Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can tell if my 54 plate corsa has had its digital mileage reading tampered with, as I think it may have done a few more miles than it says thanks
clocked corsa
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I think a good start would be taking it to a Vauxhall main dealer (if you bought it at such a place, then don't go to the one you bought it from!!!). Ask them if they can help you out, perhaps they can check the engine software to give some help.
The digital odometers are pretty much un-fiddlable I believe. However, if the car drives in a lumpy fashion, it might have been thrashed in the past. Pool cars, courtesy cars, hire cars are often thrashed by people who either a) don't care about the car and/or b) aren't paying for the petrol they are wasting.
So, it is quite possible that the mileage is completely genuine, just the car has been badly driven.
There are various things you can look at to get an idea of genuine mileage:
1) if seat covers are worn then it is a high-mileage car.
2) how much tread do you have on the tyres?
3) are the tyres all the same brand and size (i.e. are they the tyres that came WITH the car)
4) Look at the documents and determine who the previous owners were: was a company the owner or was it a private owner?
5) There is an option with tax discs to record the mileage of the car. This is voluntary, but if your car claims 5000 miles and the DVLA has a record of 20,000 miles at last tax then you know there is something dodgy.
Good luck!
The digital odometers are pretty much un-fiddlable I believe. However, if the car drives in a lumpy fashion, it might have been thrashed in the past. Pool cars, courtesy cars, hire cars are often thrashed by people who either a) don't care about the car and/or b) aren't paying for the petrol they are wasting.
So, it is quite possible that the mileage is completely genuine, just the car has been badly driven.
There are various things you can look at to get an idea of genuine mileage:
1) if seat covers are worn then it is a high-mileage car.
2) how much tread do you have on the tyres?
3) are the tyres all the same brand and size (i.e. are they the tyres that came WITH the car)
4) Look at the documents and determine who the previous owners were: was a company the owner or was it a private owner?
5) There is an option with tax discs to record the mileage of the car. This is voluntary, but if your car claims 5000 miles and the DVLA has a record of 20,000 miles at last tax then you know there is something dodgy.
Good luck!
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Every year I fill that in but the PO never take a note of it. Why?
Digi mileo's can be altered with the right software, leads and a laptop. And there are no outward signs of tampering - no chewed-up screwheads or misaligned digits...
See here: http://www.digidash.co.uk/
Check several things.
Steering wheel - Is it shiny or lost the pattern in the material/plastic?
Pedal rubbers - Are they worn?
Carpet - Worn?
Gear knob - Shiny?
Drivers' seat and belt - For signs of wear. Does the belt retract sharply?
Check the engine bay - is it suspiciously clean or dirtier than the mileage suggests?
Is the service book missing or has it been replaced? Are all hand-written entries done with the same pen? Ring the dealers to prove work stamped up has actually been carried out.
Contact the last owner (on the V5C) to see when they last serviced it - or what the mileage was when they disposed of the vehicle.
If you can afford 40 quid ish, get the car history.
PS What is the mileage??
Digi mileo's can be altered with the right software, leads and a laptop. And there are no outward signs of tampering - no chewed-up screwheads or misaligned digits...
See here: http://www.digidash.co.uk/
Check several things.
Steering wheel - Is it shiny or lost the pattern in the material/plastic?
Pedal rubbers - Are they worn?
Carpet - Worn?
Gear knob - Shiny?
Drivers' seat and belt - For signs of wear. Does the belt retract sharply?
Check the engine bay - is it suspiciously clean or dirtier than the mileage suggests?
Is the service book missing or has it been replaced? Are all hand-written entries done with the same pen? Ring the dealers to prove work stamped up has actually been carried out.
Contact the last owner (on the V5C) to see when they last serviced it - or what the mileage was when they disposed of the vehicle.
If you can afford 40 quid ish, get the car history.
PS What is the mileage??
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unfortunatly, if they disconnect the speedo (or 'replace' it when they had it) and then re-connect it, there will be no evidence of it being changed, because it wont have. checking as secure said is probably better then tryin to determine if the speedo has been altered
sorry for the delay the mileage is 20,000 but I just feel it isn't right nothing definitely wrong
With all this new tecnology and we're still having the same old problems. None of the things mentioned are absolute proof especally if there's no record of milage on any of the paperwork. Seeing as new cars don't need an MOT that's no use either. Asking the previous owner is pointless if it was them that tampered with it in the first place. I don't know how much experience you have of buying cars but after a while you get a kind of sixth sense for this sort of thing. If you're otherwise happy with the car you'll doutless have to put it down to experience and be more wary in future. Better to buy the high milage car knowing it's what it is than paying the extra for the low miler and regretting it.
20,000 on a 54 plate is about average i'd say. I bought a 53 plate in october, that had 34,000 miles on it. But no obvious signs of wear to the seats or steering etc.naebothernoo said:
Mileage records should be made compulsory at tax and logbook changes.
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