Incorrect Mileage on a car
Discussion
Went to view a car the other day, it was a 65 plate BMW 4 series. The car has 2 services showing on the idrive - 1 main dealer at 28K and 1 at 33k, the car has 2 MOT’s 31/8/18 (32,791 miles) & 10/2/20 (39,800 miles) everything seemed fine except the fact the first service was done at 28K when it should of been between 18 & 20k BMW told me.. i put a deposit on the car and went to collect the following day.. when i went to sign for the car the garage wanted me to sign an invoice with comments saying ‘the mileage shown above is incorrect and i acknowledge and consent to this’.. completely caught me off guard and i instantly refused.. when questioning why they have put this they have said they purchased the car from auction and they bought it under the same conditions.. the car has one previous owner, seemed in really good condition, drove fine.. the garage is just a small garage, not a chain or anything.. is there anything i can do to have the car checked? Do they probably know more than there letting on? They have since said because they feel like theyve messed me around that they will give me quite a bit of discount off the asking price.. if the mileage is legitimate then it would be a bargain.. if its not and its been clocked back then not so much! Any advice welcome..
All used cars not being sold directly by the first and only owner should carry a disclaimer stating something to the effect of " The mileage on the odometer cannot be relied upon until it has been independently verified".
You can't be certain of the mileage of any car unless you have statements from each of the previous owners. There are independent verification companies who will administer this. Some times they confirm the mileage is correct, other times they uncover a discrepancy. The vast majority of cases never get proven one way or another because at least one owner is unable or unwiling to supply the information.
What you are being asked to agree to is not the same. You are being asked to accept the mileage is definitely incorrect. If that's not what you thought you were buying then walk away.
You can't be certain of the mileage of any car unless you have statements from each of the previous owners. There are independent verification companies who will administer this. Some times they confirm the mileage is correct, other times they uncover a discrepancy. The vast majority of cases never get proven one way or another because at least one owner is unable or unwiling to supply the information.
What you are being asked to agree to is not the same. You are being asked to accept the mileage is definitely incorrect. If that's not what you thought you were buying then walk away.
My thoughts exactly... having spoken to a few people since ive been told auctions, dealers etc do sell vehicles with unverified mileage.. the wording on the invoice they wanted me to sign is black and white.. its saying its incorrect. When i tried quizzing them how this has come about they basically said. The previous owner bought from BMW, had it 4 years then P/X’d it back to BMW, BMW then sent it to be sold at auction.. its at auction where they have listed it as ‘incorrect mileage’. Seems strange and i guess i’ll never know exactly whats brought them to think that. I have spoken to BMW today and they say for £149 they will do a full inspection and can check the key to verify the mileage.. the garage have said they believe the mileage is accurate but legally have to tell me as they bought it under the same conditions.. seems to me like there just asking to sign that so if i ever took it to BMW and found out it had been clocked back then i’d have no right to go back to the garage
It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the first service at 28K was condition based, and the car was driven at steady motorway miles. However, I would be wondering what the car was doing between the 2 MOT’s 31/8/18 & 10/2/20. The 2nd MOT would have been due earlier. It may, of course, be that the owner was working abroad and had garaged it. Try and find out more, but walk away if your gut tells you too. Better to pay a few grand more for something you are more confident in.
It’s unlikely the car would have gone more than 20k without the service light coming on so it is possible the first service was completed out of the BMW network and the two services you see are the 2nd and 3rd.
If you call the BMW information line they should be able to help with who carried out the AUC if it was sold via BMW. If it was it is expected they would have checked the mileage was correct.
As for the auction selling as “incorrect”, if in doubt most are “not warranted” however this term must not be used of the vendor knows the mileage is wrong.
But in reality is it worth the headache? Probably not so time to look elsewhere.
If you call the BMW information line they should be able to help with who carried out the AUC if it was sold via BMW. If it was it is expected they would have checked the mileage was correct.
As for the auction selling as “incorrect”, if in doubt most are “not warranted” however this term must not be used of the vendor knows the mileage is wrong.
But in reality is it worth the headache? Probably not so time to look elsewhere.
Auto810graphy said:
It’s unlikely the car would have gone more than 20k without the service light coming on so it is possible the first service was completed out of the BMW network and the two services you see are the 2nd and 3rd.
If you call the BMW information line they should be able to help with who carried out the AUC if it was sold via BMW. If it was it is expected they would have checked the mileage was correct.
As for the auction selling as “incorrect”, if in doubt most are “not warranted” however this term must not be used of the vendor knows the mileage is wrong.
But in reality is it worth the headache? Probably not so time to look elsewhere.
It's not unlikely at all. It's common for the condition based servicing to be over 20,000 miles for cars used lightly and on motorways.If you call the BMW information line they should be able to help with who carried out the AUC if it was sold via BMW. If it was it is expected they would have checked the mileage was correct.
As for the auction selling as “incorrect”, if in doubt most are “not warranted” however this term must not be used of the vendor knows the mileage is wrong.
But in reality is it worth the headache? Probably not so time to look elsewhere.
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