Used car dealers tampering odometer readings

[Meanmachine]

My car has a sticker that next service is at 232,000 km....

 

 

In short, What U do not know won't hurt you rite!

 

IT what does :(

 

[Old-driver]

My car has a sticker stating that next service is at 71,200km but my mileage is now 177,600km...

There is also a date on the sticker right? if its recent then its definitely been tampered

[Kangadrool]

Why would one wants to buy a second hand car in Singapore unless it's a make/model with super low demand/super low resale price???

 

I find that most 2nd hand cars on the marketplace are selling at almost the same depreciation or shockingly some are higher than brand new cars.

 

 

[Mercs]

Tampering of mileage is outright dishonest, I will avoid such dealers.

 

 

[Darryn]

Why would one wants to buy a second hand car in Singapore unless it's a make/model with super low demand/super low resale price???

 

I find that most 2nd hand cars on the marketplace are selling at almost the same depreciation or shockingly some are higher than brand new cars.

 

Yep, second hand cars aren't a good proposition in today's market.

 

Particularly if, as expected, COE prices start slipping towards the end of next year.

 

[Adrianli]

Are you sure about that?

 

My understanding is that it is not a law in and of itself - which is part of the problem.

 

Anyway, to state again, the solution is simple

 

1. Set up a central database

 

(Who going to provide manpower and infastructure and money support come from where???)

 

2. Mileage must be declared and is recorded at road tax renewal (and verified at inspection)

 

(Setup of remote unit at all inspection branches require additional network infastructure and money.)

 

2 a) mileage is recorded when car is sold / transferred

 

(Additional officer required to be present during sale of car to verify car mileage. Need more money to employ personnel.)

 

3. Make it illegal to sell a car with tampered milage

 

(Require additional personnel to study the proposal, submit to parliament and MP need to fight it out in parliament. Need more money.)

 

Problem then is solved

 

 

Good suggestion. But where does the money to support such system come from??? Transfer fee starts from S$500 upwards??? Inspection charges start from S$200 upwards???

[RadX]

My car has a sticker that next service is at 232,000 km....

 

 

WTF..ewe taxi driver ah [laugh]

[Adrianli]

Even for MOT, who records mileage for each inspection :

 

Mileage

 

It is a common misconception that the MOT inspection provides an irrefutable record of a vehicle's mileage. However, although the mileage is recorded during the test, no part of the inspection requires the test station to verify that this is indeed the actual mileage. It is merely recorded, and any tampering of an odometer would not be discovered as part of the MOT inspection.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOT_test

[Darryn]

Good suggestion. But where does the money to support such system come from??? Transfer fee starts from S$500 upwards??? Inspection charges start from S$200 upwards???

 

You really think the cost would be so high?

 

I would suggest that a lot of the infrastructure is already in place, and that it only requires an additional field into existing databases.

 

[Adrianli]

You really think the cost would be so high?

 

Yes, when they need money, they will come up with 100001 reasons to rebutt.

[FocusWagon]

I cant mention who is that dealer but what i can tell is the company name start with 'M'and end with 'N' . Just be cautious if u happen/planning to get a

 

2nd hand car in the future.

 

Got two leh. Isit a city in usa or a junior college in sgp?

[reachluke]

hi guys, is there any way to do a check yourself to verify if the odo has been tampered with?

 

im thinking of buying a car from this particular dealer. i did a quick search of his vehicles for sale and for some reason, all the mileage v low, at most 110,000km, even for the old cars. looks a bit suspicious to me

 

any way to check?

 

thanks!

[Volvobrick]

at 110k, a lot of things will be due for replacement like alternator belts etc (thus you should see brand new or very worn...). And the interior condition will be quite worn. If interior like Taxi, then maybe 200K liao!

 

Trust you observation and ignore the odo! Many used cars with 3 owners or more still advertised as low mileage like 50-60k... stay far far!

 

Good luck!

 

[Furrynadz]

someone i know got a nissan from turf city H>> Y*!@

 

car delivered with engine no oil

mileage suspect tampered and engine damaged, noisy like FUK

whole undercarriage and suspension also suspect...drives like shit

 

STA grade B and all tick ok

 

buyer a total noob....

 

i had to topup 2.5L out of 3.3L engine capacity

[Ingenius]

For me, all used cars with very low mileage are being tweaked. Every dealer does it.

[Pioneer]

Why would one wants to buy a second hand car in Singapore unless it's a make/model with super low demand/super low resale price???

 

I find that most 2nd hand cars on the marketplace are selling at almost the same depreciation or shockingly some are higher than brand new cars.

It depends what model and the price posted on sgcarmart is still neg.

 

I got my 2 yr+ old car at 9.4k dep. A new car of the same model is 11.5k dep.

 

Currently, there are many ppl who are buying a 7-8 yr old car to tide over the high coe. They are concerned abt reliabilty and hence choose to buy jap make. This is why a 8 yr old altis has 12k dep.

 

Willing buyer, willing seller.

[Shoebox]

Adjust mileage very common in the industry. When everyone is doing it, whoever not doing it is not seen as honest but stupid.

 

So when buy second hand car, always do a full servicing to play safe.

 

Do the 100k servicing. Change coolant, all oils, all belts, all necessary parts recommended by service manual at 100k.

 

Also do wheel balancing and alignment. Balancing is to check rims for damage. If damaged, go back dealer ask them change to new ones say lemon law.

 

Then have your workshop do a 100% check and replace all wear and tear parts.

 

Budget 2k for the above (for asian cars) and you should be safe. If got any broken parts, go back to dealer tell them lemon law ask them replace for you foc.

 

After that you have peace of mind and a hopefully reliable car.

 

Up to you to do, or accept the risk of timing belt piak, or this and that spoil, and your "new" car breakdown on the road and everyone take down your number plate to buy 4d.

[Andyngps]

hi guys, is there any way to do a check yourself to verify if the odo has been tampered with?

 

im thinking of buying a car from this particular dealer. i did a quick search of his vehicles for sale and for some reason, all the mileage v low, at most 110,000km, even for the old cars. looks a bit suspicious to me

 

any way to check?

 

thanks!

Just use the average calculation of 20k km per year usage. That will give you roughly the mileage done. If there are servicing records at AD's workshop, call and ask when was the last svcing done etc. From the AD's workshop, you can gauge the average usage. If the car is without AD's records, higher risk of major repairs. If you are buying a uaed car without records or not with AD records, and odo shows say 60-80km for a 5 year old car, take it as 100-110k km. After collect the car, go for your 100k km svcing, as most likely it has not been done yet. Do not try to save money on such. Bring it to your trustworthy workshop or AD's workshop to do a full thorough check. I also learnt the hard way so this is just based on my own experience. But just be prepared, for sometimes some fault, especially electrical fault, cannot even be detected by most workshops including ADs'. Edited March 25, 2015 by Andyngps