Dealer tweaked mileage. Previous owner showed me service records to prove this. What are my options?

[goldennugget]

As per the title, i got a used car a few months ago. Mileage stated by dealer was about 60k km. A few months later the previous owner of the car saw me in a carpark and approached me to say that the car i'm driving was his previous car, and he was surprised at the low mileage. He sent me the official receipts and servicing records which clearly showed the mileage was 100k+ when he owned it, which means dealer tampered with the mileage back to 60k km. what are my options here? Should i confront the dealer?

[t0y0ta]

5 minutes ago, goldennugget said:

As per the title, i got a used car a few months ago. Mileage stated by dealer was about 60k km. A few months later the previous owner of the car saw me in a carpark and approached me to say that the car i'm driving was his previous car, and he was surprised at the low mileage. He sent me the official receipts and servicing records which clearly showed the mileage was 100k+ when he owned it, which means dealer tampered with the mileage back to 60k km. what are my options here? Should i confront the dealer?

Some one in your same shoe tried to sue the dealer and the courts ruled in the dealer favour.

So I think you either suck thumb and accept it or make a big fuss at the dealer to ask for some freebie/$$ off.

[Thaiyotakamli]

https://www.parwanilaw.com.sg/in-the-news/108-customer-sues-over-tampered-mileage

[Optramagnum]

Honestly, I still don't understand why our gov is closing both eyes on this tampering issue. Some countries have legislation for longest time to govern this issue. To me, it is as good as cheating which reflect the integrity of the company or even whole industry. 

[goldennugget]

15 minutes ago, Thaiyotakamli said:

https://www.parwanilaw.com.sg/in-the-news/108-customer-sues-over-tampered-mileage

thanks. she was awarded $20k because that's the loss she incurred when trading in her used nissan. in my case i'm still driving the car right now

[goldennugget]

@t0y0ta what was the reason for the court favoring the dealer? it doesn't seem right to me

[Heartbreakid]

16 minutes ago, Optramagnum said:

Honestly, I still don't understand why our gov is closing both eyes on this tampering issue. Some countries have legislation for longest time to govern this issue. To me, it is as good as cheating which reflect the integrity of the company or even whole industry. 

Our gov couldn't be bothered. There are no advantage to them at all in terms of money. It is a simple thing like record the mileage at inspection but for years, they allowed such deceiving act to go on as if there is nothing happening at all. Anything dealing with money, action will be very fast. If it is their own people involved in such "being cheated" with mileage tampering, I believe actions will be taken fast. Mileage tampering could cause reliability issues, especially for older cars. So much so for the LTA inspection, but the main and so common thing like mileage tampering, officials decided to close one eye. And so much for our "many laws" and "many fine" city.

[Karoon]

32 minutes ago, Optramagnum said:

Honestly, I still don't understand why our gov is closing both eyes on this tampering issue. Some countries have legislation for longest time to govern this issue. To me, it is as good as cheating which reflect the integrity of the company or even whole industry. 

Not just cheating but potential to cause injury/death. You send your car for routine 50k maintenance not knowing its actually 150k. 

[Thaiyotakamli]

33 minutes ago, goldennugget said:

thanks. she was awarded $20k because that's the loss she incurred when trading in her used nissan. in my case i'm still driving the car right now

Not only that she paid alot for the gearbox repair

[Macrosszero]

@goldennugget your problem is that it is not possible to prove without a shadow of doubt that the dealer who sold you the car was the one who performed or hired some one to tweak the mileage, as the car would’ve passed through several parties, such as the purchaser of the car after it was traded in, if it was sent for repairs and/or detailing for the typical used-car spruce up, and maybe if it was a hard car to sell it could have bounced around a few used car dealers.

I’ve said many times that if LTA could be bothered to keep photos of your undercarriage to catch illegal exhausts and mods, they surely can make it mandatory to log in the mileage. It’s not just a reliability issue, it could be a safety issue.

Once dealers know LTA is tracking this (and can make it publicly accessible on OneMotoring), dealers can no longer cheat on the mileage. 

