 |  | | | "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.
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.
> Look for oil stickers, service records, or warranty cards, which may reflect the mileage of the vehicle.
> Ask to see the odometer statement that the seller received when he bought the vehicle for comparison.
> If buying from a dealer, contact the previous owner to verify the mileage and condition of the vehicle. You can obtain the previous owner's name by phoning the Division of Motor Vehicle's office and providing them with the vehicle identification number (VIN), which is visible through the front windshield on the driver's side of the vehicle.
> Be wary of low-mileage cars coming off lease. Leased vehicles are driven an average of 30,000 miles per year, and a high percentage is offered with odometer rollbacks.
> Run a vehicle record check through one of the online services to be sure the low mileage isn't a sign of a refurbished lemon.
> Take a test drive over varying terrain and traffic situations to see how well the vehicle performs.
If you've already been burned by odometer fraud, you can sue for civil damages. You must be able to prove that the odometer mileage was misrepresented, who was responsible for the misrepresentation, and that there was intent to defraud. If you win, the court will award you $1,500 or three times the amount of damages, whichever is greater, plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
The Better Business Bureau says that all schemes and scams are based on a few basic flimflam principles and that consumers who can read the danger signals in a deal can save themselves a lot of time and money. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is a scam. Walk away from it. Creating a pressure-buying situation, where the consumer has to make an immediate decision, is another favorite sales approach of the con artist.
Resources
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Better Business Bureau, www.bbb.org
Carfax, www.carfax.com
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), www.nhtsa.dot.gov
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