Mot millage mistake

khickey88

Ok so last September I've only just noticed the millage he put down at the mot was 39200 when it should probably of been more like 29200. So now it ready for the mot this week and I've only got 37000 on the clock. Will this effect me trading the car in later in the future? Or selling it? 

CliveOfIndia

It's highly unlikely to cause an issue.  In the olden days, clocking cars was somewhat more common than it is these days - not saying it still doesn't go on, but it tends to be less common.

But in any case, anyone looking through the MOT history will see the error and realise that it was just a typo that was entered last September.  Subsequent mileages that are recorded will set pretty much most people's minds at rest that it was nothing more than a genuine typo - which is not unheard of.

facade

Yes it will affect you when you dispose of the car.

At the least, you will have to explain the discrepancy and hope they believe you, at the worst a dealer won't touch it.

Lots of people use the online checkers now (like carvertical) that highlight anomalies in the mileage, which put them off buying.  It won't make a difference when the car is 15 years old with 160,000 miles on the clock that mihght be 10,000 out, but it will at 37,000.

You can attempt to get it corrected, but you need documentary proof of what the mileage was at that MOT, which is un likely tbh as all the paperwork will have used the mileage that the tester wrote down wrongly.

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/correcting-mot-certificate-mistakes

stuhse

I would certainly be put off buying such a car when i noticed the mileage anomoly.  As for clocking not occurring ..id say its far more prevalent these days as its far easier to do.  In the old days you had to dismantle all the dash and twiddle the dials.  Now you just plug in a computer with the appropriate software and pick a number. Mileage 'correction' services are offered openly on the internet.

CliveOfIndia

OK, so valid points made by both previous posters.  I guess where I was coming from is that most people wouldn't bother with the hassle of clocking a car for the sake of a couple of thousand miles, which is the situation the OP describes.  As I said, I'm not saying clocking doesn't occur, but you do need the right equipment and software to alter the car's central computer - more specialised than just removing the odo and manually twiddling the dials, which could be done by anyone with a modicum of DIY knowledge

And the previous and subsequent mileage history would tend to even out somewhat.  Say the car does 10K a year, the MOT history would show 10K, then 20K, then 40K - whereas 30K in year 3 would fit the previous usage pattern.  Then in year 4 it goes back to 37K, which again more or less ties in to the previous pattern.  If it then goes on to show 47K, then 57K etc, I'd be inclined to believe that it all ties in with a typo in year 3.  Or maybe I'm just too trusting!

As mentioned by facade, you can apply to get it corrected if you can supply some documentation - don't suppose you have anything like a receipt for a service that was done very shortly before the MOT, anything like that?  Otherwise it's difficult to prove a year after the fact.