The Expert Podcast

How bad is odometer tampering? Well, according to one researcher, Carfax, 28,000 vehicles just in one state in Wisconsin have tampered odometers. Tampered odometers occur when the mileage on a car is altered. For example, a car might show 990,000 miles, but the odometer is rolled back to maybe 40,000 or 50,000 miles. This makes the buyer think the car is in better shape than it actually is, because it appears to have fewer miles, and can be sold for more money.

Back in the 70s and 80s, tampering with the odometer was actually very easy. You could simply roll the little dial on the dashboard back manually with a dental pick or some other type of tool. Then, they moved to digital odometers, which were more difficult to change. But now, you can buy a little box on eBay, plug it into your car, and roll the odometer back.

The problem is, every time you bring your car in for service, or when it’s sold or there’s some other record for emissions or smog, they record the mileage. So, if the mileage on the vehicle changes, it won’t match the previous records, and that’s going to be a red flag when somebody goes to transfer it.

A lot of these cars are flipped based on the mileage. Make sure, if you're purchasing a vehicle, that you get good mileage history documentation to ensure you're not buying a car that has more miles than you think. CARFAX is one source, but you really want to go to the horse’s mouth—the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS), which has all the records for mileage recordings. This will help ensure that what’s on the vehicle matches up with what is shown in the historical observations and records for that particular car.