Just discovered my car was "clocked" before I bought it in 2015

AdrianC

Did you even glance briefly at the certificates?

realh

AdrianC wrote: »

Did you even glance briefly at the certificates?

Do you mean the 2016/2017 ones? I did, but somehow missed the mileage discrepancy before.

System

Your car's first MOT was after they went computerised. You can check the MOT history online here:

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

It will list every MOT and the mileage recorded. That'll give you an indication of what the mileage should have been.

Also by the time your vehicle was new pretty much all manufacturers had digital service records so you should be able to go to a main dealer and they should be able to print you out the service history.

However after 2.5 years I think you'd struggle with a claim.

realh

Tarambor wrote: »

Your car's first MOT was after they went computerised. You can check the MOT history online here:

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

It will list every MOT and the mileage recorded. That'll give you an indication of what the mileage should have been.

Also by the time your vehicle was new pretty much all manufacturers had digital service records so you should be able to go to a main dealer and they should be able to print you out the service history.

However after 2.5 years I think you'd struggle with a claim.

That's a useful site, I didn't know about that. That has the 45k figure too. I also learnt that at the first MoT the brakes and front tyres were badly worn, and a couple of exhaust supports were faulty, one of which must have been bodged, because I had to have it repaired the following year.

takman

realh wrote: »

I didn't check everything as thoroughly as I should, because I've got some health conditions and couldn't afford the stress/energy etc, and I thought the reason people pay more to go to franchised dealers was for more peace of mind.

Realistically i can't see how looking in the service book and looking at the MOT certificate before you buy the car is difficult or stressful.

If you want to avoid stress then surely doing these basic checks to make sure you buy a decent car is a must so you don't end up in the situation you are now.

realh

takman wrote: »

If you want to avoid stress then surely doing these basic checks to make sure you buy a decent car is a must so you don't end up in the situation you are now.

It's more that when I'm in a stressful situation my common sense suffers and I just want to get things over and done with and get home ASAP.

AdrianC

realh wrote: »

It's more that when I'm in a stressful situation my common sense suffers and I just want to get things over and done with and get home ASAP.

That's understandable.

But you've had three MOT certificates in your possession which would have told you of that situation. It's only this new, fourth certificate which you've noticed it from. You could have noticed from the original certificate when you got the car home and calmed down. You could have noticed when you had either of the subsequent tests done.

Honestly, for the sake of 17k miles on a car which is now 6 years old, there is very little you can realistically do after two and a half years. Any potential action is going to be very time-consuming and stressful, for very little likely remedy.

agrinnall

Really the mistake you made was in buying a car without a stamped service history, which means you have no evidence to either contradict an incorrect mileage recorded at the first MoT or challenge the dealer for selling a clocked car. I don't really understand why anyone would consider a relatively new car without a service history unless it was very, very cheap, in which case you may have found out why that was.

realh

AdrianC wrote: »

Honestly, for the sake of 17k miles on a car which is now 6 years old, there is very little you can realistically do after two and a half years. Any potential action is going to be very time-consuming and stressful, for very little likely remedy.

I think you're right, I'm best just leaving it, not even bothering with bad reviews. The car seems fine for its age, and the mileage discrepancy has a plausible honest explanation.

realh

agrinnall wrote: »

Really the mistake you made was in buying a car without a stamped service history, which means you have no evidence to either contradict an incorrect mileage recorded at the first MoT or challenge the dealer for selling a clocked car. I don't really understand why anyone would consider a relatively new car without a service history unless it was very, very cheap, in which case you may have found out why that was.

It did have a service history, but the mileage wasn't written in with the stamp. If the lower mileage figure is correct, I think that first service was within the interval recommended when the car was new.