Odometer Fraud

"The car belonged to a little old lady, and she hardly drove it"—music to the ears of a used car buyer. But, before snapping up the little old lady's vintage Ford Mustang, make sure there isn't a wolf behind the wheel. Worn, high-mileage clunkers can morph into low-mileage sweet deals with a little fraudulent finesse of the odometer.


The odometer mileage on a vehicle can add or subtract thousands of dollars from the market value of a used car. With a few simple tools, real miles can be rolled back to increase the resale value of a vehicle. Scrap marks on the odometer or misaligned numbers are two tip-offs that the numbers lie. The odometer can also be disconnected after a certain mileage is reached and reconnected later for resale. Odometer readings can be misrepresented: 49,000 miles showing on the odometer instead of the actual 149,000 miles after the odometer rolls over, for example.

Worn, high-mileage clunkers can morph into low-mileage sweet deals with a little fraudulent finesse of the odometer.
Odometer fraud is against the law in every state and is a felony under federal law. But that doesn't deter unscrupulous dealers and individual sellers from doctoring odometers. Carfax, an online title search service, estimates that one in 10 used cars has had its odometer rolled back. Consumers duped by this con pay an average of $2,000 more than the true value of the vehicle and often far more, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).


NHTSA offers these tips for verifying the odometer reading on a vehicle:


> Be sure the seller has certified the odometer reading in writing.


> If the seller says the odometer reading is incorrect, take it to an impartial auto mechanic for inspection. As a general rule, take any used vehicle to an auto mechanic for inspection before purchasing.


> When an odometer breaks and is repaired or replaced and cannot be adjusted to the true mileage, it must be set at zero. A sticker indicating the true mileage before service and the date of service must be attached to the left doorframe, and the true odometer reading must be disclosed at the time of sale.