Content

• Steps
• Tips

People sometimes rewind odometer readings on rental cars to avoid paying extra mileage. Also, people can fake odometer readings in order to get additional profit when selling a used car. The average value by which the readings are reduced is 48,000 kilometers, which can mean several tens of thousands of additional rubles. Identify car dashboard fraud by examining the registration card, service station records, technical inspection marks, checking the tread depth on the tires and inspecting the car parts.

Steps

1. 1 Take the odometer reading.
   • On average, cars cover approximately 15,000 kilometers per year. If, for example, a 5-year-old car has less than 75,000 kilometers, you are most likely dealing with a fake odometer reading.
   • Look closely at the numbers on the odometer. Some manufacturers program them so that in the event of external interference with the odometer, an asterisk will be displayed on the screen.
   • General Motors mechanical odometers have a black gap between the numbers. If you see that this gap is white or silver, it is most likely that the readings have been changed.
2. 2 Ask the seller to show you the original registration card, not a duplicate. If the card is badly worn out or brand new, you may be dealing with a case of fraudulent card substitution or forgery and the indicated mileage is incorrect.
   • Carefully inspect the mileage indicated on the card and pay attention to blots and scuffs. The mileage on the card must be indicated clearly, without dirt around the numbers.
3. 3 Ask to see the oil change and maintenance invoices and the inspection stickers. Pay attention to the mileage indicated on these documents and compare it with the odometer reading. Inspection stickers can be seen on the door insoles or on their frames.
4. 4 Look for missing screws on or near the dashboard. If the dashboard is not perfectly positioned, the odometer may have been "rewound".
5. 5 Inspect the brake pedal and floor covering. If they are heavily worn at low mileage readings, you may be dealing with falsified mileage.
6. 6 Drive the car to a car mechanic and ask to determine the degree of wear of the car. The craftsman knows when and what parts need to be changed on the old car. For example, the odometer indicates a mileage of 45,000 kilometers.You need to be wary if you find parts that have been replaced when, according to the regulations, they should not be changed earlier than with a mileage of 90,000 thousand kilometers. This may indicate a fake odometer reading.
7. 7 Measure the tread depth on your tires. If the odometer indicates a mileage of 35 thousand kilometers, the car should still have original tires, with a tread depth of more than one and a half millimeters. Have an auto mechanic check the tread depth with a depth gauge.
   • You can measure the tread depth yourself with a Soviet 5-kopeck coin. The distance between the edge of the coin and the top edge of the number 5 on it is 3 millimeters. Slide a coin into the protector and, if the coin is immersed in it for about half this distance, then the measured depth is about one and a half millimeters.

Tips

• As with pedal and mat wear, damage to the windshield and paintwork that is too severe compared to the odometer reading is also cause for concern. Of course, the absence of wear will not show you anything - the windshield can be replaced, the car repainted, etc. But if you are driving against the sun in a car with a range of 60,000 kilometers, but you do not see anything, your suspicions are justified.
• In the US, you can check the history of the car at history.gov, a non-profit organization founded by Act of Congress.