Car Mileage Clocked!

[Darius28]

Hi All, thanks for the help on the previous problems. 2 months down the line, after some research, i found out that car mileage might be clocked :censor: , simply by checking previous MOT reports on VOSA web. 2 since 1st MOT which was done usually in May, and suddenly one was done in December, and the mileage readings were 20k ish less comparing with one before. I know many people will say why i didnt do thorough research before buying it, and i dont know, probably i trusted dealer too much, just dont know. Feel now really p*** off, and not gonna give up that easy :censor: . Trading standards were informed already, letters were sent out to the dealer and finance company. Now waiting what they gonna come up with. I guess this is one of those life lessons where you live and learn. I learnt so far that stamps in the service book mean nothing, because you can stamp as much as you like and say FSH, here you go.

So would like to hear what else could be done and how, please. Thanks

Darius

[Fitter]

Hi All, thanks for the help on the previous problems. 2 months down the line, after some research, i found out that car mileage might be clocked :censor: , simply by checking previous MOT reports on VOSA web. 2 since 1st MOT which was done usually in May, and suddenly one was done in December, and the mileage readings were 20k ish less comparing with one before. I know many people will say why i didnt do thorough research before buying it, and i dont know, probably i trusted dealer too much, just dont know. Feel now really p*** off, and not gonna give up that easy :censor: . Trading standards were informed already, letters were sent out to the dealer and finance company. Now waiting what they gonna come up with. I guess this is one of those life lessons where you live and learn. I learnt so far that stamps in the service book mean nothing, because you can stamp as much as you like and say FSH, here you go.

So would like to hear what else could be done and how, please. Thanks

Darius

Altering the mileage recorder and selling the vehicle without informing the buyer is fraud and a criminal offence and you should report your suspicions to the police.

Fitter

[reece]

Was there a disclaimer sticker over the speedo stating the mileage can not be verified?

Most second hand cars I see have one. Saying that I’m sure the discrepancy would have been picked up by the dealer.

[Darius28]

Hi guys. there wasn't any sticker on the speedo saying that. So i can assume that they knew about it. :censor: There is another thing, is it possible to make 30k miles in a year? When i was speaking to the Trading standards, they havent mentioned to let the police know, i dont think that they would be able to do much either. i think it should be the way to check the real mileage by connecting to the ECU? or am i wrong? Cheers

[Myko]

I do 100K miles most years.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, i have just bought a car to find its had 2 new doors and a bonnet. I guess its the risks you take buying second hand! You should call the police, ok not 999 but your local office, inform them and they should investigate it to see who was responsible and bring them down! You dont know if they do it to all their cars!

[Q.S.]

Was there a disclaimer sticker over the speedo stating the mileage can not be verified?

Most second hand cars I see have one. Saying that I’m sure the discrepancy would have been picked up by the dealer.

The sticker on the speedo means jack Sh*t, all it means is that they can't guarantee it hasn't been clocked before they got it. It does NOT excuse anyone from being done for the offence, all the police need to do is pinned it down to who owned it when the clocking was done.

[Thermal]

The mileage/kilometer counter is in the ECU, and can be set to anything you like if you have the proper tool.

Some of the more advanced OBD scanners/diagnostics devices, that are freely available, have that function.

It is intended and supposed to be used by certified personell only, in case an ECU needs to be replaced and the mileage be reset to what it was before the swap.

[Pat2u]

There was a topic on the bbc watchdog program last night about clocking vehicles, i've not been to the bbc's site but on the program i am sure they wanted to hear from anyone who has a clocked vehicle, maybe if you if you get in touch they maybe able to help you and advise you how to make a claim for a refund on your vehicle.

These cars of today are to easy to clock back, the car shown on the watchdog program last night was clocked from 123000 back to 47000 and of course the price also went up.

[Thermal]

In The Netherlands, we have the so-called "Nationale Autopas", a central register which contains the Km clocks of all registered cars and is free for access to anyone.

The register is updated after every service and every compulsary APK, (=MOT in the UK)

So if you want to buy a used car over here, you first check the register for mileage and reported missing, which sets you back €4,95.

If you can't find the car in there or smell something fishy, walk away.

BTW, even with that national register in place, still 1 out of every 18 used cars offered has been proven to be clocked, and is sold to the ignorant...

That's almost 5% !

I guess that number will be a lot higher in the UK then.

[Darius28]

I do 100K miles most years.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, i have just bought a car to find its had 2 new doors and a bonnet. I guess its the risks you take buying second hand! You should call the police, ok not 999 but your local office, inform them and they should investigate it to see who was responsible and bring them down! You dont know if they do it to all their cars!

how did you find out that doors and bonnet have been replaced? i just noticed today that the gap between bonnet and one wing is slightly bigger than other one! started looking closer and noticed few scratches on the screws :censor: everything what can go wrong is going. At least credit company is investigating thee case about the mileage. As the garage is washing their hands off saying that there is a disclaimer on the invoice as the mileage couldnt be verified. trading standards are saying that its not enough. Now its just waiting game.

[Myko]

The bolts on the doors are a massive indication, if they are worn, marked then the doors have likely been taken of for some reason. I have had someone look at my car and this is what he said to me. The doors have serial numbers on them along with the bonnet, if you look at all the doors and notice the difference with stickers / badges ie if tey are missing or incorrect serial numbers with the rest of the car! The bonnet should have stickers on underside, one about AC and another about lights. Another thing is take off the door panel and check if the colour is the same through out. If its a different door its likely been sprayed the colour of your car and behind the panel will be different!

Different size gaps are an indication that something is a miss, maybe new bonnet or body panel.

I first discovered this when I got someone to look at my electrics as the back windows wouldnt work on the driver switch, the guy "intheno" has found that I have a different wiring loom from a lower spec car that would not have had rear window switches on driver door. He is helping me sort this out and to get them working.

Hope everything works itself out for you

[Darius28]

The bolts on the doors are a massive indication, if they are worn, marked then the doors have likely been taken of for some reason. I have had someone look at my car and this is what he said to me. The doors have serial numbers on them along with the bonnet, if you look at all the doors and notice the difference with stickers / badges ie if tey are missing or incorrect serial numbers with the rest of the car! The bonnet should have stickers on underside, one about AC and another about lights. Another thing is take off the door panel and check if the colour is the same through out. If its a different door its likely been sprayed the colour of your car and behind the panel will be different!

Different size gaps are an indication that something is a miss, maybe new bonnet or body panel.

I first discovered this when I got someone to look at my electrics as the back windows wouldnt work on the driver switch, the guy "intheno" has found that I have a different wiring loom from a lower spec car that would not have had rear window switches on driver door. He is helping me sort this out and to get them working.

Hope everything works itself out for you

i am sorry you are in a such position. Well i am starting to think that i will have just to live with it and thats all. Last resort i will try to get previous owner details and try to find out something from them, but i doubt it though. I think for me its just a principle now. My car is silver colour and to see that the bolts are worn isnt that easy. Well i learnt good lesson for the future. Cheers

[Avensis 1999]

Hi sorry to hear your bad news. Why dont you name and shame the garage on this forum, so we can spread the word, and others will know which garage to steer clear of.

What a bunch of :censor: , it really winds me up when I hear stories like this.