Laws Prohibit Tampering and Inaccurate Odometer Disclosures
July 29, 2008
Buyers rely heavily on a vehicles mileage in determining a vehicles condition and value. Accurate odometer readings and disclosures, therefore, are essential for maintaining a reliable basis for determining a vehicles condition and value.
For these two reasons, both federal and state law prohibits both odometer tampering, and also false mileage disclosures. Federal law stipulates that all vehicle sellers will include and certify an odometer disclosure statement that clearly states the following:
(a) the odometer reflects the actual mileage,
(b) the odometer shows the actual number of miles the vehicle has traveled even if it is beyond mechanical limits of the odometer, or
(c) the odometer is not showing the correct mileage.
Other than modifying the odometer by rolling back the display, shady used vehicle dealers also ignore evidence of fraud or tampering. Sometimes, the odometer readings that have been recorded in the repair records of the vehicle are inconsistent.
That is, a vehicle’s title history may show lower mileage in 2007 than in 2006. Additionally, there may be signs of possible odometer tampering that the seller should have noticed such as missing screws around the odometer casing or evidence that the casing and trim around the odometer were removed at one time.
These are signs that the seller should take seriously and check into the history of the vehicle. If he fails to do this then he’s not certifying that the odometer is showing the correct mileage.
Car buyers who are concerned about the accuracy of odometer readings on a used vehicle can check the services such as Autocheck that gather background information on used vehicles. sometimes even these background reports are not accurate so. Another option is to take your car to a specialty garage where they can check for signs of tampering.
If it turns out that the seller does mess with the odometer or that he doesn’t provide airtight odometer disclosures, use really looking for trouble, because federal law has serious penalties for such violators. Keep in mind though that federal laws regarding odometer tampering does not apply to vehicles that are more than 10 years old.
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