
340317286079

Test station name:
SYTNER NOTTM

Test station number:
1ALQ15

Test station telephone number:
01159341414

Test class:
IV

Test expiry date:
31/03/2007

No Advisory Notice issued


Date of test:
21/04/2007

Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:
68,245 Miles

Test number:
310121017118

Test station name:
BELFIELD ROAD GARAGE

Test station number:
7679B1

Test station telephone number:
01706640106

Test class:
IV

Test expiry date:
20/04/2008

No Advisory Notice issued


Change of details

Registration mark:
WF03EOG recorded at time of test, changed to C17YBA on 17/07/2007 by DVLA.

Make/Model:
BMW / 316 recorded at time of test, changed to BMW / 316TI SE COMPACT on 17/07/2007 by DVLA.



Date of test:
01/07/2008

Certificate issue refused (Fail)

Odometer reading:
72,332 Miles

Test number:
430193688163

Test station name:
MIDDLETON MOT CENTRE LTD

Test station number:
V100633

Test station telephone number:
0161 643 4355

Test class:
IV

Reason(s) for refusal to issue Certificate

Nearside Registration plate lamp not working (1.1.5c)

Nearside Headlamp aim too low (1.8)

Offside Headlamp not in good working order adversely affecting beam image (1.2.4a)

Advisory Notice issued

Nearside Parking brake Your vehicle has only just met the required park brake efficiency. It would appear that the braking system requires adjustment or repair. (3.7.A.10)


Change of details

Make/Model:
BMW / 316 recorded at time of test on 01/07/2008



Date of test:
02/07/2008

Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:
72,333 Miles

Test number:
442624688189

Test station name:
MIDDLETON MOT CENTRE LTD

Test station number:
V100633

Test station telephone number:
0161 643 4355

Test class:
IV

Test expiry date:
01/07/2009

Advisory Notice issued

Nearside Parking brake Your vehicle has only just met the required park brake efficiency. It would appear that the braking system requires adjustment or repair. (3.7.A.10)


Date of test:
22/09/2009

Certificate issue refused (Fail)

Odometer reading:
75,377 Miles

Test number:
454585069231

Test station name:
MIDDLETON MOT CENTRE LTD

Test station number:
V100633

Test station telephone number:
0161 643 4355

Test class:
IV

Reason(s) for refusal to issue Certificate

Centre Rear Seat belt retracting mechanism defective (5.2.5b)

Offside Front position lamp(s) not working (1.1.A.3b)

Nearside Front rear bush Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush (2.4.G.2)

Offside Front rear bush Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush (2.4.G.2)

Due to reving uneven Emissions not tested (7.0)

Advisory Notice issued

Front clamp Exhaust has part of the system slightly deteriorated (7.1.1a)


Date of test:
24/09/2009

Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:
75,377 Miles

Test number:
571267469205

Test station name:
MIDDLETON MOT CENTRE LTD

Test station number:
V100633

Test station telephone number:
0161 643 4355

Test class:
IV

Test expiry date:
23/09/2010

Advisory Notice issued

Front clamp Exhaust has part of the system slightly deteriorated (7.1.1a)


Change of details

Registration mark:
C17YBA recorded at time of test, changed to WF03EOG on 30/09/2009 by DVLA.



Date of test:
29/06/2011

Certificate issue refused (Fail)

Odometer reading:
75,902 Miles

Test number:
437720481141

Test station name:
NEW FIVE STAR MOTORS

Test station number:
0144BJ

Test station telephone number:
01706643806

Test class:
IV

Reason(s) for refusal to issue Certificate

Front mounting Exhaust has part of the system excessively deteriorated (7.1.1a)

Advisory Notice issued

Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has slight play (2.2.B.1f)

Rear both near flexys Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)

Oil leak

N/s/f brake binding slightly


Date of test:
30/06/2011

Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:
75,902 Miles

Test number:
445241681193

Test station name:
NEW FIVE STAR MOTORS

Test station number:
0144BJ

Test station telephone number:
01706643806

Test class:
IV

Test expiry date:
29/06/2012

Advisory Notice issued

Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has slight play (2.2.B.1f)

