True Milage

[The Gears]

It must be very easy to adjust the odometer on these cars because I keep reading about 25 and 30 year old cars with 150,000 miles on them. You have to think how can that be possible. Would someone buy one of these cars to look at.
I am retired so don't drive to work every day but just shopping and visiting friends and a holiday once a year I can rack up 12,000 Kn in a year.
My 84 has 347,000 on it, will it be worth more if I roll it back to 150,000.
Ya I know it's against the law.

[Stretch]

It might be worth more to someone who thinks recorded mileage is a good indication of the condition of the car. There's a lot of them out there.

[cooljjay]

There are some low milage well maintained ones out there.....in america a lot of rich people owned these cars, as the next model came out....this one got moved to the back of the garage and only used to run errands.....I wish I could find one like that...

But about 97% of them out there, have had their odometers replaced when they were imported or when the original stopped.....or the odometer stopped working 150k miles ago and was never fixed or replace...

I doubt many were rolled back on purpose....I think it just happened through previous owners....who probably didn't care about the exact reading....

If you can find a good example with documents, I would trust the milage claim......but even then it's possible the od has stopped at some point...

If they claim low milage, do a compression check....and base your purchase on those numbers...

[t walgamuth]

Its not only illegal but immoral to turn one back. Fraud.

[gatorblue92]

It is possible to find some with the claimed low mileage. I know my 240D is correct at 138k but only because it is a family car and I know its history. My 280E is another story. It reads 88k but the odometer has stopped working as it has gotten warmer outside so its true mileage is unknown and frankly is irrelevant for this car since if I ever sell it then it will most likely be for parts. Documentation is key for all old cars but even more so for these with known issues in the odometer.

[Skid Row Joe]

There's nothing illegal about it when you check the box on the mileage statement that mileage is not the actual mileage. That way you're stating the truth. Problem solved.

[Squiggle Dog]

True... and I see so many beat-up vintage vehicles advertised with 20 and 30,000 "original miles"... come on. The odometers on the really old ones don't even read into the six figures, and these days it seems even most cars under ten years old have over 150,000 miles on them.

I'd rather have a high-miles vehicle that was taken care of than one with low miles that was left parked in a field for decades. If you get really lucky, you can find a high-miler that has recently had everything major rebuilt or replaced on it, so it will actually be in better mechanical condition than a neglected low-mileage car.

I bought mine with over 300,000 miles, except everything was worn out on it, so I had to be the person to rebuild and replace everything. But, the engine still runs like new and now it's like driving a new car.

[tbomachines]

For a lot of people, it's not their only car. I put probably 1500-2000 miles a year on my 300e. My daily driver has 20k in 2 years though.

[Shortsguy1]

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

There's nothing illegal about it when you check the box on the mileage statement that mileage is not the actual mileage. That way you're stating the truth. Problem solved.

As BC would say, "this is factually incorrect."

Federal Odometer Tampering Statutes

[Stugist]

If I recall correctly, it's only illegal if it's under 100k miles. After that, odometers become legally exempt (unless it's just a state thing where I live...)

[Shortsguy1]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

Its not only illegal but immoral to turn one back. Fraud.

X10

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

There's nothing illegal about it when you check the box on the mileage statement that mileage is not the actual mileage. That way you're stating the truth. Problem solved.

Actually, it's factually correct. My post stands - as is.

[Left Coast]

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

Actually, it's factually correct. My post stands - as is.

There's still a problem there, both ethically and legally, if you tamper with an odometer with a reading that is known to be correct. If you sell someone a car that you know has 340K on it, then you can't legally hide behind a disclaimer that the odometer reading is incorrect. You are still committing fraud. It may be hard,or impossible to prove, but it is still fraud. Your ethical obligation is to disclose the known mileage regardless of the reading.

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by Left Coast

There's still a problem there, both ethically and legally, if you tamper with an odometer with a reading that is known to be correct. If you sell someone a car that you know has 340K on it, then you can't legally hide behind a disclaimer that the odometer reading is incorrect. You are still committing fraud. It may be hard,or impossible to prove, but it is still fraud. Your ethical obligation is to disclose the known mileage regardless of the reading.

Well, unfortunately, the mileage disclosure statement is direct and straightforward - there are no "ifs" involved, as it is a legal document.

The seller simply checks the box that states; "I hereby certify that the odometer reading is NOT the actual mileage."

When the buyer accepts, signs the signed by the seller statement, and gets a copy of the mileage disclosure statement as certified above, then all is well.

No fraud - no nothing. The mileage is NOT the actual mileage. Buyer signs their knowledge of this factual statement, and everyone goes home happy.

[moon161]

Golden rule makes it simple. Make only representations of the car you would be comfortable hearing as the buyer of the same car.