When buying a used car on the secondary market there is always a high risk of getting caught on a variant with twisted odometer. According to statistics, every third car is tampered with odometer readings. However, there is a list of the most vulnerable to odometer rollover and when choosing a car, you should be especially careful.
BMW M5
Unfortunately, the legendary Bavarian “five” takes a leading place in the anti-rating of cars with twisted mileage. The fact is that the car is a cult, combining the advantages of a comfortable business sedan with the potential of a full-fledged sports car, because of which it is highly appreciated by car enthusiasts.
During the tests, experts found discrepancies in the odometer readings with the real kilometers in 31% of the investigated cars. This is due to the demand for used cars of this brand on the international market.
Ford Mustang
The famous sports car from America, Ford Mustang, is also in the top three in the list of models with twisted mileage. And this applies even to the current sixth generation of the muscle car. If you are planning to buy such a car, you should thoroughly check its history according to the Vin-Code.
Volkswagen Phaeton
German executive sedan Volkswagen Phaeton is often subjected to mileage twisting on the odometer, especially if we talk about the releases with diesel power units. As the experts mark, 9 out of 10 samples which have got to the base, had a diesel engine.
The matter is that such power units are designed for long distance traveling, that’s why these cars are often exposed to the fraudulent actions concerning the mileage twisting.
Peugeot 406
The hero of the cult movie “Taxi” Peugeot 406 is also included into the list of the most popular cars with twisted mileage. After all, the less the car is worn out, the higher its value and demand from buyers.
Other makes and models
In addition, during independent research, experts have determined that almost every third Chrysler car on the U.S. aftermarket has twisted mileage. The same concerns Acura, Dodge, Pontiac. From this it is not difficult to conclude that in most cases the mileage is corrected on premium cars from America.
Americans like to put on a few hundred thousand kilometers and then correct mileage to make the car more attractive for potential consumers. In fact everyone dreams to find a car with mileage up to 100,000 km, even despite its 10-year age.
The reason for such frequent manipulations with American cars of the abovementioned brands is obvious: they have simplified structure and significantly widen the opportunities for fraud.
The minivans Chrysler Voyager, which are positioned as family cars, are also in the list of leaders on mileage adjustment. An identical situation is observed with the Japanese Toyota Venza.
The situation is a little better with the cars of such brands as Renault, Toyota, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Opel and Nissan. But even here you should be extremely vigilant.
As for newer issues, statistics show that only 1 percent of cars under 2 years old are sold with adjusted mileage. In the case of 10-year offers, “non-native” mileage is already found in 20% of tested cars. In most cases the data is corrected for more than 60,000 km.
If you buy a car from official dealers, the risk to get caught on a dubious sample with fraudulent manipulations is much less. The total percentage of used cars with twisted mileage when buying at dealerships is 15%. When searching for a car in a private car dealership, such values are about 2 times higher. And in the case of individual sellers they are up to 35%.
If a car is bought from a dealer, the probability of a “pig in a poke” choice rises up to 50%, that is the half of checked up cars had twisted mileage. In fact, it is not a secret, that readjustment of odometer readings is an integral part of presale preparation of a used car at resellers or other dealers.
As it turned out, the buyers of inexpensive small cars are much less exposed to the risk of buying a car with twisted mileage, and the highest chances to buy a car with false history are with those who try to find a 5-15 year old version with a diesel engine.
Nevertheless, executive class cars have a much greater resource and safety margin. However, even the multi-level twist protection system (the data on actual kilometers traveled can be stored in 50 electronic units) does not prevent unscrupulous sellers from correcting the mileage.