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-   -   Federal Odometer Tampering Statutes (http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/general-information/170341-federal-odometer-tampering-statutes.html)

whunter 11-13-2006 06:34 PM

Federal Odometer Tampering Statutes
 
Altering the mileage reading on a motor vehicle is a felony. Effective July 5, 1994, the odometer tampering statutes were recodified from Title 15, U.S.C., to Title 49. The change was not substantive, though the statutes were reworded.

http://searchjustice.usdoj.gov/search?q=Odometer+Tampering&btnG.x=14&btnG.y=6&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=iso-8859-1&oe=UTF-8&client=default_frontend&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&site=default_collection

ILLEGAL ODOMETER TAMPERING
http://www.georgia-auto-fraud.com/common-types-of-auto-fraud.html?gclid=CPCF25-aprcCFWJlMgodCn0AmA

ForcedInduction 11-19-2006 05:00 AM

From Consumer Law
Notice of broken odometer

Sometimes odometers break or malfunction. According to the act, if an odometer is broken, it cannot be altered when it is being repaired. If an odometer cannot be fixed without being altered, it must be reset to zero.A written notice must then be attached to the vehicle's left door frame that states the mileage before the repair and the date of the repair. You can then add the mileage on the door frame notice to the mileage on the odometer to get the total miles.

As a consumer, be aware that the person or company selling the car is responsible for knowing the correct total mileage. The seller must convey that information to you in writing. The act prohibits the transfer of ownership of a car to a seller without full disclosure of the actual total mileage. If a car’s actual mileage is unknowable, or if the seller is unsure of the actual mileage, he or she must tell you in writing that the actual mileage is unknown.

If the odometer has been changed

So what can you do if you learn that someone has tampered with your odometer or in any way violated the odometer act? If you discover the violation within two years of your purchase, you can bring a suit against the individual or car dealership that sold you the car. The law requires you to prove the seller’s intent to deceive. That means you must show that the odometer was changed in order to make it seem like the car had less mileage on it, as opposed to it having been altered by accident. In most cases of odometer tampering, this may not be difficult to prove. The harder part is discovering that your odometer has been tampered with in the first place.

If you are successful in your suit against the seller, you are entitled to the greater of either $1,500 or three times the amount of actual damages. Actual damages would be the difference between the price you paid for the car and what it was really worth at its true mileage. If you paid $3,000 more for the car than it was worth with the actual mileage, then you could receive $9,000. The seller can also be ordered to pay your attorney’s fees and costs if you win.

whunter 04-21-2008 02:39 PM

Bump
 
for new members.

Please be aware the punishment is extreme... :eek:

I take the worst possible case scenario because Federal prosecutors have zero tolerance on this topic!!! :eek:

Repairing or altering a unit places you at risk, touching other peoples units is EXTREME risk.

NOTE:
Please do not become a statistic.
There have been too many average people, with their life wrecked by this.

Dee8go 04-21-2008 03:10 PM

So, I guess documenting everything with a camera as well as in writing would be the safe course should you have to repair your odo.

Skippy 04-22-2008 12:06 AM

Does anyone know the U.S. title and section of the actual law? I'd like to read it for myself.

Edit: Never mind. I read the first link from the first post. 49 USC Chapter 327.

It should also be noted that driving with a non-working odometer can also be a federal offense, provided this is done with the intent to defraud the next owner. Repairing an odometer and leaving it at the same reading as before it was repaired is strictly and explicitly legal.

whunter 07-31-2008 06:46 PM

Examples
 
Eight Individuals Charged in Odometer Fraud Scheme

Civil Resource Manual 152. Commonly Charged Odometer Tampering Offenses

Retired police officer charged in odometer fraud - CBC News

ODOMETER FRAUD CRIMINAL PROSECUTion

Man charged in odometer tampering | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Department of the Attorney General | State of Hawaii | Department of the Attorney General

http://notfea.org/Sutton%20summary.pdf

Massoud Mortazavi-Koupai, a/k/a "Marcus Mortazavi" and "Marcus Mortazavi-Koupai" Guilty Plea Press Release

Charges filed against second Kansas City defendant in felony odometer fraud case at request of Nixon

Police arrest man for odometer fraud | News | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports, Traffic Weather and Breaking News - Portland, Oregon

Federal odometer criminal statutes

hdbill1@comcast 10-18-2008 07:50 PM

you guys must have better police than i had. i purchased a car from a carlot in atlanta, proved the od was turned back.i traced the car back to the original owner and got maint. records from the ford dealer in NJ. i presented all this to my local police, they said there was nothing they could do. i also contacted his local police dept w/ address, directions to his house & his workplace - same responce. took it all to the federal building in atlanta and was told that even though it is a law, it's basically uninforcible. now since i got it from a dealer he exchanged it for me. but i just don't like people that try to rip another person off.
yea i know - i need a life.

bgkast 10-19-2008 12:25 AM

Would it matter on my old cars? All of my titles read "0000000 mileage exempt" in the mileage section.

What about when you swap speedometers? I have 312K on my car now and want that mileage transferred over to my new speedometer when I put in my new rear end. Is this going to be a problem to have a shop do?

whunter 10-20-2008 03:14 AM

Answer
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by bgkast (Post 1996761)
Would it matter on my old cars? All of my titles read "0000000 mileage exempt" in the mileage section.

What about when you swap speedometers? I have 312K on my car now and want that mileage transferred over to my new speedometer when I put in my new rear end. Is this going to be a problem to have a shop do?

It is not legal.
I personally do not know a shop willing to take the risk.

E150GT 10-20-2008 09:26 AM

When I bought my car, it read 176854, but it didn't work. I replaced it with a junkyard one that reads 151000 but it works. I didn't want to take any chances with it breaking if I tried to rool it forward. Will this be a problem? I do not plan to sell it, but who knows.

ForcedInduction 10-20-2008 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bgkast (Post 1996761)
What about when you swap speedometers? I have 312K on my car now and want that mileage transferred over to my new speedometer when I put in my new rear end. Is this going to be a problem to have a shop do?

Change the miles yourself. Use the odometer gear repair trick. Tilt the shaft down so the numbers don't touch the cogs and rotate the numbers to what they need to be. Its what I did with the donor speedo when I changed my rear end.

whunter 05-20-2013 11:08 PM

Odometer fraud is criminal
 
https://www.google.com/search?q=Notice+of+broken+odometer&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#client=firefox-a&hs=nMe&hl=en&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&sclient=psy-ab&q=usa+odometer+fraud&oq=usa+odometer+fraud&gs_l=serp.12...3562.8541.3.10062.4.4.0.0.0.0.147.436.2 j2.4.0...0.0...1c.1.14.psy-ab.k98VwLkw1AQ&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46751780,d.aWc&fp=7dc06b6713d49101&biw=1280&bih=859

.

Two560Two 07-26-2013 11:50 AM

what do you do in the case where your State does emissions inspections and noticed they entered the wrong mileage at one point?

whunter 07-26-2013 12:28 PM

Answer
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Two560Two (Post 3182412)
what do you do in the case where your State does emissions inspections and noticed they entered the wrong mileage at one point?

Irrelevant; That is not tampering, it is a clerical error by an inspection station.

.


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