There are several odometers in a car. The main odometer is in the ECU (electrical control unit). Some new cars with ABS system can have another odometer on the ABS controller. Some even have odometers in LED HL and RL controllers (new cars have seperate ECU to control these). So basically you can check odometer from different areas to see if they match. But keep in mind that these can also be reprogrammed however usually the first one reprogrammed is the main ECU and they do not bother to touch others.
I have purchased quite a few used cars. The thing I always look for is whether the condition of the car matches the odometer reading. Also having service records is a plus and buying models owned by older people. Having tinkered with cars for years I can usually tell if they have been in an accident. It is a gamble buying used but generally I have gotten decent cars. Got burned a bit on my first car when I was in high school but that experience taught me what to look for so it was not a total loss.
I'm so tired of buying used anything. Bought an f150 with minor crash damage to fix up. Supposedly 70k mi engine, rebuilt transmission. Brought my favorite mechanic friend with me. Got the truck home and oh hey, it knocks! Fuck people.
@@waterloo123100 I did. Didn't make any noise until I was clear home the next day. It's only barely noticable. Need to be at near redline and 0 load. Still a good deal, but not as good as if it didn't have the issue.
Always good to have a mechanic look at it before buying. Preferably a shop that also does collision work because a good body man knows what to look for. I've bought & found many good vehicles for friends & family over the years. I grew up working on cars. The first thing I do is look under the vehicle for leaks, rust, damage etc. Look at the seams & body lines to insure gaps are even. Under the hood check to see bolts , plastic, weatherstrip is all there & looks original. Take it for a good highway test drive & watch the temperature gauge and oil pressure. You're about to spend thousands. Make sure it's right because once you sign the paper There's No Going Back.
Please locate ANY brand new American made car that has perfectly even body lines / door gaps.. most of them are thrown together at speed in order to reduce cost and never match properly from day 1
@@forestpagan4813 you can tell if it's been wrecked. They never get it right once repaired. usually you can spot it in pictures or 20 feet away. The hood, doors, trunk lid gap will be off to one side more than the other. The comment is an example and one of many things to look for.
@@johnstack5008 The mechanic is for inspection not to have work done. if they lift it in the air and it's cover in oil what would they have to gain by lying to you? you don't own the car. There is no money to be made other than the inspection.
@@BigAlWillis If you watch Scotty Kilmer's channel, when you take a car to a crooked shop for one of these inspections, the shop won't even look at the car, tell you everything is fine, then charge you for the inspection. Then when the transmission blows up a couple of months later, he figures you will bring it back to him for the repair.
In the old days the dishonest sellers used to remove the mechanical speedometer and use a service tool to roll back the odometer. With the electric odometers it is possible to buy a specialized electronic odometer adjustment tool to roll back the odometer. The idea of this tool was to be able to re-calibrate back to the proper reading when the instruments have to be serviced. It was not intended to be used for dishonest use. -- When I was a kid back in the 50s, I remember a neighbor of ours put a rental car up on blocks and left it run in revers for over an hour to take off some millage on it. With many of the new cars they are smart to this. Being computerized they measure the distance forward and reverse. The odometer distance is reflected on a number of computer boards in the vehicle. Many of the vehicles transmit to the manufacture their status using data packets over the mobile phone network and over the Bluetooth connection in your phone if your phone is linked. When I go to the dealer for servicing my vehicle they can see the distance I drive when I am checking in the vehicle for service. If someone was to tamper with the odometer this would not change the reading the manufacture received. Where I live it is illegal to tamper with the odometer reading.
The title said "odometer incorrect." The salesman said," take it or leave it." I took it and put another $2500 in it and have a really great 1988 Lincoln Town Car! Been 5 years now with no issues. (other than problems with the vinyl top) Newer model cars may not be as easy to get a good deal on though. They simply are not built to last 25 years!
My grandparents drove their 1976 Caprice for 33 years, before they finally traded it off in 2009. Those older cars really lasted, but I'm sure they put a couple engines and probably a transmission in it over those years. All components eventually wear out and need replacing.
In the 60's 70's and thru the 90's it was easy to see if an odometer had been altered because in most cases the digits would not line up perfectly. With later model, digital odometers it was just a matter of time before criminals got one step ahead of us and figure how to outsmart technology and used car purchasers. Be aware---
Not possible... I know asking people to think is difficult, but people need to think and NOT be stupid! Regardless I probably bought a vehicle with rigged odometer but don't care 🤷🏾♂️ why.. the car was MECHANICALLY perfect! It's not like I'm selling the car I'm buying I'm just using the car! It's much worse to buy a car with real odometer and mechanically its fucked up!
@Purp40 the reason I made that comment IS because I AM in the car industry, and personally I've bought cars with rigged milage and nothing happens besides regular maintenance. Regardless as a smart consumer it's the person's responsibility to double check the purchase, in real estate you can add contingencies to back out of a deal in case something comes up during the due diligence phase. I also own a car rental fleet and I'm constantly rotating cars because I maintain them 1000% even though they have high mileage people buy them Regardless because they see the proof I provide and I also let them take the cars to personal mechanic for more reassurance. Granted that's why I said 80% of consumers are stupid also buying cheap cars doesn't matter because it's still going to give out. I understand something with 100k vs 500k but I know for a fact those people selling cars with rigged miles DONT TAKE CARE OF THEM. So if I were them I would lower the miles make it "look" good and sell with all the issues. Let the consumer deal with it. Luckily I don't need to do some bullshit like that, but I've been a victim of rigged miles but it didn't matter "to me" anyways it not like I'm looking to sell the cheap car anyways.
@@swagkidm10 They have pretty much all the information on the car that's available to the public. (Note that not all states put their DMV records online.) Add in the car's maintenance history, and you should be as well-informed as it's possible to be.
If the car has wear on the driver seat or carpets that just doesn't match the mileage the odometer was likely rolled back or it had a very careless previous owner.. walk away and keep looking!
Was looking at a Corvette online with 50,000 + miles. Saw the worn seat, worn out buttons on dash, steering wheel rash and that was all I had to see. Moving on.
same thing happened to me. Checked out an Acura sedan. Supposedly had 35,000 but had the driver seat area and pedals all worn like it more like 90,000. I said no thanks and kept it moving.
