turning back the odometer?

[udon!]

i am looking at a s13 for sale and the owner says it has 52,000 original miles on the motor and chassis. if he turned back the odometer is there a way to tell? because i dont want to pay for a car that really has 252,000 miles on it.

[chrisa]

do a carfax. it will say every time he smogged it and shit what the miles were at those particular points in time. shit dude PM me i'll do it for you.

[DreamN]

carfax it. every time it gets registered the mileage is suppose to be recorded.

[hOngsterr]

ask to see the pink slip
lol

[s14_driver]

vin + carfax = answer

[DreamN]

ask to see the pink slip
lol

pink slip wouldn't have the updated mileage, but the registration card would.

[singlecamslam]

Carfax would work. My car says 240k on the odometer but its actually got around 140k, i switched the gauges so carfax comes up with hella miles. 1000th post!

[hOngsterr]

oh, nvm. i thought you can also look at that,
but yeah, listen to those guys

[let5l1de]

a quick way to tell if the odometer has been carelessly messed with is to see if the numbers all line up perfect. if they do not line up perfect, most likely it has been modified.

carfax is the best.

~m

[Taniguchi_Is_#1]

off topic, but in cali, if your car has like, 200K miles on it when you sell it, does that go on the title? here in PA and in AR where my parents live, they'd just put "exceeds mechanical limits" on the title, and the real mileage would be lost forever after that.

[HAWAII]

ok, so when I got my car, it had 150k miles on it, smogged it and everything, so supposedly the records on CARFAX/DMV should say 150k.
Recently I changed my cluster, now the new cluster said 110k. My question is.. how is this different for other people that tamper with the gauge cluster itself.

[Tom25666]

there is always a way around things, though. you never know if someone swapped the gauges unless they obviously don't belong

[Bushido]

if the car has 52,000 miles on it it should be pretty obvious. there is really no mistaking a 52,000 mile car for one with 252,000 miles.

[Matej]

if the car has 52,000 miles on it it should be pretty obvious. there is really no mistaking a 52,000 mile car for one with 252,000 miles.
Exactly.
What really matters is the condition of the car.

[drift freaq]

ok, so when I got my car, it had 150k miles on it, smogged it and everything, so supposedly the records on CARFAX/DMV should say 150k.
Recently I changed my cluster, now the new cluster said 110k. My question is.. how is this different for other people that tamper with the gauge cluster itself.

the next time its smogged, they will record your mileage at that point, the DMV will log it. The next time a Carfax is done the Carfax will issue a warning about the odometer reading difference.
Fact is DMV does not care. Car is over ten years old and back in the day most odo's flipped over at 100k aka right around 8-9 years. Most people do not own there cars longer than 7 years and the DMV does not care about ten year or older mileage readings.

Oh and a little secret for Californians you can check the mileage through the state DMV website by putting in the vin and lic plate on the smog history section. Essentially Carfax gets a good portion of their info from that.

Oh and yes putting a ODO with lesser mileage than what is on the car, is technically a no no. Unless you have it certified by a State shop as to why you did it, aka bad odometer. Otherwise its called Odometer rollback and that's a Federal offense.

Thats a law, so don't cry about it.

[DreamN]

Dave, link me to that page on the dmv site. I can't find it.

[drift freaq]

Dave, link me to that page on the dmv site. I can't find it.

Vehicle Registration and Title Information Home Page (http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/vr.htm)

go down the about 1/4 down the page, it says smog, click on it. it will take you to page all about smog, which will have a smog history link. LOL

[DreamN]

No go on the mileage Dave. Just shows when my last test was and if I passed or fail.

[drift freaq]

No go on the mileage Dave. Just shows when my last test was and if I passed or fail.

they changed it then, it used to show all the smog tests the car had had. LOL assholes got wise to people like me using it to check mileage or Carfax complained because they figured it out.

Ya I just ran my car again they eliminated the mileage section. LOL It only shows the amount of smogs its had the locations, dates and if it passed or failed. which is actually useful to for determining the history of the car.

[chrisa]

I work at a dealership, drift freaq said it all. Its a no no. Swapping gauge clusters is technically a no no but like he said DMV doesnt give a shit. But next time the DMV logs it there will be a problem and carfax flags the car. Sometimes there are clerical errors and you can have that fixed if the vehicle history looks legit and you have a title that says actual milage. working at a dealer has its perks, free carfax and stuff :)

[drift freaq]

I work at a dealership, drift freaq said it all. Its a no no. Swapping gauge clusters is technically a no no but like he said DMV doesnt give a shit. But next time the DMV logs it there will be a problem and carfax flags the car. Sometimes there are clerical errors and you can have that fixed if the vehicle history looks legit and you have a title that says actual milage. working at a dealer has its perks, free carfax and stuff :)

This is why, when ever changing your gauge cluster, boys and girls, you try to find one that is either slightly higher mileage or almost the same as yours.. LOL

[Bigsyke]

Well, all valid points, however to swiftly and easily stop your car from recording mileage, pull the VSS.

Im pretty sure there is a few ways to roll back the OD, however was it in cali the whole time? On my civic I swapped to a ctr bezel, and it wouldnt track mileage. You can then fix the cluster when your about to sell it, and boom you ahve a 52,000 car.


Or the car is a POS, and its rarely on the road due to some electrical gremlin.

[zenki.life]

This is why, when ever changing your gauge cluster, boys and girls, you try to find one that is either slightly higher mileage or almost the same as yours.. LOL

cant you just disassemble the odometer and swap it into the new one? i did that to my new guage cluster.

[chibo]

This is why, when ever changing your gauge cluster, boys and girls, you try to find one that is either slightly higher mileage or almost the same as yours.. LOL

If you take apart the cluster you can change it to read whatever you want. I've done it before but I won't post exactly how to do it.

[KOPdrifting]

Well it is possible its original milage. I have 43k on my 90 hatch. It doesn't get around much.

[atutt]

if the car has 52,000 miles on it it should be pretty obvious. there is really no mistaking a 52,000 mile car for one with 252,000 miles.

That's not really true. I checked out a 93 Coupe with 33,000 km on it. it was rotten as can be. Yet, I know someone with a kouki S14 with over 400,000km and it's pristine. Mileage vs. condition isn't the best way to judge. Some people drive theirs cars a lot, but also take immaculate care of it.

[drift freaq]

If you take apart the cluster you can change it to read whatever you want. I've done it before but I won't post exactly how to do it.

I am talking about doing it semi legally. Actually tampering with a Odometer like you describe is completely and totally a federal offense. You can get into serious trouble for it.

[chibo]

I am talking about doing it semi legally. Actually tampering with a Odometer like you describe is completely and totally a federal offense. You can get into serious trouble for it.

Not if you were using it for a kitcar type thing that got trashed offroad only :bowrofl:

[drift freaq]

Not if you were using it for a kitcar type thing that got trashed offroad only :bowrofl:

LOL you and your exceptions. HAHAHAHAHAHA

[two40silvia]

in some places, like in mason county in washington state (where my car is registered:D), there is no smog or emissions at all. so it doesnt always get recorded.

[JacobT]

That's not really true. I checked out a 93 Coupe with 33,000 km on it. it was rotten as can be. Yet, I know someone with a kouki S14 with over 400,000km and it's pristine. Mileage vs. condition isn't the best way to judge. Some people drive theirs cars a lot, but also take immaculate care of it.

Thats cause we live in Canada. US cars don't rot like ours.