If you bought a used car recently, you might want to go and check the odometer reading. It could be off. A new report details that odometer tampering is not only widespread, but it’s getting worse.
The report, done up by Carfax, has data showing that a whopping 2.1 million vehicles may be on the roads that have rolled backed odometers. Worse yet, that 2.1 million is 7 percent higher than 2022 and up 14 percent over the last two years.
Getting down to the state level things get worse. Carfax says these 10 states have the most vehicles that have odometers that have been tampered with; nine of these states saw tampering rates increase this year.
- California: 469,000, up 7.2 percent
- Texas: 277,000, up 12.8 percent
- New York: 100,000, up 9.0 percent
- Florida: 85,400, up 1.4 percent
- Illinois: 79,000, up 7.6 percent
- Pennsylvania: 69,600, up 2.1 percent
- Georgia: 67,600, up 4.0 percent
- Arizona: 57,000, up 4.8 percent
- Virginia: 56,000, unchanged
- North Carolina: 49,000, up 8.2 percent
This tampering isn’t just ruining the actual mileage of these cars, it’s affecting their values too. The report says that drivers lose an average of $4,000 due to odometer tampering. Depending on the vehicle, that amount could be way more.
Take this example: We compared a 2018 Ford F-150 with only 50,000 miles to one with 150,000 miles. Neither had been in any accidents, both had only one owner, so the only major difference was in the miles driven. The difference in value, though, is huge: Roughly $10,000 – and that would be a big incentive for a scammer to change the odometer.
Carfax says there are a few things buyers can do to protect themselves, like actually checking out the car you’re buying and pressing the seller on things like the car’s condition.
It starts by examining the vehicle yourself and asking the seller questions about the car’s condition. These include questions about its odometer reading. If the deal seems too good to be true, then chances are your instincts are correct. If the seller puts undue pressure on you, that’s a warning sign too.
Take the car to your mechanic to verify its condition before you buy. A trained mechanic will notice things you won’t – and has vantage points to check the car that you don’t – and may question why certain parts or components show advanced signs of wear that do not correspond to the vehicle’s mileage.
For example, if the car’s spark plugs and wires should last 100,000 miles but look like they are due for replacement when the odometer reads 40,000 miles, that’s a problem.
If you do find you’re a victim of odometer fraud, Carfax says buyers can contact the respective agency in their state that handles that kind of fraud. It differs from state to state though; in California the DMV would handle it, while in Oklahoma the state’s attorney general would handle the fraud. The NHTSA also has a site that handles instances of odometer fraud.