Carfax is not reliable at all. If something isn’t reported it’s not going to come up. Better go to a knowledgeable mechanic in that area and have it checked out.
I agree. But still, it is good to check it out. As to the wear and tear on the pedals, that’s another good sign. I have sold vehicles with +170k miles on the ODO and the brake pedals does reflects the wear and tear signs. Another sign, seats and seat belts. That’s a huge red flag.
U can’t tell especially with modern cars. When I replace pcms I have to manually input the exact mileage. Sure the mileage is stored in other modules but for cjdr vehicles the mileage displayed on the instrument cluster is read from the PCM itself. I could simply launch my scan tool, write the odometer in my wife’s minivan to 0 if I wanted too. Repair history in my opinion is the best answer to uncover mileage.
in the UK we have a yearly test on a vehicle it is called the MOT and the miles it has done is recorded and you can go on line and check the mileage but even that can be got around
I have a classic 95 Jaguar with 280k miles. I switched the odometer because I didn't like how my old one was looking. But by doing so, it dropped my mileage down more 100k. As a classic owner I didn't like that. So I switch computer board on odometer to still have my mileage back to show people my car is still out lasting these modern day cars 🤪
Trust your butt. Look at the drivers seat, feel it, check for color differences like it's been recovered. Oh and listen for rattling in the doors when you shut them and when you're driving it. Older cars with miles on them, make noise that aren't easily correlated. Also look at the seatbelts and seatbelt connectors for wear. If this were the old days, I'd look at the ashtrays and lighters.
I remember my brother was trading in a BMW 320 I in the early 80’s and the salesman questioned the validity of the mileage because the excessive wear on the the brake and gas pedal. The salesperson was correct.
In California you can see the Smog checks every 2 years with mileage on the history report. Also common sense like seeing how worn the clutch pedal is. And plastics rattle with mileage.
Pitted windshield or new windshield Pitted hood Seat covers or no wear on seats Steering wheel cover or no wear No service records New tires or worn out tires Or just buy a car that was regularly serviced at dealer.
No records on the car = no sale. I have the original price sticker for my car and every repair and oil change (with mileage) every performed. My file is 2" thick showing that my Mercedes was maintained to perfection.
if your buying a car based solely on the odometer reading you need to educate yourself better. There are some very simple ways to confirm mileage , some of which were pointed out in this video
The number of miles is not as important as how those miles were put on. A car that was driven around town most of the time will have more wear than a car that spent most of its time on the highway. My 1995 Mustang as 85,000 true miles on it, but over half of those miles were put on at a study 70mph on I-5. It is in VERY good condition mechanically.
True! I sold a Civic with 210,000 highways miles on it ... it still ran like a watch, and the buyer was very happy with it. The cars to really watch out for are sports cars that have been abused by boy racers. A year of burnouts, donuts and drag racing is tougher on a car than a decade of going to church on Sundays.
@@jpdemer5; yes, any car that was owned by a teenage boy is suspect, but for overall wear, a car that spent 100,000 miles being driven in city and town traffic will usually have more wear on the drive train than a car that spent 100,000 miles being driven on highways. The stop and go of in-town traffic takes a heavy toll on a car's running gear.
As a mechanic I’m recommending as usually 1. Before you purchase a car take a mobile inspector 2. We not buying mileage we buying the actual condition on the car what the service history can prove it. 3. Asking when and where was the last oil change and if was bigger company possible same places was earlier too and asking the service history about it. 4. Of course 1-2-3G cars are not worth the efforts but usually newer cars or and way more expensive cars involved 5. Many times people don’t want cheating just possibly the odometer units are damaged somehow. Just example that odometers has sometimes pretty tricky led lights and replacing just one led cost way more with a specialist than replacing the complete unit.
In Texas, we have to have our vehicles inspected once a year and the mileage is recorded. Guessing North Carolina doesn't have that yearly inspection requirement?
we do, so it's odd that she didn't mention that. in NC you have to get a yearly safety and emissions inspection, at least where I live in central NC and the paper receipt you get has the mileage and VIN on it. Does the state of NC not record this info/send it carfax?
Funny, according CARFAX These are the 10 states nationwide with the most vehicles with rolled-back odometers, all of which saw increases: Texas 245,600 cars. lol Chart showing the top 10 states nationwide with the most vehicles with rolled back odometers, all of which saw increases. They are, in order, California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, and North Carolina.
@@chucktaylor9190 More or less proportional to the number of cars in each state - what a surprise. The per capita numbers might tell you something of actual interest.
This can already be done if you buy a different cluster gauge I did it with a 2008 Chevy equinox. When I got rid of it though I took it to the junk yard because I'd never sell something like that to someone. Dont do onto others that you don't want done to you.
A car's service record should be the biggest red flag. I think most car owners take their cars to a dealer for servicing. Either a bunch or at least a few times. If your Ford dealer looks up a car and says its last service was at 80,000 miles and the odometer says 8,000 miles, you've got a problem. :/
Here's a question to think about: How does this apply to a car that's had the engine switched out? There are several shops out there that sell used engines all of the time. If the motor has been replaced with a better one, what difference will the readings on the odometer make.
The engine is not the only component of a vehicle that wears. Body and frame rust, transmission wears out, differentials and transfer cases, suspension, brake electronics, window motors, etc etc. Everything goes bad over time. Is the milage the be all end all when vehicle shopping? No, maintenance has a lot to do with how good a car will be into the future, but its an easy to understand metric for the average consumer that isn't a professional technician. The most important thing to do when purchasing a used car is to get it inspected by a shop that you know and trust, and they'll be able to give you a better idea of what kind of condition the vehicle is in and what you might be able to expect during your ownership.
Engine and transmission miles play a little bit into it, but aren't everything. They're the most expensive though! Imagine you get a car with new engine and transmission done by the best shop in the world. You still could have a window regulator go out, AC could quit, suspension be shot, dash could flicker..... But usually the hard to fix expensive issues go away.
