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I am shopping for a used car (2006 Volvo XC90) and encountered the following situation:

The car itself has odometer reading 110k miles. I intend to appraise and price at as if a 110k car. The seller claims that the car in fact has about 85k miles on it, but at one point the odometer failed, and was replaced with a used odometer (to save money) which at the time had 105k miles or so.

The owner seems reasonably trustworthy and provided me with extensive records for the servicing of the car. An independent mechanic I spoke to said that he hadn't heard of such a thing, and they could not verify the "true mileage" of the car (beyond what the odometer says).

The situation by itself does not bother me. What concerns me is that:

  • I should treat this situation as a red flag indicative of other problems with the seller.
  • Even if I manage to get the odometer fixed and correct the mileage, when I attempt to sell the car down the line, I will have to explain this situation.

I lack the expertise to judge this situation. Is it common for an incorrect odometer reading to come about like this? Is it a minor issue, or is it a serious problem? Is the story I was told by the seller plausible?

Superbest
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5 Answers5

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The story is indeed plausible, and a quick google search indicates instrument clusters failures are not uncommon for that vehicle. As with any used car, I would have your mechanic inspect the car, though since it is a relatively small difference between claimed and displayed mileage, there really isn't a good way to disprove the sellers story.

If the seller has maintenance records, they should pretty clearly indicate a change in mileage around the time of the swap.

MooseLucifer
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The problem is, you have to take the seller at his word, and that's just not the way business transactions work. He has an obvious incentive to sell the car with a lower mileage, and regardless of what a good guy he is, can't be trusted. If you really like the car, and can't find something comparable from another seller, you might continue to press your luck with this guy, but one "small issue" seems to have a way of multiplying. I would walk away. There are too many scams out there to worry about.

To your second point, there's no way of "getting the mileage fixed" based on what would then be only your word. That's called fraud, and would be illegal. If you did it and a buyer didn't notice, you'd be open for criminal charges. If you tried to explain it, you would just be laughed at.

Basically, the seller bought himself a very expensive instrument cluster, and that's his problem.

Of course, this is all primarily opinion based.

JPhi1618
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In the UK, you can use the registration number of a vehicle along with the manufacturer and obtain a complete MOT history which includes mileage readings. If you have something similar where you are, try doing this. You would be looking for consistent mileage increases which approach but do not exceed 80k miles. Then you would observe a jump. Possibly accompanied by a previous failure.

One of my cars has this same issue. It's a 1997 Golf which is indicating 95k miles. When we purchased it, it was indicating 55k miles. However, the seller explained that at some point in the past, the instrument cluster had failed and replaced. The history of the car and mileages recorded at each service back this up. The car is closer to 150k but the clocks obviously would lead you to believe otherwise.

Steve Matthews
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I don't know about Volvos, but speaking as a former Saab Automobile engineer I'd say there's a good chance the correct odometer reading is stored elsewhere in the car (in another ECU). A Volvo technician should be able to figure it out. Also, it's VERY hard to "fix" the odometer. Close to impossible, in fact. You'd most likely have to buy a new one (which is what the current owner should have done, really). I'd keep shopping if I were you.

Emil Fors
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In many states upon transfer the title is supposed to record the fact that the odometer doesn't show actual mileage. You can expect this will adversely impact the value of the car in the future, regardless of how believable you find the seller's explanation.

Essentially, whatever he saved with a used instrument cluster is now offset by the impairment that may be required (depending on the state) on the title.

Tim B
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