How to know if the car's odometer is rolled back

It is quite common to buy a used car with the odometer reversed, making a car with a lot of mileage look like a car with little mileage. These cars may have their odometers set lower than the actual odometer, and the interior may be refurbished and worn parts replaced, making the car appear to have been used less.

Old cars must be overhauled and have major maintenance after a long period of operation, usually 100,000-200,000 km. If you buy a car with the odometer down to only 50,000 km, customers may be subjective and not perform major maintenance milestones as recommended, causing the car to deteriorate further.

Here are some ways to identify that car buyers should know to avoid buying a car with a tampered odometer.

Track distance traveled and usage time

Normally, a car used for personal or family use will fluctuate around 10,000-20,000 km per year, a service car will be about 3-4 times higher than this number. If the car is advertised as a service car, has a long life but the number of kilometers traveled is shorter than estimated, it is very likely that the car has been rewinding, making the car "newer" than it actually is. Therefore, it is necessary to consider more carefully the case of too obvious discrepancies in the distance traveled and the time of use of the car.

Request to check maintenance and repair history

Vehicles always need regular maintenance to operate optimally. Whether maintained at an authorized workshop or an outside workshop, the vehicle's current condition is recorded, including vehicle information such as chassis number, engine number, and mileage at the time of maintenance.

The previous owner may have kept these maintenance invoices, in written or photographic form, and customers should request them when choosing to buy a used car, with the maintenance schedule and mileage fully shown in chronological order. A car without a clear maintenance schedule will have a higher risk of odometer rollover than a model with a full maintenance schedule.

Observe the details of natural wear and tear

The natural wear and tear details on the car that consumers should pay attention to when choosing to buy a car include the clutch/accelerator/brake pedal, steering wheel, gear lever, seats, function buttons, and floor mats. These are the locations that wear and tear over time such as cracked, wrinkled seat leather, worn pedal surfaces, worn seat/steering wheel leather, old floor mats, or faded function buttons. If you choose a car that has been bought for a long time and is rarely used but these details are completely replaced, it is very possible that the car has been re-tuned to "refurbish" it into a car with little use.

In addition, experts advise customers to check the condition of the vehicle's exhaust pipe. Vehicles that have been used for a long time often have rust, oxidized, and are no longer shiny because this part is often made of metal, located close to the road surface and is exposed to high temperatures for a long time, so it is easier to wear out than other parts. If the vehicle has low odo but the exhaust is rusted, customers should suspect that the vehicle has been odored.

Test drive

Test driving a car will give you a feel for its performance, noises, vibrations, throttle delay, etc.

After checking some of the above details yourself and still not completely satisfied, you can take the car to reputable garages or authorized centers. Although it will cost more, this is the most reliable way to check the overall condition of the car before you make a decision.

Observe the vehicle for abnormalities

If the vehicle uses a mechanical odometer, you should check for signs of odometer modification, including scratches on the dial face, fingerprints, loose clamps and screws around the meter, signs of being opened, the meter being replaced, and scratches on the odometer numbers. If the vehicle uses an electronic meter, it will be more difficult to quickly determine the actual odometer level most accurately, and can only be checked with separate tools, machines and software.

The above signs are not to conclude whether the car has been over-clocked or not, but only to help customers recognize that the car they are about to buy has a high possibility of being over-clocked. Therefore, if these signs are detected, the next step should be to check more carefully at the genuine service facilities, where there are tools and machines to comprehensively check the car's condition to get the most accurate conclusion.