@@comicbookguy2326 Ironically, usually electronics/window motors/etc. have more issues when the car sits too much. In my opinion/experience, most problems with cars comes down to abuse more so than miles or even maintenance: doing burnouts/donuts, hanging on doors and spilling food/drinks all over the interior and getting it on electrical connectors, bashing stuff around, piling junk everywhere that can wedge in seat tracks, etc., leaving windows down for UV to blast in and rain to pool, etc. I never have had to do much of anything regarding maintenance on my cars and I've had very few issues, it's more about what you *don't* do to them (abuse) that makes a car last.
The first thing I ask for is the service records. If they don't have any, I'll pass. There are a lot of people that deliberately NEVER change the oil. If they say they don't keep the records of service, ask where service is done and verify mileage that way. If the seller refuses, you'll know why. Also, go to a dealer for that make and ask for their service records. Warranty and all repairs will have records with mileage. Sames goes for any shop. I'll go through the glove box, consoles and under the seats. You'd be surprised at the information you can find there, even at dealers. Be sure to check inside the owners manual too.
Just Buy a 10 Year old Toyota That has had proper Maintenance and a minimum of care and the Mileage won't matter it will last another 10 Years they are that Reliable.
Not sure how rust proves the odometer reading to be rolled back. In a state like new jersey where the seasons change, where your car has in imperfection wikl turn to rust. The scrwes and bolts under the hood will rust. Has nothing to do with the odometer
My 05 Volvo XC70 with 245k miles runs just as good and even better than most of these newer model computers on wheels. Here in Lancaster PA and it always amazes to see so many earlier model vehicles broke down on the shoulder with a cloth hanging out the window. I'm talking 2010-2020 models broke down or getting towed.....smh
It doesnt help when car manufacturers like vw specifically design certain shit so that you HAVE to take it to their dealerships. If you were a mechanic before 2005 you cant work on a 2015 car. Its too advanced.
@@donovanjones4175 I've had mine now five years now and yes I put a few dollars in for up keep but at 245k I have to admit she's looks and runs super mint. The trans went at 240k so she's got a new trans and still able to get to up 105 mph when no one is looking. At night around here in Lancaster, the highways become Autobahns. No speed limits and no cops.
Could just be a lot of city miles (which could be good to know) or a lazy driver that slides their foot a lot. All highway miles could also have a ton of miles and very little brake pedal use.
You could just pull a speed sensor out of a volvo and drive it without putting miles on it. Speedometer still works even. I forgot to plug mine back in when doing the bearings.
I test drove a Porsche Boxster it had 50,000 km on the clock. But when driving it felt like it had 150,000km on the clock. There was obviously something not right. Even though the service books appeared in order. I told the guy the car feels like it’s done 150,000 kms not 50,000 km and he said “Thank you for your feedback” Nevertheless stayed well clear of that one.
Why are the brake pedals so small on most "modern" cars with automatic? & they are also too close to the accelerator! - one can step on both at the same time with right foot - not good. On '60s cars the brake pedal was monstrous - 2 feet could fit on it! & if you had 4 wheel drum brakes, the brake pedal was much higher than the accel pedal - impossible to step on both with 1 foot at same time.
1. Check the carfax or car history. 2. The dash has a separate computer from the engine and transmission ECUs (electric control unit.) So a high level scan tool will be able to see that data.
The thing no one ever talks about is a relative low mileage rollback. A relatively late model car is rolled back from 30,000 to 19,000 - even a CPO car - this adds a thousand or two more to the selling price, makes the car more attractive to the buyer. No one will be able to detect any difference in terms of wear on the seat, carpet, wear on the brake pedal, etc. Very difficult for any mechanic to detect anything unusual. It's the egregious 100k rollbacks that are caught and prosecuted. The smaller ones are nice little bonus dollars for the sellers. For bigger sellers this adds up to real money.
There are multiple odometers on modern cars. A crooked seller might take the trouble to re-set all of them, not just the one for the dash display, but it's something a mechanic can check for you.
I have researched Honda Accord 2018. I am fairly certain that on this car the odometer data is only held in the dash console. There is needs to be better data out there as to which cars have secondary odometer data stored in which modules (other than the instrument cluster) and what is needed to read that data. In my experience your average mechanic does not readily know how to do this.
Very simple to check just ask the last data of maintence of the vehicle and where had been done, and check the record if it is match to the odometer of the and shop who services the car.
But then you have to worry about maintenance periods more, immediate loss of value, stress over cosmetics, higher insurance rates, even more wasted more if you make payments which you still won’t own the car until it’s fully paid off, you could buy 8 used cars for the price of one new one
I just want to point out that she mentioned North Carolina which is #11 at 44,000 incidents, but neglected to mention that Californian is the number 1 in the country, by far, with nearly 10x the #2-11 at almost 500,000 incidents of rolled back odometers.
Proportionally California has the most cars on the road, and by a bunch. So statistically the headline number (437,000) is misleading, and it also includes a whole boatload of cars where the car odometers were rolled back in another state and sold in California, which has the largest used car market. It's a nationwide problem. No state is any safer than another.
@@jpdemer5 You're right. Actually California has twice the number of cars than Texas, but not twice the number of rolled odometers. So Texas is number #1 proportionally with this crime, but the trolls on TH-cam will blame democratic states for leading in anything like this. It's just stupid. I guess it's Newsome's fault that Texas has a bigger problem than California.
California has twice the number of cars than Texas, but not twice the number of rolled back odometers. So Texas is number #1 proportionally with this crime, but the trolls on TH-cam will blame democratic states for leading in anything like this. It's just stupid. I guess it's Newsome's fault that Texas has a bigger problem than California.
Some well cared for cars are clean other than steering wheel seat wear. Heard of anunscrupulous dealer replacing the steering wheel and reupholstering the drivers seat on a clean high mileage car
Every time I sell a car or trade one in, I secretly roll the odometer ahead. I've added as much as 55,000 miles on a 2013 Ford Escape that I sold on Craiglist. That way I get less money for the vehicle. But I make that money back by insisting on paying more for my next car.
