Car clocking, can it be stopped?

Kilty_2

Oops, I lost the service book

Flyboy152

Kilty wrote: »

Oops, I lost the service book

You don't need a service book to check the service history. Most manufacturers will have a record of the history to comply with the warranty. If they don't the dealer or lease company will

Kilty_2

Some manufacturers still do not have this though (Vauxhall IIRC can only give you history at the dealer the car was serviced at, it is not centralised)

On the other hand I know Mercedes no longer provide a service book.

Flyboy152

Kilty wrote: »

Some manufacturers still do not have this though (Vauxhall IIRC can only give you history at the dealer the car was serviced at, it is not centralised)

On the other hand I know Mercedes no longer provide a service book.

But all manufacturers will hold a warranty history. A three year old car, with that kind of mileage, will have had a lot of warranty work.

Lum

MOT history is easily available online too, only has records since 2006 though.

cyclonebri1

Kilty wrote: »

You'd need to be pretty naive to be unable to tell the difference

But there lies the problem, you don't have to be naive at all.

Modern cars can and do still look and drive like new at 100k.

I've seen engines you could eat your dinner off at 100k, change the peadal rubbers and the jobs done ;)

I have been caught out once under slightly similar circumstances.
Bought 1.4 astra, just shy of 3 years old so no mot. 87k on the clock. It was nice and cheap, not new but fair enough for its age and mileage. Drove brilliantly was dead chuffed untill the next day when I found a vx sticker in the drivers door reveal. The car had been fitted with a genuine vx replacement engine at 119k miles the previous year, ie it had done 187,000miles in less than 3 years, hadn't been clocked but with only a 5 digit speedo.


And yes, I did "return" it :eek:

Kilty_2

Modern cars look and drive like new at 100k yet I've hired stuff that is scruffy at < 15k?

colino

Car clocking can't be stopped because it is a very lucrative trade. A few years ago BMW improved its systems (memory in keys etc) and clocking stopped - for about 3 months. Being a high value item with relatively low tech, it quickly was overcome.
I think you have to be aware of the total market to understand how clocking slips through the net. Think of those huge eponymous dealers, as well as selling brand new they also sell second-hand and those miraculous mountains of "managers cars". Their nearly new stock often comes from early returned lease cars, hire cars and manufacturers closed sales. That is, cars that have been driven like they were stolen all of their short lifes. Some organisations are self-insuring too, so that the bangs and crashes are repaired in-house and never appear on the register.
As has been said before, the MOT mileage is worthless in checking a cars history. The company cars flying past you down the motorway will rack up huge mileages and be disposed of, long before first MOT time.
Service histories? Unless a car has one, maybe two owners that can be checked out and the cars full history, no mysterious years of unusually high or unusually low records can come from the manufacturers database, then it is suspect. Have a look on ebay and find the blank service book of your choice with the stamps to "legitimise".
Buy cars on condition, not mileage. It is quicker and easier to clock a car than ever before and I must say that most of the guilty parties are privateers wanting to inflate the value of their car/trade-in, rarely the run of the mill independent garage.
I've just seen a 58 plate Skoda Octavia after its been through the workshop and the valeter (who is buying it trade) has finished with it. It is gleaming white and immaculate(d) and you would never know it has been an airport taxi with 180,000 miles on it.

cyclonebri1

Kilty wrote: »

Modern cars look and drive like new at 100k yet I've hired stuff that is scruffy at < 15k?

So you do agree with me???;);)


However, if there were intermediate mileage "logs" you would??, not rocket science, not even basic common sense to be honest :wall::wall::wall::wall::wall::silenced:

jase1

Kilty wrote: »

Modern cars look and drive like new at 100k yet I've hired stuff that is scruffy at < 15k?

That's different. It is possible to look after a car rather better than a typical hire car customer does

With a good valet, my 80,000 mile Focus is very tidy.

Where you notice it is underneath -- the Focus has the usual Ford surface rust everywhere, which is apparent very quickly if the car has done a lot of miles. A low mileage/newish car typically doesn't.