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How car mileage is twisted
Surprisingly, in Our Country, “twisting a mileage” is actually not even considered fraud and is not punishable in any way, unlike, for example, in the United States, where such manipulation is considered a criminal offense. According to various experts, from 50% to 90% of used cars in our country show incorrect mileage.
Ads like “I’ll roll the mileage, cheap” on the Internet are a dime a dozen. Prices do not bite: 1-2 thousand rubles. Yes, even in garage cooperatives and underground service stations, it will also not be difficult to find the right specialists. The mechanical odometer on old cars will be corrected with the help of a banal drill, the electronic one – with special gadgets.
How much can you sue for twisting a car’s mileage
Buying a car with a twisted mileage, first of all, threatens the new owner with unforeseen and serious expenses. Due to the fact that the wear of many parts will be significantly higher than you can expect.
Those who think that buying from a dealership will guarantee a “clean” deal are wrong. The other day, a resident of Cherepovets won a lawsuit against a car dealership that sold him a Renault Duster for 740 rubles. It turned out that the mileage of the car was more than doubled back. Together with moral damages and other expenses, the sued the seller for 212 thousand rubles at the cost of the car.
According to Vice President of the National Automobile Union Anton Shaparin, if you were fooled at a dealership, you can defend your innocence only within the framework of the law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”.
“This is a long, painful and expensive process. And given that the level of legal literacy in the country is low, it is available to a few, – explains the auto expert. – Most often, dealers conclude such sales contracts that minimize the protection of the buyer’s rights. And if the car is bought with hands, then there is nothing to say – everything is at your own peril and risk. In Our Country, there is no legal practice that recognizes odometer twisting as fraud, since it is very difficult to prove when and by whom it was done. Several years ago, a separate amendment to the legislation was proposed, proposing to establish criminal liability for those who organize it. But the norm was not introduced.
How to calculate the twisted mileage of a car
- Before leaving for a car inspection, collect as much information about it as possible (at the same time you will find out if the car has been in an accident and is it in pledge). To do this, you need to order reports through electronic systems:
- on the website of the traffic police;
- on the free Autocode service;
- on the website of the Notary Chamber.
- for 100 rubles on Avto.ru, Avito, in Telegram bots, you can access the diagnostic card of the car. It will show what mileage was before, whether it is twisted now.
But there is no guarantee that actual figures were driven in there. A person could deliberately underestimate these figures, so that later it would not be too noticeable that he twisted the mileage.
- Apply logic. The average car drives about 20 km a year. Therefore, it should be suspicious if the car is 5 years old or more, and the mileage is much lower than 100 thousand km. However, of course, there are exceptions to the rule. As a rule, sporcars always have less mileage. If there are several cars in the family, the mileage will also be below average.
- If the information from the seller and according to the documents converge, you need to go for an inspection. Carefully inspect the interior parts, steering wheel, brake linings, gas pedals and clutch pedal assembly. Wear that does not correspond to mileage will be visible visually. However, there is a factor of poor car care (in any case, it should also be reflected in the cost).
- Be sure to inspect the car at a car service that has the appropriate computer and software.
- You find out where the car was serviced, ask the service for a history of its maintenance: when what repairs took place on what mileage. Compare data.
Case of the Americans
In exceptional cases, it is not possible to establish a twisted mileage. So, in old American cars, there are only five digits on the odometer. If the mileage is more than 100, it goes to a new lap and is reset to zero.
– If it turns out that the mileage is twisted, I would advise you to refuse such a purchase. Despite the cheapness and other apparent benefits. The owner of the car, who lied to you about the mileage, will lie in the same way about the accidents in which he got into, painting, and so on, – concluded Shaparin.