If you have too much money I can take it off your hands. It will be pretty straightforward no odometer rolling or purchasing new cars simply handing me the money or wiring it to my account. Do we have deal Mr. Generous? 😂
Back in the 1980's had a BMW 3 series. The speedometer along with the odometer failed which was replaced under warranty. The dealer put a sticker with the previous milage on the door jamb. This was in the days of mechanical odometers. Seems a lot of these issues are in poorly regulated RED states to where consumer laws are lax.
wow, good to know. And I thought it was not possible to rollback electronic odometers. Other things to check. If factory screws and bolts have been replaced in areas such as body panels, hinges, plastics. The factory usually paints these fasteners too, so its easier to tell if they've been replaced. This is a sign of an accident. I've been to many used car dealers and at least 50% of the cars that supposedly had no accidents cleary had parts replaced. I called them out on these and they played "dumb." Yeah right! I walked out immediately. I'm not falling for those tricks. If they're not honest with that what else are they holding out on?
Rollbacks aside, odometer miles are a trivial aspect of a car's condition unless it's like 50k vs 500k. I don't even really care what the odometer says, I look over a car and if the car is in good shape at a fair price, I'll buy it. Cars can be idled for hours and hours and driven through the worst road salt winter after winter and show 25k on the odometer but be junk, meanwhile a traveling salesman that puts tons of highway miles on a car in the South might be like new even with 200k+ on it and is just getting broken in. Condition condition condition, forget the odometer. Also, for many cars even throwing in a new engine/trans is easier and cheaper than fixing a destroyed interior and crusty frame.
Easy solution. Just buy a brand new car. Considering how overpriced used cars have gotten, you might as well buy new with a full bumper to bumper warranty for the first 3 years.
the thing we need to worry about is cars that have been through floods, it might take some time but every car thats been under water will in time have problems, and not easy to find. yes 100% will have problems it just takes time to show up.
I don't how the presence of rust could possibly be an indicator of a rolled back odometer. Rust is an indicator of the vehicle age or living in the rust belt where road salt is prevalent.
I think the oxidation of aluminum components is a better indicator of age (though not mileage per se) ... it's slow and steady, and takes place regardless of the climate.
There are several odometers in a car. The main odometer is in the ECU (electrical control unit). Some new cars with ABS system can have another odometer on the ABS controller. Some even have odometers in LED HL and RL controllers (new cars have seperate ECU to control these). So basically you can check odometer from different areas to see if they match. But keep in mind that these can also be reprogrammed however usually the first one reprogrammed is the main ECU and they do not bother to touch others.
Right, bc they figure the typical person won't have a clue. Thanks for the tips! I'm looking for a car right now.
Excellent talking points
Great tips!
Thank You for pointing that out!!
Thanks for the tip!
Good thing all used car salesmen are honest.
I have purchased quite a few used cars. The thing I always look for is whether the condition of the car matches the odometer reading. Also having service records is a plus and buying models owned by older people. Having tinkered with cars for years I can usually tell if they have been in an accident. It is a gamble buying used but generally I have gotten decent cars. Got burned a bit on my first car when I was in high school but that experience taught me what to look for so it was not a total loss.
I'm so tired of buying used anything. Bought an f150 with minor crash damage to fix up. Supposedly 70k mi engine, rebuilt transmission. Brought my favorite mechanic friend with me. Got the truck home and oh hey, it knocks! Fuck people.
@@joblessalex what you didn’t drive it before you bought it? Lol
@@waterloo123100 I did. Didn't make any noise until I was clear home the next day. It's only barely noticable. Need to be at near redline and 0 load. Still a good deal, but not as good as if it didn't have the issue.
some states have pre-inspection options before you buy the car......
Always good to have a mechanic look at it before buying. Preferably a shop that also does collision work because a good body man knows what to look for. I've bought & found many good vehicles for friends & family over the years. I grew up working on cars. The first thing I do is look under the vehicle for leaks, rust, damage etc. Look at the seams & body lines to insure gaps are even. Under the hood check to see bolts , plastic, weatherstrip is all there & looks original. Take it for a good highway test drive & watch the temperature gauge and oil pressure. You're about to spend thousands. Make sure it's right because once you sign the paper There's No Going Back.
Please locate ANY brand new American made car that has perfectly even body lines / door gaps.. most of them are thrown together at speed in order to reduce cost and never match properly from day 1
The trouble is a lot of mechanic shops are crooked. Will you ask a crook to tell you if car seller is a crook?
@@forestpagan4813 you can tell if it's been wrecked. They never get it right once repaired. usually you can spot it in pictures or 20 feet away. The hood, doors, trunk lid gap will be off to one side more than the other. The comment is an example and one of many things to look for.
@@johnstack5008 The mechanic is for inspection not to have work done. if they lift it in the air and it's cover in oil what would they have to gain by lying to you? you don't own the car. There is no money to be made other than the inspection.
@@BigAlWillis If you watch Scotty Kilmer's channel, when you take a car to a crooked shop for one of these inspections, the shop won't even look at the car, tell you everything is fine, then charge you for the inspection. Then when the transmission blows up a couple of months later, he figures you will bring it back to him for the repair.
As this country is already a banana republic this is not surprising
Banana republic 😭🤣
With kangaroo courts...
Guess you should leave then.
Ran by demo rats
😂😂hahaha
In the old days the dishonest sellers used to remove the mechanical speedometer and use a service tool to roll back the odometer. With the electric odometers it is possible to buy a specialized electronic odometer adjustment tool to roll back the odometer. The idea of this tool was to be able to re-calibrate back to the proper reading when the instruments have to be serviced. It was not intended to be used for dishonest use.
--
When I was a kid back in the 50s, I remember a neighbor of ours put a rental car up on blocks and left it run in revers for over an hour to take off some millage on it.
With many of the new cars they are smart to this. Being computerized they measure the distance forward and reverse. The odometer distance is reflected on a number of computer boards in the vehicle.
Many of the vehicles transmit to the manufacture their status using data packets over the mobile phone network and over the Bluetooth connection in your phone if your phone is linked. When I go to the dealer for servicing my vehicle they can see the distance I drive when I am checking in the vehicle for service. If someone was to tamper with the odometer this would not change the reading the manufacture received.
Where I live it is illegal to tamper with the odometer reading.
We used to call them Odometer Forks.
