How to Detect Odometer Fraud Before It’s Too Late?

It’s hard to imagine the life of an average American without a car. You need a vehicle to drive to work or college and go somewhere on vacation, too. However, cars are pretty expensive, and sometimes you can experience a lack of money for buying a new vehicle from a car dealership. So, in search of a cheaper option, consumers like you can head over to salvage auctions.

On the one hand, a salvage auction is a treasury of cheap cars. If you know how to choose an automobile in a satisfactory condition, you have a good chance to find something that is worth your time. On the other hand, there are hundreds of dishonest sellers who want to sell you a car that doesn’t meet the declared characteristics.

For instance, NHTSA fixes approximately 452,000 cases of odometer fraud yearly in the United States. This costs American consumers over $1 billion annually, and this amount doesn’t include undocumented cases.

As a salvage car buyer, you’re not necessarily to become a victim of fraudulent actions if you know how to detect them. In this article, we are sharing a few life hacks that can save you from wasting your money.

Can the law protect you?

Of course, there is a law that concerns fraudulent action with an odometer. According to the law issued by the Federal Government, a seller is obliged to present a written acknowledgment of an automobile’s correct mileage. If they provide wrong data, this can be considered as a law violation and, as follows, a crime.

However, there is a loophole in the law that some sellers don’t hesitate to use. They don’t need to provide any disclosures for vehicles that are as old as 10 years. If you buy a vehicle of a kind and later find that mileage is incorrect, you won’t get any compensation. That’s why you need to learn how to reveal fraud before it’s too late.

How to detect odometer fraud?

In most cases, a vehicle that is 5 years old should indicate at least 60,000 miles. Also, if you find that an odometer indicates 20,000 miles or less, a vehicle should wear original tires. When you examine an odometer, make sure that numbers on it are aligned correctly. If you find them crooked and curved or note any gaps between them, the odometer might be rolled back. Also, check out if the condition of the pedals corresponds to the declared mileage.

If you can’t examine a vehicle in person, we recommend you order a VIN check. Companies that provide vehicle lookup by VIN usually gather the information from such sources NMVTIS and National Vehicle Service, so you can rely on their data. Just compare the results of the history report with an actual mileage and avoid the deal if data doesn’t match.

To sum up

If you want to save some money, we recommend you buy a salvage car from an auction. However, you need to be considerate and attentive to details if you want to find a good deal. Prepare to spend some time searching for a car, otherwise, you’ll spend extra on repairs and car parts. Check as many facts as you can, and commit a purchase only if you are sure that a car responds to your demands.

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1 Response

  1. unfairly dismissed says:

    Major thanks for the article post. Fantastic.

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