How to Avoid Odometer Fraud
Consider this: Each year, odometers
get rolled back an average of 32,000 miles on three million
used cars, and an estimated 50 percent of the leased cars
on the used car market have odometers that have been rolled
back. Not only do these disheartening statistics increase
your chances of buying an unsafe car, but widespread odometer
fraud means you could pay an average of $1,000 more than
you should for a car with an odometer that has been rolled
back. The FBI estimates that odometer fraud costs consumers
$4 billion every year. In fact, odometer fraud is now so
prevalent that there is even a spin-off industry that provides
the sellers of these cars with false titles.
Federal law makes it illegal to change
a car's odometer. No one, not even the owner, is permitted
to turn back or disconnect the odometer (except to perform
necessary repairs). A new law also requires that the odometer
reading be written on the vehicle title when the car is
sold. All states require that the seller, or anyone transferring
ownership of the vehicle, provide the buyer with a signed
statement indicating the mileage on the odometer at the
time of the transfer. But even though it is a federal crime
to disconnect, alter, or reset the odometer and a violation
of securities law to falsify a car's title, odometer fraud
is so common that many buyers automatically assume that
the mileage on a car's odometer is incorrect.
Be sure to make these checks before
purchasing a used car to determine whether the odometer
reading is correct:
- Look for maintenance stickers
on the door post or air filter, which may give the mileage
at the date when last serviced.
- Check the wear on the foot pedals.
If the odometer reads less than 20,000 miles, the pedals
shouldn't show any excessive wear.
- Check the ignition lock. If it
is heavily scratched or the shine is totally gone and
the odometer reads less than 20,000 miles, assume the
odometer was rolled back.
- Carefully check the dashboard
for scratch marks or missing screws, which indicate that
the odometer was tampered with.
- See if all of the numbers on the
odometer line up. Rolled back odometers often have misaligned
numbers.
- Study the title carefully. All
of the numbers should be clear and easy to read. Disreputable
sellers may obscure the numbers with an official looking
stamp or staple or fold the title right through the middle
of the odometer reading, vehicle number or other important
information.
- If there is an odometer disclosure
statement, check the number against the odometer (it should
be close) and make sure everything is clear and legible.
- Check the name on the title. It
should be either the seller's or, if you're buying from
a used car dealer, the previous owner's or dealer's name.
Be suspicious of titles with out-of-state addresses, post
office box addresses, or auction company names.
- Remember, half of all the leased
cars for sale have rolled back odometers. Compare the
driver's seat and door with the passenger's seat and door
for wear and tear. If the driver's side looks as though
it received far heavier usage, then it's a good indication
that this was a company car with a single driver.
- When your mechanic checks the
car, have him or her check the engine compression and
look for worn struts or ball joints and transmission problems
- all signs of high use.
from The Car Book 1998
by Jack Gillis