Wait so if you drive in reverse it erases mileage?
The title said "odometer incorrect." The salesman said," take it or leave it." I took it and put another $2500 in it and have a really great 1988 Lincoln Town Car! Been 5 years now with no issues. (other than problems with the vinyl top) Newer model cars may not be as easy to get a good deal on though. They simply are not built to last 25 years!
My grandparents drove their 1976 Caprice for 33 years, before they finally traded it off in 2009. Those older cars really lasted, but I'm sure they put a couple engines and probably a transmission in it over those years. All components eventually wear out and need replacing.
In the 60's 70's and thru the 90's it was easy to see if an odometer had been altered because in most cases the digits would not line up perfectly. With later model, digital odometers it was just a matter of time before criminals got one step ahead of us and figure how to outsmart technology and used car purchasers. Be aware---
Car manufacturers need to install a data logger into the system that records whenever a device is used to access odometer settings.
Not possible...
I know asking people to think is difficult, but people need to think and NOT be stupid!
Regardless I probably bought a vehicle with rigged odometer but don't care 🤷🏾♂️ why.. the car was MECHANICALLY perfect!
It's not like I'm selling the car I'm buying I'm just using the car!
It's much worse to buy a car with real odometer and mechanically its fucked up!
@@aim-for-greatn3z947 BMW does it...
It's only possible for them to install a automated fail safe to repo your vehicle if you miss a payment
@Purp40 the reason I made that comment IS because I AM in the car industry, and personally I've bought cars with rigged milage and nothing happens besides regular maintenance.
Regardless as a smart consumer it's the person's responsibility to double check the purchase, in real estate you can add contingencies to back out of a deal in case something comes up during the due diligence phase.
I also own a car rental fleet and I'm constantly rotating cars because I maintain them 1000% even though they have high mileage people buy them Regardless because they see the proof I provide and I also let them take the cars to personal mechanic for more reassurance.
Granted that's why I said 80% of consumers are stupid also buying cheap cars doesn't matter because it's still going to give out.
I understand something with 100k vs 500k but I know for a fact those people selling cars with rigged miles DONT TAKE CARE OF THEM.
So if I were them I would lower the miles make it "look" good and sell with all the issues. Let the consumer deal with it.
Luckily I don't need to do some bullshit like that, but I've been a victim of rigged miles but it didn't matter "to me" anyways it not like I'm looking to sell the cheap car anyways.
@@purp40 regardless its up to thenconsumer to do due diligence 🤷🏾♂️
The best way is through DMV.
Check past specs.
No mechanic can say for sure how many miles is on any vehicle except maybe his or her own.
That's where Carfax gets their information. (Dredging through all 50 states on your own would be pretty onerous.)
@@jpdemer5 so carfax is s safe bet?
@@swagkidm10 They have pretty much all the information on the car that's available to the public. (Note that not all states put their DMV records online.) Add in the car's maintenance history, and you should be as well-informed as it's possible to be.
Analog odometers were child's play to roll back. My dad did it for a living at a used car lot. He always replaced the pedals too.
That’s terrible 😮
What a POS.
So you confess to the world that your dad was a thief.
He is a criminal
If the car has wear on the driver seat or carpets that just doesn't match the mileage the odometer was likely rolled back or it had a very careless previous owner.. walk away and keep looking!
Was looking at a Corvette online with 50,000 + miles. Saw the worn seat, worn out buttons on dash, steering wheel rash and that was all I had to see. Moving on.
same thing happened to me. Checked out an Acura sedan. Supposedly had 35,000 but had the driver seat area and pedals all worn like it more like 90,000. I said no thanks and kept it moving.
Even though the odometer matches what has been reported in the CARFAX, there is a possibility that the car has a rolled back odometer.
Yes very true
Carfax is not reliable at all. If something isn’t reported it’s not going to come up. Better go to a knowledgeable mechanic in that area and have it checked out.
I agree. But still, it is good to check it out. As to the wear and tear on the pedals, that’s another good sign. I have sold vehicles with +170k miles on the ODO and the brake pedals does reflects the wear and tear signs. Another sign, seats and seat belts. That’s a huge red flag.
Vehicle reports such as "carfax" are not reliable sources. Always check it out in person
😁
U can’t tell especially with modern cars. When I replace pcms I have to manually input the exact mileage.
Sure the mileage is stored in other modules but for cjdr vehicles the mileage displayed on the instrument cluster is read from the PCM itself. I could simply launch my scan tool, write the odometer in my wife’s minivan to 0 if I wanted too.
Repair history in my opinion is the best answer to uncover mileage.
in the UK we have a yearly test on a vehicle it is called the MOT and the miles it has done is recorded and you can go on line and check the mileage but even that can be got around
I have a classic 95 Jaguar with 280k miles. I switched the odometer because I didn't like how my old one was looking. But by doing so, it dropped my mileage down more 100k. As a classic owner I didn't like that. So I switch computer board on odometer to still have my mileage back to show people my car is still out lasting these modern day cars 🤪
Jhagg-Waaaaaaar
@@MeaHeaR Jag You Wye Ahr.
Trust your butt. Look at the drivers seat, feel it, check for color differences like it's been recovered. Oh and listen for rattling in the doors when you shut them and when you're driving it. Older cars with miles on them, make noise that aren't easily correlated. Also look at the seatbelts and seatbelt connectors for wear. If this were the old days, I'd look at the ashtrays and lighters.
Door strikes, sills too
I remember my brother was trading in a BMW 320 I in the early 80’s and the salesman questioned the validity of the mileage because the excessive wear on the the brake and gas pedal. The salesperson was correct.
In California you can see the Smog checks every 2 years with mileage on the history report. Also common sense like seeing how worn the clutch pedal is. And plastics rattle with mileage.
Yup if they didn't have service history I'm not buying it
For a few bucks you can change the clutch & brake pedal rubber.
Clutch pedal ???
@@paulhare662 yes, clutch pedal pad. I see you're not stick guy. lol
@@chucktaylor9190 First car, 66 Mustang was a stick. Current car, a 65 Chevy II is a stick. I was joking.
