Due to the fact that new cars can lose as much as 20% of their value in the first year of ownership, and with the economic recovery continuing to stagnate, more and more people are turning to used car purchases as a way to save money.
Buying a used car comes with certain risks.
One of these risks is odometer fraud.
Is the car seller being completely honest about the amount of miles the vehicle has? How does a car buyer protect himself from becoming a victim of odometer fraud? There are easy ways a used car buyer can be sure the mileage the vehicle is reporting is the actual mileage.
Odometer fraud is the act of knowingly rolling back the mileage on a vehicle.
The most recent study conducted by NHTSA on the prevalence of odometer fraud found that over 450,000 vehicles are sold each year with false odometer readings, at a cost of over $1 billion to car buyers.
Some estimates state that as many as 1 in 10 vehicles have their odometers rolled back.
Digital odometers were originally created to counteract perpetrators of odometer fraud, but these scam artists quickly adapted to the change by purchasing calibrating technology that is supposed to be used to only fix faulty digital odometers.
Thankfully, there are methods available to determine whether a vehicle you are interested in might have had its odometer rolled back.
1.
Take the vehicle to a mechanic and ask him to check for original parts.
Maintenance schedules vary by make and model, but if an odometer reads 30,000 and the vehicle has replacement parts in it that should not have been installed until the 60,000 mile check up, chances are the odometer has been rolled back.
2.
Examine the tires.
If the odometer reads 20,000 miles, the tires should be original.
3.
Compare the mileage on the title with the odometer reading.
If the mileage on the title is blurry, appears to be tampered with, or is obscured in any way, the odometer has likely been rolled back.
4.
For non-digital odometers check to see if the numbers line up.
Crooked or uneven numbers are good indicators of a rolled back odometer.
5.
Check the vehicle history report.
A vehicle history report or VHR will contain a chronological history of a vehicle, including reported mileage: at emission inspections, on certain service and maintenance records, and when the title was transferred.
The vehicle history report will in some cases include an alert when it is believed that the odometer may have been rolled back.
Purchasing a vehicle with a rolled back odometer can cost a consumer thousands of dollars in unanticipated repairs and accelerated depreciation.
Following the five tips above will help you avoid purchasing a vehicle with a rolled back odometer.