Rear both near flexys Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)

Oil leak

N/s/f brake binding slightly


Date of test:
27/06/2012

Certificate issue refused (Fail)

Odometer reading:
86,409 Miles

Test number:
587529972141

Test station name:
WARDLEY SERVICE CENTRE

Test station number:
V106213

Test station telephone number:
0161 794 6424

Test class:
IV

Reason(s) for refusal to issue Certificate

Nearside Front suspension has excessive play in a lower suspension ball joint (2.5.B.1a)

Advisory Notice issued

Oil leak

N/s/r tyre has damage to side wall not through to cords


Date of test:
27/06/2012

Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:
86,409 Miles

Test number:
679949572172

Test station name:
WARDLEY SERVICE CENTRE

Test station number:
V106213

Test station telephone number:
0161 794 6424

Test class:
IV

Test expiry date:
29/06/2013

Advisory Notice issued

Oil leak

N/s/r tyre has damage to side wall not through to cords

[GTIR]

If the divvy mot guy entered the wrong mileage it would make sense.
Seems a bit extreme to me.

[davepoth]

I'd walk away. There are plenty of other ten year old poverty spec ones on the market, and you don't need to buy one with a questionable service history, possible evidence of clocking, and a number of MOT fails that suggest that the car hasn't been maintained properly (tyre through to the cords does suggest a pretty inattentive owner).

[Valgar]

You could always have a look, see the service booklet and see if it matches the mileage, if he hasn't got early history as most do becuase they're under warranty then walk away. Also this happened to my wifes car, div read the trip reading inclduing the 10th of a ile figure and suddenly increased our odo ready by 30,000 miles, we took it back and got it sorted but it can be put in by mistake

[robbo79]

hhmm yes i thought it could maybe be a mistake but not too sure. why was the car model changed from a bmw 316 to a 316 se compact in 2007? confusing the hell outta me this

[Valgar]

robbo79 said:

hhmm yes i thought it could maybe be a mistake but not too sure. why was the car model changed from a bmw 316 to a 316 se compact in 2007? confusing the hell outta me this

This would worry me enough to walk away I think, especially with a mileage change around the same time, 3 series aren't exactly rare and i'd look for alternatives

[Buff Mchugelarge]

It may have had the clocks changed at some point?
Might have suffered dodgy LED odometer readout?

[CYMR0]

I would see if the franchise dealer that did the car's first MoT can help.

If they stuck a '1' in front of the mileage, it's all good (although the car's still apparently only done 40k in seven years so check for further clocking!)

If they couldn't help, then I'd definitely look elsewhere.

[Jim the Sunderer]

I'm not saying it's bent but nobody does Ferrari miles in a 316.

75,902 Miles 29/06/2011
75,377 Miles 24/09/2009

[johnnyBv8]

Looks to me that the 148k could've been 48k. As others have suggested, I'd phone Sytner. If you've got any doubt then walk away - it's hardly a rare car!

[robbo79]

good idea about caller the franchise dealer, i will do that first thing see if they can shed some light onto it. think i will just walk away though too much of a risk. have just spoken to someone about this now and they have said it has maybe had an engine change which would explain the change to the model in 2007. not usre if that explains it though

[anonymous-user]

Just move on.

The MOT history alone (failure reasons) show it hasn't been especially well looked after. Never mind the fact that the car has evidence of potential clocking.

You can afford to be picky when buying this sort of car - plenty of them around.

[b0rk]

Ask for the current VIN/Chassis number to see if that matches the VIN recorded by the dealers. If it wasn't for the two tests a day apart done by the dealer I have guessed entry error misreading the dash twice would seem unusual.
Also the car had an expired MOT for a month in 2007 again unusual on a then still new(ish) car.
Finally the failure for "major leak of exhaust gases" doesn't ring true if the mileage was 48k @ 3yrs old but sounds very reasonable for 148k...

[Vixpy1]

I reckon thats had a haircut