Pitted windshield or new windshield
Pitted hood
Seat covers or no wear on seats
Steering wheel cover or no wear
No service records
New tires or worn out tires
Or just buy a car that was regularly serviced at dealer.
No records on the car = no sale.
I have the original price sticker for my car and every repair and oil change (with mileage) every performed.
My file is 2" thick showing that my Mercedes was maintained to perfection.
This bin' goin' for years man!
if your buying a car based solely on the odometer reading you need to educate yourself better. There are some very simple ways to confirm mileage , some of which were pointed out in this video
The number of miles is not as important as how those miles were put on. A car that was driven around town most of the time will have more wear than a car that spent most of its time on the highway. My 1995 Mustang as 85,000 true miles on it, but over half of those miles were put on at a study 70mph on I-5. It is in VERY good condition mechanically.
True! I sold a Civic with 210,000 highways miles on it ... it still ran like a watch, and the buyer was very happy with it.
The cars to really watch out for are sports cars that have been abused by boy racers. A year of burnouts, donuts and drag racing is tougher on a car than a decade of going to church on Sundays.
@@jpdemer5; yes, any car that was owned by a teenage boy is suspect, but for overall wear, a car that spent 100,000 miles being driven in city and town traffic will usually have more wear on the drive train than a car that spent 100,000 miles being driven on highways. The stop and go of in-town traffic takes a heavy toll on a car's running gear.
As a mechanic I’m recommending as usually
1. Before you purchase a car take a mobile inspector
2. We not buying mileage we buying the actual condition on the car what the service history can prove it.
3. Asking when and where was the last oil change and if was bigger company possible same places was earlier too and asking the service history about it.
4. Of course 1-2-3G cars are not worth the efforts but usually newer cars or and way more expensive cars involved
5. Many times people don’t want cheating just possibly the odometer units are damaged somehow.
Just example that odometers has sometimes pretty tricky led lights and replacing just one led cost way more with a specialist than replacing the complete unit.
In Texas, we have to have our vehicles inspected once a year and the mileage is recorded. Guessing North Carolina doesn't have that yearly inspection requirement?
we do, so it's odd that she didn't mention that. in NC you have to get a yearly safety and emissions inspection, at least where I live in central NC and the paper receipt you get has the mileage and VIN on it. Does the state of NC not record this info/send it carfax?
Funny, according CARFAX These are the 10 states nationwide with the most vehicles with rolled-back odometers, all of which saw increases: Texas 245,600 cars. lol
Chart showing the top 10 states nationwide with the most vehicles with rolled back odometers, all of which saw increases. They are, in order, California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, and North Carolina.
@@chucktaylor9190 I suppose people in general don't bother to do a mileage check.
@@rogerbec5766 I didn't before, but I will now on my next used vehicle.
@@chucktaylor9190 More or less proportional to the number of cars in each state - what a surprise. The per capita numbers might tell you something of actual interest.
Check the service or oil change records to find roll backs
I do my own servicing so how would a buyer do that?
This can already be done if you buy a different cluster gauge I did it with a 2008 Chevy equinox. When I got rid of it though I took it to the junk yard because I'd never sell something like that to someone. Dont do onto others that you don't want done to you.
But that takes a lot more work and time that plugging in a cable and pressing a few keys.
@@damham5689 same results dude.
thats not a problem as long as you note on the title " not actual mileage"
sometimes clusters need to be replace
A car's service record should be the biggest red flag. I think most car owners take their cars to a dealer for servicing. Either a bunch or at least a few times. If your Ford dealer looks up a car and says its last service was at 80,000 miles and the odometer says 8,000 miles, you've got a problem. :/
This needs to be made it a felony and people need to start going to prison for this.
It actually is but enforcement is lacking and hard.
Here's a question to think about: How does this apply to a car that's had the engine switched out? There are several shops out there that sell used engines all of the time. If the motor has been replaced with a better one, what difference will the readings on the odometer make.
The engine is not the only component of a vehicle that wears. Body and frame rust, transmission wears out, differentials and transfer cases, suspension, brake electronics, window motors, etc etc. Everything goes bad over time. Is the milage the be all end all when vehicle shopping? No, maintenance has a lot to do with how good a car will be into the future, but its an easy to understand metric for the average consumer that isn't a professional technician. The most important thing to do when purchasing a used car is to get it inspected by a shop that you know and trust, and they'll be able to give you a better idea of what kind of condition the vehicle is in and what you might be able to expect during your ownership.
Engine and transmission miles play a little bit into it, but aren't everything. They're the most expensive though! Imagine you get a car with new engine and transmission done by the best shop in the world. You still could have a window regulator go out, AC could quit, suspension be shot, dash could flicker..... But usually the hard to fix expensive issues go away.
@@archangel3237 stuff like body and window motors go bad regardless of miles, engine and drivetrain in general are the things dependant on mileage
@@comicbookguy2326 time and milage for everything
@@comicbookguy2326 Ironically, usually electronics/window motors/etc. have more issues when the car sits too much. In my opinion/experience, most problems with cars comes down to abuse more so than miles or even maintenance: doing burnouts/donuts, hanging on doors and spilling food/drinks all over the interior and getting it on electrical connectors, bashing stuff around, piling junk everywhere that can wedge in seat tracks, etc., leaving windows down for UV to blast in and rain to pool, etc. I never have had to do much of anything regarding maintenance on my cars and I've had very few issues, it's more about what you *don't* do to them (abuse) that makes a car last.
Lileana Pearson is looking fabulous ☝️😎
I remember 60 Minutes had a segment about rolled back odometers, but this was probably 25 or 30 years ago.
The first thing I ask for is the service records. If they don't have any, I'll pass. There are a lot of people that deliberately NEVER change the oil. If they say they don't keep the records of service, ask where service is done and verify mileage that way. If the seller refuses, you'll know why.
Also, go to a dealer for that make and ask for their service records. Warranty and all repairs will have records with mileage. Sames goes for any shop.
I'll go through the glove box, consoles and under the seats. You'd be surprised at the information you can find there, even at dealers. Be sure to check inside the owners manual too.
Thanks to this news channel for teaching me.