[yellowshaun]

Unfortunately the government doesn't care. Nothing you can do unless you are really loaded and want to make a lose lose situation for both yourself and the dealer with a legal challenge.

In future you may want to buy cars that only have been fully serviced by the AD, and verify the mileage before purchasing...

[Vid]

You have no proof that the dealer tampered with the ODO even though it is 99.99% them. They can simply say the seller tweaked it or some other workshop. Unless you caught them in the act, you have no case.

[Watwheels]

Whoa, still got ppl falling for this odomemter tampering? This is really old. Good for used car dealer.

Buying used car from dealer must buy with eyes wide open. Cannot say dont know or you will be in for a lot more surprises.

The thing is there is no regulation or no law to protect the car buyer and that means new and used cars. Dont think new car means cannot chut pattern. Of course for authorize car dealers they look for long term business that is why they are honest. For small car companies who are parallel importers or PI any thing can happen. If they get into trouble they just close shop, change company name and put new company under wife's name. Hero again. 

A lawsuit also cannot guarantee much. If the fellow declare bankrupt or whatever you still get nothing. Your lawyers will still wanna get paid regardless. For the lady who won the court case she is not walking away being  compensated in full, still need to pay the lawyers and court fees. The judge dont do charity work.

Prevention is still the best cure. If you say you dunno...well, now you do. A costly lesson. I know most guys will think they have got a bargain. When things are too good to be true they usually are.

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by Watwheels

[Jamesc]

Name and shame the dealer.

[1fast1]

I'm sorry but there is nothing you can do. I used to think it was apathy and lethargy but I'm increasingly convinced our entire system is massively corrupt.

[Ody_2004]

even bringing the dealer to court u must hope the ex-owner willing to appear in court as witness or wat..

Continue to drive lah.. past is not important.. just like most pple wives/husband is someone ex.. dig the past bring more hurt..

enjoy the ride and spend the money on court (case if any) on future maintenance..

[kobayashiGT]

My take is if the car is driving fine, never give you problem, you don't add new problem to yourself.

Buying a used car is like that one. This is a dog eat dog world.

For me, I don't trust mileage. Is like human age, old doesn't mean the girl never maintain and is not pretty what. Still have to test the goods first. 😂

Just take a chill pill and enjoy your ride. I also met my previous owner before. Hahha. He ask can he buy back his car anot. He regret selling. hahahaha.

[goldennugget]

1 hour ago, Watwheels said:

Whoa, still got ppl falling for this odomemter tampering? This is really old. Good for used car dealer.

Buying used car from dealer must buy with eyes wide open. Cannot say dont know or you will be in for a lot more surprises.

The thing is there is no regulation or no law to protect the car buyer and that means new and used cars. Dont think new car means cannot chut pattern. Of course for authorize car dealers they look for long term business that is why they are honest. For small car companies who are parallel importers or PI any thing can happen. If they get into trouble they just close shop, change company name and put new company under wife's name. Hero again. 

A lawsuit also cannot guarantee much. If the fellow declare bankrupt or whatever you still get nothing. Your lawyers will still wanna get paid regardless. For the lady who won the court case she is not walking away being  compensated in full, still need to pay the lawyers and court fees. The judge dont do charity work.

Prevention is still the best cure. If you say you dunno...well, now you do. A costly lesson. I know most guys will think they have got a bargain. When things are too good to be true they usually are.

 

how would you verify the mileage was tampered? the car's condition looked ok to me. interior and engine bay etc. all seemed to be in very good condition. i brought it to my mechanic and he said the car had no issues (the mileage looked legit).

just fyi, the car is running fine and smooth. no issues whatsoever even until now.

from what others mentioned here, they are probably right. i dont have proof that the dealer did it. dealer can just push the blame, so even if i want to pursue legal action it would be an uphill battle. unfortunate that even for singapore, we have to deal with this kind of stuff

just so happen that a few days after i met the ex-owner, a local car youtuber talked about an obd scanner, which i'm definitely going to buy now to prevent such stuff from happening again. seems like this is the only way not to get tricked by these shady dealers