Buying a used car is rarely without pitfalls and among the most common frauds is odometer manipulation. The ease and low cost of forgery make the practice so widespread that according to a report by the European parliament, the economic costs for EU countries are estimated at at least 1.31 billion euros with 8.77 billion losses.
However simple (bring back the numbers, intervene on the control unit) and apparently common, tampering with the mileage has negative repercussions not only on the buyer’s wallet, but also and above all on the safety of the vehicle, the wear of the components and the timing on the need whether or not to make a service. To stem the bad habit, the site l’Automobile.it, specialized in the sale of cars online, shared the precautions to be taken when viewing a second-hand vehicle.
The first alarm bell can be a documentation shown with excessive zeal because the coupons carried out are also subject to possible counterfeits. It is more complicated to change the mileage provided during the revision because the workshop must update the register of the Ministry of Transport which, if consulted, can therefore give an idea of the kilometers at the time of the last revision. The Public Vehicle Register (Pra), on the other hand, helps to understand the origin and change of ownership and if the first heading belongs to a rental company, it is necessary to investigate. In fact, Automobile.it explains how the pre-owned machines used by company employees and long-term rentals are more subject to the risks of “scrapping” because vehicles with a few years of life have never been subjected to the first overhaul.
Although it dates back to three years ago, Altroconsumo’s survey on the kilometric deduction is always current: comparing the km indicated during the auction with the real ones found after the visit to four car showrooms in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, the study has found differences of 24,000, 42,000 and 100,000 km. Paying due attention to the details of the vehicle is therefore an obligation and, if desired, the purchase of a used car can find useful assistance in the anti-scam kits. The Automobile.it reports two different types of devices: The first is called Diogene and is capable of reading the mileage, highlighting the alterations made to the odometer. The second is Carfax which, using license plate and chassis numbers and an international database, provides history and information on the car in a few minutes.