Is Your Car's Digital Odometer Telling the Truth?

It was thought that the introduction of digital odometers would eliminate odometer tampering, but it is as easy, if not easier, to alter a digital odometer. Unscrupulous people can even use relatively inexpensive software and devices-available for sale legally via the Internet for recalibrating faulty odometers-to commit this fraud.

Here's what happens. An unsuspecting car buyer-who isn't aware that digital odometers can be altered, buys a vehicle with a digital odometer believing the mileage has to be accurate. The seller who rolled back the odometer makes an additional profit of approximately 10-cents per mile-for example, a 20,000 mile decrease in mileage can increase the selling price by $2,000. Then, that unsuspecting buyer can end up passing on that expense-and committing odometer fraud unknowingly-when he or she sells the vehicle.

Unfortunately, tampered with digital odometers are even harder to detect than traditional mechanical odometers, so here are a few tips:

* Check the tires. If the odometer on your car shows 20,000 or less it should have the original tires.
* Compare the mileage on the odometer with the mileage on the car's oil change record.
* Is the wear on the car's break pedal consistent with the miles displayed on the odometer?

Consumers can also take advantage of a service that tracks the history of used cars through the VIN number.

The VIN number is a 17-character identification number found on the dashboard and title of every car in the United States.
Since 1986, a company called Carfax has been offering reports on the history of individual automobiles.

In addition to a car's complete mileage history, these reports can reveal:

* whether or not the car has been in an accident,
* if it has been subjected to flood damage,
* whether or not the vehicle has been used commercially as a taxi or rental car.

The report also tracks the mileage of the car over time, so it can be easier to spot odometer rollbacks.