Independent vehicle information provider HPI has released the UK’s first ever index of digitally ‘clocked’ vehicles, following analysis of a database of over eight million National Mileage Register records.
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This reveals some telling new trends and exposes the ease with which mileages on vehicles with digital odometers can be adjusted.
Popular family and executive cars are most at risk. In vehicles aged between three and five years, ex-fleet favourites such as the Vauxhall Vectra, Peugeot 406 and Ford Focus topped the list of vehicles with the most discrepant mileages.
An HPI spokesman said: “The incidence of mileage discrepancies in these types of vehicles is no great surprise – they are all well built cars with a talent for hiding their mileage. But the surprise entry was the Ford Galaxy (MPV or minivan), which has nearly three times the average risk of being clocked.”
Higher than average mileage anomalies for the Renault Espace, Peugeot and Chrysler Voyager confirms that the MPV market is a real target for the ‘clockers’.
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By GlobalDataAlso in the three to five year old category, Lexus occupied two slots in the top five most discrepant vehicles. The IS200/300 and GS300/430 models are recorded as having nearly double the average risk of a displaying a discrepant mileage reading.
Many pre-1998 cars do not have digital odometers, but amongst those that do, the trend was repeated. Whilst the fleet favourites topped the charts for volume, the Ford Galaxy again had the highest percentage of total cars in circulation. And the ‘clockers’ are clearly developing an appetite for more prestigious cars, with models from Audi, BMW and Lexus all clearly being targeted.
The spokesman added: “By changing the odometer reading, a dishonest vendor hopes to make a car more desirable and increase its selling price. But for the unsuspecting buyer, as well as losing money on the purchase, the vehicle’s condition could also be called into question. They will never really know what maintenance is due and when – costing even more in the long term.”
HPI said digital odometers are no more secure than the old style mechanical odometers and the technology used means that there are even fewer tell-tale signs that the car has been tampered with.
The incidence of mileage discrepancies has increased progressively over the past two years and this is a real worry for used car buyers. As a rule of thumb, each 1,000 miles removed adds about £75 to the car’s “value”, so a mileage discrepancy of 30,000 miles means unwary consumers could be overcharged by some £2,250.
Peter Stratton, lead officer for the motor trade at the UK’s Trading Standards organisation said: “It is disappointing to see such high volumes of clocked vehicles still on the road today. But what is interesting to see is that vehicles at the higher end of the market are now being targeted. In simple terms, the clockers are focusing on vehicles that will give them the greatest financial return. Whilst it is easy to believe in the integrity of higher specification vehicles, with on board computers and diagnostic systems, they are in fact no more secure than cars at the lower end of the spectrum.”
HPI noted that some discrepancies will have an ‘innocent’ explanation; for instance, a vehicle may have had an odometer changed as part of a ‘legitimate’ repair.
