Odometer fraud, also referred to as "busting miles" (United States) or "clocking" (UK, Ireland and Canada), is the illegal practice of rolling back

odometer An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two (electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient Gr ...

s to make it appear that

vehicles A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velomobiles), animal-powered tr ...

have lower mileage than they actually do. Odometer fraud occurs when the seller of a vehicle falsely represents the actual mileage of a vehicle to the buyer. According to the Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation at the

US Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

, odometer fraud is a serious crime and important consumer fraud issue. In the

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation, focused on automobile safety regulations. NHTSA is charged with writing and enforcing Feder ...

's (NHTSA) 2002 odometer fraud study, the NHTSA determined that 450,000 vehicles were sold each year with false odometer readings, resulting in a cost of over $1 billion annually to car buyers in the US. In the UK, the

Office of Fair Trading The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economi ...

estimates the annual cost at £500m.

Examples

Common examples of odometer fraud include situations where someone tampers with the

by rolling it back or replacing the odometer and failing to provide the required notice on the vehicle. According to AIM Mobile Inspections, an evaluator of new and used vehicles, the incidence of odometer rollback for the purpose of misrepresenting the mileage of off-lease used vehicles had increased by 30 percent since the beginning of 2011. A 2017 Motorcheck analysis of the Irish used car market showed 15% of all used cars for sale are clocked, with 70% of these cars being diesel engines.

Practices

There are a number of ways in which a vehicle buyer might determine existence of possible odometer fraud. In the US, states require vehicle purchasers to obtain a title or certificate of registration due to federal laws. These titles contain information about a vehicle's odometer history. The information can be accessed through each state's Department of Motor Vehicles. Other options to detect odometer fraud include contacting the vehicle's former owners, conducting a mechanical inspection of the vehicle with particular attention to normal but harmless wear and tear such as to floor-mats and the rubber on pedals (or to suspiciously new such items), and checking the vehicle's history report (see

used car A used car, a pre-owned vehicle, or a secondhand car, is a vehicle that has previously had one or more retailing, retail owners. Used cars are sold through a variety of outlets, including franchise and independent car dealership, car dealers, ...

for a list of vehicle history services in different countries). Modern cars often employ digital odometers. These odometers are said to be, in some cases, even easier to tamper with than mechanical odometers with the use of several electronic tools, most of which plug in via a car's OBD2 port.

In fiction

* In the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

and 1996 film ''Matilda'', Matilda's father is a secondhand car dealer who uses an electric drill to reverse the cable-driven odometer. * Odometer fraud is depicted in the opening scene of the 1980 film ''

Used Cars ''Used Cars'' is a 1980 American satirical black comedy film co-written and directed by Robert Zemeckis. The story follows Rudy Russo (Kurt Russell), a devious salesman, working for affable, but monumentally unsuccessful used-car dealer Luke ...

''. * In ''

Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American Teen film, teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jenn ...

'', after valet attendants Sam and Victor take Cameron's father's Ferrari for a joyride, Ferris runs the wheels backwards in a futile attempt to reduce the mileage; running the vehicle in reverse does not move the odometer backwards.

References

Resources

Federal Odometer Laws

External links

20 May 2021 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' article by Paul Stenquist {{fraud Consumer fraud Car crime