Don’t Be Cheated, Know How To Check For Odometer Fraud

Odometer falsification may be the reason you’re paying extra for a car. Learn how to spot and avoid odometer fraud when purchasing a used automobile in Nigeria by reading this article. Odometer fraud commonly referred to as “odometer rollback,” is the unlawful act of lowering a vehicle’s mileage reading. One of the techniques frequently employed by vehicle dealers to con buyers of used cars is odometer fraud. Odometer rollback causes a consumer to overpaying for a vehicle compared to what it is actually worth.

An analogue odometer’s ability to roll back its reading is quite challenging but not impossible. Tokunbo auto dealers are the ones that engage in this illegal odometer rollback the most in Nigeria. It can be challenging for the untrained eye to determine when an automobile’s odometer reading has been tampered with. In this post, we will explain how to spot and avoid odometer fraud when purchasing a used car.

Cars brought into the nation typically have one of two types of odometers, namely: Analog clocks, Digital clocks. An analogue odometer’s ability to roll back its reading is rather difficult but not impossible. However, because of their ability to be hacked, digital odometers are simpler to reverse. The figures can be changed to any desired value by simply removing the circuit board or by using a rollback device that is plugged into its electronic system.

Digital c: By removing the circuit board or connecting a rollback device to the electronic system, a digital odometer can be reset. Unfortunately, due to their inexperience, the majority of auto buyers are unable to identify these fraudulent practices in the car they want to purchase, and they end up paying extra for a vehicle whose life has already been spent and the odometer has been rolled back to conceal that fact.

Fortunately, if you’re reading this, you don’t have to continue being a victim of odometer fraud. when you pay attention to the techniques we’ll be discussing in this post for detecting odometer rollback. Identifying and preventing odometer fraud when purchasing a used automobile. To spot and steer clear of vehicles with rolled-back mileage, use the four wise actions listed below.

Review the service record

The reading of the odometer is always recorded in a repair or maintenance order booklet when an automobile travels abroad for routine maintenance, such as an oil change or repairs. This document occasionally comes with the owner’s manual.

You must put on your thinking cap for this phase. Odometer fraudsters are frequently not very intelligent, so you might be able to outsmart them.

The consistency of this service history document is what you should look for. For instance, it is odometer fraud if a car with a 100,000-mile odometer reading and the last known service history is offered for sale in Nigeria with a reading of fewer than 100,000 miles.

Examine excessive wear and tear of vehicles

Even if a car with hundreds of thousands of miles on the odometer can still appear to be in fine condition with proper maintenance, the trained eye can still spot abnormalities.

An odometer rollback is suspected, for instance, when a car with fewer than 60,000 miles on it has had the majority of its OEM (factory-fitted) parts replaced.

You should thoroughly examine the most important parts of any used car you buy, such as the engine. Also, watch out for excessive wear on areas such as dashboards, door handles, steering wheels, and brake pedals. Such excessive wear and complete replacement of parts always set off mileage scammers. ,

Consider the age of the vehicle

For a tokunbo car with its origin in the United States, we should tell you that statistics show that the average distance most drivers travel to and from work is between 5 and 50 miles per day or about 13,000 miles in a year.

So if you bought a car like the Tokunbo in Nigeria and the car is over 10 years old and has less than 100,000 miles on it, it’s probably a mileage scam thrown in front of you.  

Check the car’s VIN

You can proceed to the automatic history route. A simple VIN check on your car will give you comprehensive information about your vehicle’s history. Information such as vehicle make, year, equipment, colour, accidents or major repairs, and of course current mileage, is usually disclosed in the vehicle history report.

Many car buyers don’t really know that they can verify the VIN for the car they want to buy online. There are also free basic vehicle history reports available at sites such as VINcheck.info and AutoDNA.com.

 Conclusion 

In summary, the threat of mileage fraud in Nigeria is to provide true value for money to car buyers through fraud. It’s robbing you of ways to find and evade so knowing how to detect and avoid odometer fraud when buying a used car will help you not to fall victim.

Frequently Asked Questions