Just Buy a 10 Year old Toyota That has had proper Maintenance and a minimum of care and the Mileage won't matter it will last another 10 Years they are that Reliable.
0:07 technology..? yea carmax💀💀
Check the gas pedal for wear. It's an easy way to tell when a high mileage vehicle has the odometer rolled back to low miles.
Im looking for a scanner tool for a lexus to scan for the right milage but dont know which scan tool to buy
you can also have the mileage checked by the dealer, the engine and/or body computer mileage cannot be altered depending on the vehicle.
There are a lot of scumbag criminals out here..
Not sure how rust proves the odometer reading to be rolled back. In a state like new jersey where the seasons change, where your car has in imperfection wikl turn to rust. The scrwes and bolts under the hood will rust. Has nothing to do with the odometer
Another way is to see if Walmart car care has previous records of oil changes. They track odometers
My 05 Volvo XC70 with 245k miles runs just as good and even better than most of these newer model computers on wheels. Here in Lancaster PA and it always amazes to see so many earlier model vehicles broke down on the shoulder with a cloth hanging out the window. I'm talking 2010-2020 models broke down or getting towed.....smh
It doesnt help when car manufacturers like vw specifically design certain shit so that you HAVE to take it to their dealerships. If you were a mechanic before 2005 you cant work on a 2015 car. Its too advanced.
I have same car, worst car I have ever had. Replaced everything, interior rattles, just more junk from ford
@@williamsantana370 And that's the strategy....to have you spend more money.
@@donovanjones4175 I've had mine now five years now and yes I put a few dollars in for up keep but at 245k I have to admit she's looks and runs super mint. The trans went at 240k so she's got a new trans and still able to get to up 105 mph when no one is looking. At night around here in Lancaster, the highways become Autobahns. No speed limits and no cops.
This is definitely great advice, especially for young women. Thanks for sharing this information!
All you have to do is look at the condition of the interior seats / steering wheel they tend to wear over high miles
Check the pedals for wear. They always miss that 😉
Could just be a lot of city miles (which could be good to know) or a lazy driver that slides their foot a lot. All highway miles could also have a ton of miles and very little brake pedal use.
Until now.
Actually good tips! Great report
What is the site address for checking odometer rollback young lady ?? Thanks
Dealerships have been doing this for years
You could just pull a speed sensor out of a volvo and drive it without putting miles on it. Speedometer still works even. I forgot to plug mine back in when doing the bearings.
So you can remove the speed sensor to mess with the odometer?
In Canada, Car dealers and Salespeople are required to be licensed in order to be car salespersons or car dealers.
In 'merica, drivers are required to be licensed. They still speed, wreck, and don't use turn signals.
@@paulhare662 Not a driver's license Norman, A dealer and Salesperson license. Stop being ignorant.
@@nuromar8984 Stop acting like a sheet of govt issued paper changes people into trustworthy professionals. That's not ignorant, its stupid.
@@paulhare662 You admit that you were stupid, What's wrong with giving a Dealership license and a Salesperson license.
@@paulhare662 I am a licensed Car Dealer in Canada.
Anyone ever find that link that she mentioned where you can find the link on WBTV to check the odometer for free? I can't seem to find it.
I test drove a Porsche Boxster it had 50,000 km on the clock. But when driving it felt like it had 150,000km on the clock. There was obviously something not right. Even though the service books appeared in order. I told the guy the car feels like it’s done 150,000 kms not 50,000 km and he said “Thank you for your feedback” Nevertheless stayed well clear of that one.
The 50k might have been accurate, but the owner may have driven it really hard (think of who buys a Boxster, and why!)
@@jpdemer5 Yes could have been true also the car was tracked possibly
this is why its important to get oil change history paperwork with your used car.
@@traviezoeg then buy a different vehicle
If they don't have those records....run.
Is it possible for the folks to hack into the CarFax and change the miles there too?
Just don't buy.
Fix what you have
There is no such thing as free Carfax, lol.
Why are the brake pedals so small on most "modern" cars with automatic? & they are also too close to the
accelerator! - one can step on both at the same time with right foot - not good.
On '60s cars the brake pedal was monstrous - 2 feet could fit on it! & if you had 4 wheel drum brakes, the brake pedal was much higher than the accel pedal - impossible to step on both with 1 foot at same time.
1. Check the carfax or car history.
2. The dash has a separate computer from the engine and transmission ECUs (electric control unit.)
So a high level scan tool will be able to see that data.
So is carfax and autocheck a pretty safe bet if both match?
Excellent story thank you my QUEEN👌
If the radio stations have been programmed to rock stations you know a young person owned the car . Avoid buying it . 🤓
Also, never buy a car with a boom box stereo , often driven hard.
NPR is a good sign.
Don't just look for worn pedal pads, Look for NEW (replacement) pedal pads.
The rubber heel rests under the pedals will also show wear (a shady dealer will hide them under a floor mat.)
The thing no one ever talks about is a relative low mileage rollback. A relatively late model car is rolled back from 30,000 to 19,000 - even a CPO car - this adds a thousand or two more to the selling price, makes the car more attractive to the buyer. No one will be able to detect any difference in terms of wear on the seat, carpet, wear on the brake pedal, etc. Very difficult for any mechanic to detect anything unusual. It's the egregious 100k rollbacks that are caught and prosecuted. The smaller ones are nice little bonus dollars for the sellers. For bigger sellers this adds up to real money.
There are multiple odometers on modern cars. A crooked seller might take the trouble to re-set all of them, not just the one for the dash display, but it's something a mechanic can check for you.
I have researched Honda Accord 2018. I am fairly certain that on this car the odometer data is only held in the dash console. There is needs to be better data out there as to which cars have secondary odometer data stored in which modules (other than the instrument cluster) and what is needed to read that data. In my experience your average mechanic does not readily know how to do this.
Could you please put the link to check the odometer here. Thank you.
“just a couple hundred bucks.”
$129.99
Inflation was factored in.
I feel like this whole video is common sense..
I remember back in the 70’s and early 80’s how easy it was to disconnect the speedometer wire from a vehicle. So the rumor goes.🤫
This is why I buy cars above 200k miles.
Is Emilie Voss available? What a beauty.....
