odometer fraud

polish dude

New member
do we know yet a way to detect an odometer fraud. i'm from chicago and i know for a fact that more than half of them here are messed with.
i want to buy a second sprinter in a couple of weeks and i dont want to buy 100k that's acctually 500k.
will the ecu have the correct miles stored? or do they reset the ecu with the odometer.
 

sikwan

06 Tin Can
do we know yet a way to detect an odometer fraud. i'm from chicago and i know for a fact that more than half of them here are messed with.
What makes you think they were tampered with?

Most of the things that I have read about replacing the ECU or gauge cluster, they need to be programmed with a special ID before they can be installed in a specific Sprinter.

Maybe they did a swap on the gauge cluster, but wouldn't think it would be that easy. :idunno:
 

abittenbinder

Doktor A (864-623-9110)
Instrument Clusters cannot be swapped between Sprinters. They are VIN locked modules and even a brand new IC replacement requires a code string from MBenz.

However, I have heard rumors of odometer tampering in existing IC's.

The best way to guard against this kind of fraud is to buy from reputable sellers with complete, dated documentation of maintenance and using yearly DMV registration data from sources such as Carfax. Doktor A
 

abittenbinder

Doktor A (864-623-9110)
will the ecu have the correct miles stored? or do they reset the ecu with the odometer.
Fault code snap shot data will show odometer readings in the ECM. However, this fault code diagnostic odometer resets every 100,000 km which is approx. 62,400 miles. This complicates your search for true mileage.

It could be useful if you're looking at a Sprinter with 40,000 miles on the odometer and an old (un erased) fault code (w/snap shot data) comes up showing, say, 60,453 miles.

Another source of true mileage sometimes appears in the ASSYST info. I have seen many Sprinters with no resets of their ASSYST and now show over 150k on the 'miles since last service' reading.

Doktor A
 

kendall69

New member
If you look around I would think a 500K vehicle looks a lot more ware that a 100K vehicle unless of course it was running 24/7 and the driver hardly ever got out of it.

Yes anything man makes can be tampered with and a good scammer will almost always win.
 

vanski

If it’s winter, I’m probably skiing..
Okay. As my handle reads, I am a Sprinter Newbie! But, I just gave a guy $100 as a deposit for a clean 2005 144 2500 HR with 75K miles, built in camper kit, one owner, no salvage title, 1 owner. I went home excited! Today I ran a carfax on the vehicle and it came up withe $135K miles as of the last odometer reading as of 5/12/2012, a little over a month ago, wrecked, air bag deployed, 3 owners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As stated above, I'm learning that if it seems too good to be true it most likely is! Make sure the owner has all records with mileage and make sure there's a carfax matching to those records. Pew, almost ponied up $23K!
 

CvbDave

New member
Hi,
Watch out ! crooks are getting smarter all the time. Only use Carfax, I almost got stuck when the guy used another outfit...I did a carfax....Double total!
I found a 2007 with 30K...I was scared, until he gave me the dealer service records!! They are out there.
 

vanski

If it’s winter, I’m probably skiing..
Thanks Cvbdave.

I'm wondering if people feel below is too good to be true as I'm flying out to see another one of these early next week or if this is another situation where the odometer has been tampered with:

+ 2004 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 144 HR, 70K miles, 1 owner - $17.5K
+ From PA and shows minimal rust damage
+ No records
+ Originally posted as private party but turns out he's representing a dealer

I'm trying to follow the below information on how the computers track the mileage but quite honestly it's a little confusing to me. Can a dealer look at the computer output and determine the exact mileage? What's the process? What does someone ask for?
 

knighty

Member
the odometer reading can be changed pretty easily, I've never done it but the guy who re-mapped my van told me it was a piece of cake to do

can you not check your equivalent of an MOT ? (yearly safety test)

here in the UK, you can check online and see all the information from every MOT from about year 2000 on

mileage at that mot, if it passed of failed, if it fails what it failed on, and if it passed if there were any advisories with it (passed, but things which will need work soon)
 

lockrob

Member
It can be done.
There are people around that do only that for a living.
Service history and carfax is the only way to go.
Dont think buying from a big dealer will change that either.
 

220629

Well-known member
...
here in the UK, you can check online and see all the information from every MOT from about year 2000 on

...
Interesting. In New York State we have a required yearly safety and emissions test. The date inspected and the odometer mileage is recorded. To the best of my knowledge that information is not available as a matter of course to the general public.

With your MOT information availability it would be very easy to see an anomaly in the mileage progression.

The old methods are to look for brake pedal rubber wearing, carpet/floor mat wear, and how the seats are worn. If the pedal rubbers look over worn or brand new it was always a red flag. Computer info like Carfax has made those methods less necessary. vic
 

Boater

New member
Interesting. In New York State we have a required yearly safety and emissions test. The date inspected and the odometer mileage is recorded. To the best of my knowledge that information is not available as a matter of course to the general public.

With your MOT information availability it would be very easy to see an anomaly in the mileage progression.
The information is not easily visible to all of the public, you first of all need to get hold of the registration mark (number plate) and either a previous test No. from an MOT certificate (pass or fail), or the serial number on the registration document (V5C). A genuine seller will usually be happy to show you these documents or tell you the numbers so that you can run the checks - you will also need the VIN for a full HPI check which I guess is similar to your Carfax?
Once you have the necessary info you just go to the DVLA website and can get the whole electronic MOT history, noting that not all garages issued the electronic certs all the way back to 2000, but do now and there should be at least a couple of years there.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/motoring/owningavehicle/mot/dg_10020539

There might be a few people who haven't picked up on the importance of these checks, has never run one and might be suspiscious why you are asking for the info, but anyone who is genuinely evasive, defensive or refuses to let you see documents or have the relevant numbers almost certainly has something to hide.

When I bought my van the seller was quite happy for me to write down the VIN and check it against the V5C and stuff - he admitted he hadn't bothered when he bought it but had nothing to hide. When I called him afterwards because I had missed some info he was happy to go out and check it for me.
On the other hand when I was looking at cars a couple of years ago I ended up in a shady second hand dealership where the V5C was flashed at me and put back in the filing cabinet with body language that suggested I had seen all I was going to see of it. The car had oil in the coolant and the clutch seemed exceptionally heavy so it wasn't hard to walk away from, but I wonder how often that approach works on people who aren't really sure what they need to check?
 

david_42

Active member
Carfax is definitely worth the cost. I purchased an old Ram 50 6 years ago, after checking the Carfax history. I was mostly interested in crashes, if any, but it turned out that the truck only had two registered owners vs four that the dealer thought. Mileage was spot on. There was even a record of the head being replaced! No idea how that got in there, however, the seller confirmed that the prior owner had done so.
 

Top Bottom