Tricks and tricks of sellers
Remember the brilliant Dr. House with his sarcastic "Everyone lies"? The veracity of this belief is confirmed by life. By the way, even in the era of horse-drawn transport, sellers knew and used a lot of tricks to sell a horse that was long overdue for retirement. They "renewed" the teeth, hooves and tail, just to take more money for the animal.
Experts say that the twisting of the shoot is gradually becoming a kind of pre-sale car standard. Especially if the odometer has frighteningly large numbers that can alienate any buyer.
Ways to correct the indicators are chosen, depending on the type of device used to calculate wheel revolutions:
? mechanical - the drum counter displays the mileage that the device calculates thanks to the cable in the gearbox connected to the gear drive in the dashboard
? electromechanical - the device displays kilometers or miles, which are calculated by the converter, having received impulses from a mechanical counter
? electronic - ABS counts the wheel speed, sending data from the sensor to the electronic engine control unit, and from there the information is displayed on the LCD display
The mechanical odometer is simply disassembled, setting the desired numbers. For an electronic counter, you will need a programmer and special software.
Visual deception detection
It is quite natural that sellers resort to twisting the mileage in the event that the mileage is very close to the overhaul of the internal combustion engine. No one bothers when the car actually drove a couple of tens of thousands of kilometers. But an experienced eye is able to determine by indirect signs that the car has traveled much more than the device indicates.
◈ The abundance of cracks, scuffs, streaks and chips on the paintwork - evidence that behind 100 thousand kilometers, if not more. If the car sparkles, but there are suspicions of twisted mileage, it is necessary to check the paint layer with a thickness gauge
◈ Brake disc wear is one of the key signs of high mileage. Theoretically, they can be replaced with new ones, but sellers rarely resort to this: the cost of parts is high, so even the inflated cost of the machine does not justify the costs
◈ A worn windshield is another clue that the vehicle was actively exploited in an attempt to hide the fact when selling. Glass is expensive to change, so unscrupulous sellers, twisting the mileage, do not spend money on replacement, hoping that the potential buyer will not find fault with chips and scratches
◈ Scuffs on the armrests, power window buttons, worn-out key fob, worn-out steering wheel - the details cost a penny individually, but changing everything is a little expensive. By the way, if in general there are questions about the car, and the cover on the steering wheel is brand new, sparkling, you should definitely look under it: it probably hides the old steering wheel
◈ Sagging door, and especially often gives out the age and mileage of the driver. If they try to adjust it, traces of work can usually be detected on the paintwork in the area of \uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbthe hinges or on the bolts.
◈ Frayed seat belts also say a lot, but even when they are new, this is not at all a guarantee that the car was in the garage. It is possible that they were not used, having fastened behind the back of the driver's seat. However, this can also be detected: as a rule, during such operation, the spring is stretched, so the belt hardly and slowly crawls into the socket
◈ Thresholds, floor, pedals are not the most noticeable details that are not immediately evident, which is why they tell the truth about the car
The risks of twisting the mileage and deceiving the buyer are higher if the car was often resold: it is likely that at least once the car fell into the hands of a reseller who resorted to various tricks just to earn more. Photo: youtube
Such signs can really be identified by reviewing a lot of cars in different states. Therefore, if in doubt, you should not rush to buy, having studied at least 10-15 cars.
It should be understood that the visual estimate of the mileage is approximate - you can distinguish a vehicle that has traveled 100 thousand from a car that has covered a distance 2 times more. However, it is unlikely that you will be able to catch a seller who claims that the mileage is 120 thousand, while the real figure is 160.
You also need to take into account that the condition of the parts depends on the accuracy, the nature of driving, and the attitude to the car. If the car owner values \uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbthe “iron horse”, treats him extremely carefully, it is difficult to determine by appearance what path has been traveled.
By the way, if the parts that are the first to wear out look perfect, this is also a reason for suspicion. Most likely, the seller decided to disguise the cosmetically real condition of the car.
Service book check
When buying a used car, you should especially meticulously study the documents. The absence of papers inspires suspicion: it is possible that they were “lost” in order to hide the truth about the vehicle.
Reconciliation of the data from the vehicle passport and the service book will help to identify fraud: you need to pay attention to the dates of purchase and sale and compare them with the dates of the technical inspection. Photo: youtube
An additional guarantee of peace of mind will be service from an authorized dealer who conscientiously performs technical work, tied to the mileage. Therefore, according to the service book, you can reliably determine exactly how many kilometers have been traveled.
If you have any doubts about the documents, you should try to communicate with the employees of the service center. Although they do not disclose information about customers, sometimes they go to a meeting and provide potential buyers with data on the vehicle.
Computer diagnostics
In modern cars, mileage information is recorded not only by the odometer. If the driver sells the car, not knowing that the data can be set by ABS, ECU, automatic transmission, he is limited to correcting the numbers on the device that counts the wheel speed. Moreover, ordinary motorists are most often not aware of what other blocks, in addition to the odometer, information about the mileage is recorded. For example, in the BMW X5, even the dashboard and car keys will tell about it, not to mention the on-board computer. Therefore, a competent check will reveal fraud.
You can set the real mileage by inaccuracies and inconsistencies: if the owner says that only 30 thousand have been covered, and when dividing the figure by hours, it turns out that the speed in this case should be 3-7 km / h. Photo: youtube
However, not even all resellers are engaged in changing all indicators in each block. Some do not want to mess around, hoping for the gullibility of the buyer. Others are afraid to get into electronics: changing data is actually not so easy. There is a risk of disrupting the operation of the blocks, which leads to failures: the car will be even more difficult to sell.
The truth is established by connecting through the diagnostic connector. In car dealerships, specialists study in depth information from car blocks. Thus, they find out the real indicators, comparing them with the mileage on the odometer and drawing the appropriate conclusions.
However, some scammers are not too lazy to perform a complete correction of all data. Then computer diagnostics in the cabin is meaningless.
Study of information bases
If there are still reasons for concern and mistrust towards the seller, it is useful to turn to external sources. Thanks to information bases, it will be possible to calculate the fraud, even if the mileage is masterfully twisted and the car is updated by replacing worn parts.
Muscovites can get the necessary information on the portal of the government of the capital, where, after registration, access to the technical inspection database is opened. For verification, enter the following data:
✅ VIN code
✅ license plate
✅ STS number
The average annual mileage of a car is 20-25 thousand, but there are also significant deviations from the average. Photo: youtube
Residents of other regions will have to turn to services that get access to the bases of the traffic police, the union of motor insurers, banks and courts.
In summary, we advise you to use several ways to check the mileage in the aggregate. Then, for sure, it will be possible to draw the right conclusions about the car and how many kilometers it has traveled.
