Manipulating a car's odometer to increase its price on the second-hand market is an illegal practice. Although this strategy is classified as a crime of fraud in the Penal Code, to this day there are still transactions involving the purchase and sale of vehicles with rigged odometers, as reported by authorities and organizations dedicated to consumer protection.
Falsifying the real mileage figure is not only a trick that serves to deceive the buyer and obtain an additional profit on the sale of the car. It can also cause mechanical and safety issues as the actual condition of the car does not match the information provided by the seller.
A study by carVertical, a company dedicated to checking automobile history, reveals that around 15% of second-hand vehicles sold in 24 markets, including most European countries and also the United States, They have the odometer manipulated.
A recent report carried out by this company founded in 2017 in Lithuania once again warns of this illegal practice. On this occasion, the study carried out, between October 2022 and September 2023, in 15 European countries where the platform operates highlights the worrying reality of the overpricing that buyers face when purchasing a car whose odometer has been altered. In some cases the price difference reaches 29%.
In Spain, the value of a car with manipulated mileage increases by 21% on average, according to the carVertical report. This means that Spanish drivers can pay a fifth more than a vehicle is really worth without knowing that they have been victims of scammers.
Drivers generally prefer cars with low miles, as they expect them to be in better condition and not require major repairs. It can be difficult to find a buyer for a vehicle that has high mileage, unless its price is significantly lower, so fraudulent sellers do not hesitate to manipulate car odometers, in order to artificially increase its value and obtain greater benefits.
If in Spain buyers of a second-hand car with a manipulated odometer pay on average 21% more than the real value of the vehicle, the margin is even higher in the United Kingdom (29%), Italy (29%) and Lithuania (25%). %). In contrast, Ukraine (17%), Poland (19%) and Romania (20%) are the countries where the profits from such fraudulent practices are smallest.
Tampering with the odometer is closely related to the age of the car and its subsequent financial impact on buyers. For example, the price of a car that is 15 years old and has altered mileage is 27% more expensive on average across the 15 countries analyzed.
To put this data in perspective, carVertical assures that, for every 100,000 kilometers incorrectly represented on the odometer, the buyer could have to face an additional expense of approximately 2,000 euros. Therefore, if the odometer shows 200,000 kilometers instead of the actual 400,000 kilometers, the person who buys the car could spend up to 4,000 euros more for that vehicle.
“The more expensive a car with an altered odometer is, the more money the buyer will ultimately lose. This underlines the importance of checking the vehicle's history before purchasing it,” says Matas Buzelis, automotive expert and head of the carVertical press area.
The study highlights that buyers of premium brand cars, which tend to have a higher price than the rest, are the ones most exposed to losing larger amounts of money if the odometer is manipulated. The report indicates that for every 100,000 kilometers altered on a Mercedes-Benz you can pay 10,600 euros more. BMW (7,000 euros), and Audi (6,000 euros) are the other brands with which criminals do the most business.
The report also includes the extra price paid on average by buyers of cars from other brands with the odometer manipulated. They range from 5,000 euros per 100,000 kilometers for Toyotas to 2,200 euros for the same number of kilometers in an Opel.
