I'm considering purchasing a used car but suspect that the owner is not being truthful about the odometer reading. My mechanic suggested that it looks as if the mileage has been tampered with. How can I verify that he's being honest? Is this a crime if he's lying?
Answers from the Automotive Experts
Most new model vehicles have a tamperproof
odometer, when tampered with the odometer becomes inoperative. it is possible
that some one could replace a instrument cluster containing the odometer with a
used on that indicates a lower mileage and this would be very hard to detect. A
good technician should be able to instpect a vehicle and determine if the
mileage is fairly accurate but this is a guessing game at best. You could run
the Vehicle Identification number (VIN) through a service like "Carfax" to see
what mileage shows as the last insurance or warranty repair mileage but this
might not be of help to you.
If You really believe the vehicle seller is being
dishonest, go find another vehicle to purchase and do not worry about this
vehicle. It is a crime to tamper with a vehicle odometer if you are caught, but
this is very hard to catch.