April 25, 2024

How to check if the odometer was rolled back and be on the safe side?

Purchasing vehicle requests checking many details. It is similar to making an investment out of which we expect comfortable rides. But the result of the investment depends on the purchased item. While buying a car we are excited to ride it as soon as possible. Buying an automobile is a time-consuming process. It requests checking and analyzing many details. Purchasing a used vehicle can be riskier than buying a new one. Since most of the used automobiles don’t have any warranties we should check each and every detail. 

It’s a well-known fact that less mileage is associated with a longer lifespan. I guess, you as many other individuals check the mileage during pre-purchase inspection. But, sometimes the odometer doesn’t show correct data… Due to the big importance of the part, there are some devices that are used for adjusting the odometer. Hence, while looking at the odometer data on the dashboard, it doesn’t mean that it is the actual mileage that the car has covered. There is a chance that it was adjusted for earning more money upon the sale. For that reason, it is important to know how to check if the odometer was rolled back. Below I’ll share with you some tips and tricks that help you to avoid disappointment and find out the true covered mileage. Besides, I will introduce you to a must-have tool – Mileage Blocker, that helps you a lot. So, let’s start exploring!

The importance of how to check if car odometer has been rolled back 

Since most of us buy a vehicle for a long perspective and not just for single rides, we all try to get the best option. Before exploring how to check if the odometer was rolled back, let’s overview the whole process of purchasing an automobile. 

Nowadays, there are hundreds of automobile models, and choosing the one right model can take some time. It might seem hard to find the one appropriate model that meets all our requirements. Analyzing your living area, purpose, budget, and hobby can help you while making a decision. Combining all those factors will lead to correctly choosing the automobile type. Once you find a model that you want to buy, you should do another research. You should start searching for advertisements, comparing prices, determining the market price for avoiding waste of money, and reading reviews. Finally, after passing all those steps, it’s time to make an appointment for the vehicle inspection. Can you imagine? Even before pre-purchase inspection, there are so many things to do… For that reason, I’ve mentioned in the beginning that buying an automobile is a time-consuming process and requests analyzing many details. Shortly, in simple words, before inspection, we should choose the right automobile model upon our needs, then find it and check its reliability. Checking the condition of an automobile is the most important part. That can determine whether we should buy the car or not. So, let’s move on to the inspection part. 

Once the overall look of an automobile meets our expectations, we start exploring its technical side. The first thing we look at in a vehicle is the odometer. Odometer shows us numbers of covered miles/kilometers. It’s considered that the part shows us one of the most important details about an automobile – the lifespan. The lower is the number on the odometer, the longer will be the lifespan for a vehicle. For that reason, it is important to know how to check if the car odometer has been rolled back. Nowadays, there are many devices upon which it is possible to adjust the odometer and decrease the number of miles. Of course, adjusting odometer data is fraudulent action, but sometimes sellers do it to earn more money out of the trade. Since we already know why it is important to check whether displayed mileage data is correct or not, let’s move on to the next topic and explore how to know if the mileage has been changed. 

How to know if mileage has been changed in a simple way?

After understanding the importance of why we should check whether the odometer was rolled back, it’s time to explore how to know if the mileage has been changed. You might think that finding out such detail requests big knowledge of vehicle maintenance, but that’s not true. You can simply do it even if you don’t have any experience in this field. Below are some steps that help you in this process.

It’s a well-known fact that automobiles cover 12,000 miles on average, per year. Hence, if you are inspecting a 4 years old automobile and the number on the odometer is much lower than 48,000 miles, it’s suspicious. There is a big chance that the owner has adjusted it for earning the most out of the sale. 

Changing the odometer on a car, became very simple with the help of a big variety of fraudulent devices. Nonetheless, cars have multiple data storage units, and roll back tools still fail to reverse the mileage altogether. The mileage data is shown in two different sources, on the physical odometer, and the control module. Even after adjusting numbers on the odometer, the control module still continues counting the actual covered mileage without any change. Hence, there is always a possibility to find out the true data about the vehicle. 

Another important thing is how to check if the mileage has been changed is a VIN code. By using the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) code, you can simply do it. The VIN code consists of 17 digits and is unique for each automobile. It’s like a fingerprint for a car, that helps you to get all the needed information. With the help of the VIN code, you can get information about insurance, warranty, oil change, damage history, thefts, and most importantly, a registration history, that includes odometer data. 

Besides all the above-mentioned, you can simply ask the owner to show you oil change, or maintenance receipts. As a rule, there are always indicated odometer data on the receipts. Compare all the existing data. Also, you can check inspection stickers located on door frames or windows.

Stopping and changing the odometer on a car

I guess now you are more relaxed since you already know how to find out if the odometer has been rolled back. As I’ve already mentioned, there are several fraudulent modules on the market that change the data on the odometer. Let me explain shortly what is the difference between stopping and changing the odometer data. Calibration tools are usually used to rewind / rollback the traveled distance. But still, there are some reliable tools that are not meant for deceitful purposes. For instance, the Mileage Blocker tool was created for stopping the mileage in a car while testing its performance. By using the tool, you can conduct the test drive and avoid counting some extra miles. The module stops the odometer, instead of adjusting any existing data.

Conclusion 

Nonetheless, it might seem hard to find out how to check if car odometer has been rolled back, it’s possible to do with the help of the above-mentioned tips. After reading all the details, now you know what to check and how to do it. Besides, you’ve got information about different tools used for the odometer. Hence, I’m sure, you will make a thorough check and enjoy the purchase. Wish you good luck!

Used sources: 

https://www.carfax.ca/resource-centre/articles/how-to-check-a-used-car-for-an-odometer-rollback
https://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Odometer-Fraud