vallumlj

Just got my car and the milage on the speedo is 71k

on a mot dated the 14/04/2005 its 118669k which is about 73k is it not

It had a service on 19/08/2005 and its 120k which is about 74k is it not.

so how come my speedo says 71k

any ideas has it been clocked or something.

95blackWRX

it sounds like it

EVOLUTION

sonds like it, though i cant see why someone would knock off only a few k off it, doesnt seem worth it.


was the car from a garage or was it a private sale?


john

fitzscoob

Is this a jap import? If so you may find that it has been converted from km to miles, and there are higher recorded miles because the majority of the miles were actually kms.

does that make sense?

95blackWRX

not really can u explain

fitzscoob

ill try again lol been a long day

As far as I can figure, imported cars have their odometer set on kms, when the cars are imported they are changed over to miles.

So even though car may show 100,000 miles - 99000 miles may actually be kms, therefor less.

Any better?

dj219957

71 k sounds better than 80 plus doesnt it! could be clocked i guess.
Very common IMO to knock a few kms off during the conversion.

Then theres the one where the kms will be converted properly into miles and the clocks adjusted legit but then when the owner sells to next buyer he says the conversion/adjustment was never made and that some of miles are actually kms.

vallumlj

the car is a import. The limiter was only taken out this year i no that much

EVOLUTION

An MOT in May 2005 suggests the car was still reading in KM 118669k

A service in september still sugests its reading in KM 120k


So why would it have been changed in the last 6 months to read in miles

73740.9166miles = 118669km @ MOT

So for what legal reason can it be now 71,000 miles other than it being clocked

EVOLUTION

yeah

My FTO was brought in with 26,000km on.

now i had ith speedo changed to read in miles, but, the miles started at the 26,000.

so, when i sold it with 31,000 on the clock, it had 26,000km, plus 5,000 miles, does that make sense,


but in any case, the last figure should not be below the previous figure


john

vallumlj

so what should i do. its not to far of is it really. I no its not right but should i worry

EVOLUTION

you have 2 options, try taking it back or just living with it mate.


you could try saying you will report him for it, but only if you can prove it was the last owner who clocked it.

if it was a garage, try trading standards and telling him what your doing.


any one that feels the need to lie about a few thousand km's, is a bit strange, i would be doing all i can to get rid, what else have they hidden that you dont know about.


its a shame you have bought one with this kind of hassle, aa there are so many sound cars out there to be had.


sorry to be bearing bad news all the time.


john

pslewis

If they have clocked it, as it seems, then there are other things wrong too!!

Bad Dealers and Bad People go with Bad Cars ....... it's how it has ALWAYS been.

If a car is not 100% in everyway I simple walk away from it - plenty more about!

I would take it back, get your money and buy a decent one!

Pete

RB5 360

Seems odd

If I was going to clock a car I would get a new MOT done with a lower milage to hide the clocking

EVOLUTION

not if you had half a brain you wouldnt.

and lets face it, if these people did, they would all have respectable jobs, they dont, so they leave us easy clues to spot them


john

GU5

Have the clocks been replaced? One of my speed sensors went and the only way of removing the CEL was a replacement set of clocks. These obviously had a different milage to the rest of the car, but it has all been documented on headed paper by the garage that did the replacement.

Maybe your car had similar problems but the seller didn't think about it properly or took the cheaper option of replacing them himself with no evidence to back up the descrepency.

vallumlj

i am going to get the car look all over. Where is the chassis number in the engine bay so i can check it with the hpi form.

If everything seems ok i am not really bothered.

Cosmic37

I assume its the same for Jap imports as UK models in which case chassis number is printed on two silver/grey plates on either side of engine bay (easy to spot, but you might want to check the condition and surrounding paint in case they have been tampered with) and also scored (not printed) into the paint/chassis in larger figures at the top rear of the engine bay facing forwards - should be easily visible in light.

I'm not sure if HPI check will be all that much use for a recent import though as I think HPI only store British data...?

Cosmic37

There is something called a BIMTA check/certificate on imports from Japan but I think it only states mileage at auction before being sent to Britain. Personally I decided to get a UK model where you could check the mileage and cross reference service history and MoT certificates better, plus HPI.

If you plan on selling the car then a mileage discrepancy could be a problem but if you want to keep it and drive it for a good few years then the main thing is that it is mechanically sound (trying to look on the bright side here). In that case you might want to get some good mechanics to fully service it including cam belt (not cheap but should put your mind at rest).

At the same time you could ask for (some/all) money back from people who sold it you...

Cosmic37

By the way, I would NOT get the place which sold it you to do a service!!!

vallumlj

the car cost me hardly anything so if it is mechanical ok i will keep it for a bit. Thanks for the help

pslewis

Cost Pennies

Been Clocked

Hmmmmmm, I would STOP looking now - unless you want to discover that the front end is a Justy and the back end is a Legacy

Why don't people realise that a cheap car is cheap for a reason?

Pete

[Davey]

If its an import do you still have the import docs? They will atleast give you a rough idea of the mileage when it came into the country..

I was very dubious about the other halfs WRX, but all the import docs showed 112k when it was imported last year and its now its nearly 120k (75,000miles) which seems pretty realistic.

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

All the numbers you need regarding id will be on a plate near the nearside suspension turret.
Like GU5 says there is a possibility that the clocks have been replaced. To be honest if they were going to clock the car intentionally I think they would do more than 1 - 2k miles.
I hope though that you did an hpi before you bought the car, and when you say the car cost hardly anything what sort of cost was it?? Even though its an import as long as it has a log book (therefore registered) there should be hpi data on it.