Very simple to check just ask the last data of maintence of the vehicle and where had been done, and check the record if it is match to the odometer of the and shop who services the car.
They will happily provide that for you😂
I have a 95 Silverado with 400,000 on it had to replace only window regulators someone must have ran mind forward
If you buy new, you don't have to worry about rolled back odometers!!!
But you do have to worry about buying a car that will lose thousands of dollars in value once you drive it off the lot.
@@Deeone282 - If you're keeping it for a long time, that doesn't matter.
@@YippeeSkippie426 it does to my banking
account.
But then you have to worry about maintenance periods more, immediate loss of value, stress over cosmetics, higher insurance rates, even more wasted more if you make payments which you still won’t own the car until it’s fully paid off, you could buy 8 used cars for the price of one new one
Don't know from where,got this information "When buying a car,new or old your giving your traveling expense of lifetime."
Ooh lileana you killed it.
I just want to point out that she mentioned North Carolina which is #11 at 44,000 incidents, but neglected to mention that Californian is the number 1 in the country, by far, with nearly 10x the #2-11 at almost 500,000 incidents of rolled back odometers.
No surprise there! 😒🤷♂
Proportionally California has the most cars on the road, and by a bunch. So statistically the headline number (437,000) is misleading, and it also includes a whole boatload of cars where the car odometers were rolled back in another state and sold in California, which has the largest used car market. It's a nationwide problem. No state is any safer than another.
California has 10x the number of cars. It probably has 10x everything car-related, with the possible exception of rust.
@@jpdemer5 You're right. Actually California has twice the number of cars than Texas, but not twice the number of rolled odometers. So Texas is number #1 proportionally with this crime, but the trolls on TH-cam will blame democratic states for leading in anything like this. It's just stupid. I guess it's Newsome's fault that Texas has a bigger problem than California.
California has twice the number of cars than Texas, but not twice the number of rolled back odometers. So Texas is number #1 proportionally with this crime, but the trolls on TH-cam will blame democratic states for leading in anything like this. It's just stupid. I guess it's Newsome's fault that Texas has a bigger problem than California.
Steering wheel and driver's seat wear could tell you something.
Some well cared for cars are clean other than steering wheel seat wear. Heard of anunscrupulous dealer replacing the steering wheel and reupholstering the drivers seat on a clean high mileage car
Every time I sell a car or trade one in, I secretly roll the odometer ahead. I've added as much as 55,000 miles on a 2013 Ford Escape that I sold on Craiglist. That way I get less money for the vehicle. But I make that money back by insisting on paying more for my next car.
Doesn't make sense that statement your taking less and paying more ?
And then you give the money away that you make like mr beast and get even richer.
@@tigerward88 it's called sarcasm meathead
Yeah right ….
And my grandma is only 26 ….
If you have too much money I can take it off your hands. It will be pretty straightforward no odometer rolling or purchasing new cars simply handing me the money or wiring it to my account. Do we have deal Mr. Generous? 😂
Back in the 1980's had a BMW 3 series. The speedometer along with the odometer failed which was replaced under warranty. The dealer put a sticker with the previous milage on the door jamb. This was in the days of mechanical odometers. Seems a lot of these issues are in poorly regulated RED states to where consumer laws are lax.
Thank you ❤️Lileana your gorgeous ❤️
wow, good to know. And I thought it was not possible to rollback electronic odometers.
Other things to check. If factory screws and bolts have been replaced in areas such as body panels, hinges, plastics. The factory usually paints these fasteners too, so its easier to tell if they've been replaced. This is a sign of an accident. I've been to many used car dealers and at least 50% of the cars that supposedly had no accidents cleary had parts replaced. I called them out on these and they played "dumb." Yeah right! I walked out immediately. I'm not falling for those tricks. If they're not honest with that what else are they holding out on?
Is any way can I check if the odometer in my car is the real one
Lets hear it for Digital!! You want it you got it.
There's no such thing as a FREE car fax report! It's NOT FREE..
Rollbacks aside, odometer miles are a trivial aspect of a car's condition unless it's like 50k vs 500k. I don't even really care what the odometer says, I look over a car and if the car is in good shape at a fair price, I'll buy it. Cars can be idled for hours and hours and driven through the worst road salt winter after winter and show 25k on the odometer but be junk, meanwhile a traveling salesman that puts tons of highway miles on a car in the South might be like new even with 200k+ on it and is just getting broken in. Condition condition condition, forget the odometer. Also, for many cars even throwing in a new engine/trans is easier and cheaper than fixing a destroyed interior and crusty frame.
Easy solution. Just buy a brand new car. Considering how overpriced used cars have gotten, you might as well buy new with a full bumper to bumper warranty for the first 3 years.
the thing we need to worry about is cars that have been through floods, it might take some time but every car thats been under water will in time have problems, and not easy to find. yes 100% will have problems it just takes time to show up.
A flood car will have that noted on the title, unless the owner failed to make repairs and just let it dry out (and prayed for no mold/mildew stink.)
in europe , just check the motor vehicle last emmision registration and they will tell you how many km in the last records..
Is this report saying that the cars of 25 years ago with their mechanical odometers were much harder to turn back?
Or buy a use car ftom someone you know
Fluff piece.
Nice tip
I don't how the presence of rust could possibly be an indicator of a rolled back odometer. Rust is an indicator of the vehicle age or living in the rust belt where road salt is prevalent.
I think the oxidation of aluminum components is a better indicator of age (though not mileage per se) ... it's slow and steady, and takes place regardless of the climate.
Where is the link for the free Carfax check ?
there needs to be some serious jail time for all parties involved in any of these scams
It's very rare I end up buying one with under 200k miles and I dont pay more than $2k for a vehicle so I've pretty well dodged this bullet lol.
Sometimes the old school is still the best.
NY state is the best for this issue, they report the mileage every time you get the car inspected.
You have to turn them down right before the inspection. Thanks for the info.
Ask for oil changes history or repairs.
Not really addressing the odometer roll back beside carfax reporting, However, not all cars are within Carfax Database
I looked at a 2011 Ford Ranger with 40k miles on it. Decided against it since I suspected it had more miles due to the wear I saw.