Odometer Fraud 2.0

Brother, you aren't going to see shit out of this. Sad but a fact of life.

Your first mistake, and it's a big one, is not running a Carfax to minimally see the mileage on the vehicle through it's life on registrations, emissions and so forth before you even got in your vehicle and drive all that way to go look at it.

Sadly, that is on you. Is he an *******? Absolutely. What does it take to make a 250K vehicle have 100K miles? Depending on the vehicle a gauge cluster and possibly the ECU from a wreck.

Buyer beware.

So, you can waste 100 hours of your time and countless dollars trying to pursue this POS - which isn't going to get you anywhere - or you can write it off as a life lesson and be done with it.

I understand you are angry and pissed, but even with a lawyer (which will suck up every penny you could possibly recoup on an old and worn out vehicle) you aren't going to get retribution unless you do it the old fashioned way.

Next time, brother, Carfax it before you even call. That's wisdom talking to you.

And I will add that when I traded in my 2002 a few months back, I left every receipt I had AND my name in address in the glove box. I would welcome a call from the new buyer and I could tell them the life history of the vehicle.

There are honest people in this world and there are scumbags. Learn to sniff out the difference between the two and you will have a good life.
 
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Every time I go to look at a vehicle at the pull it yard guess what the first thing gone is...that's right, the gauge cluster. From now on if I ever see a vehicle there with an intact cluster I'm gonna f#&$ it up and save someone from having this experience.
 
Brique said:
Every time I go to look at a vehicle at the pull it yard guess what the first thing gone is...that's right, the gauge cluster. From now on if I ever see a vehicle there with an intact cluster I'm gonna f#&$ it up and save someone from having this experience.
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It's big business. Back in the day they would roll the odometer back with a power drill.

On today's cars can't do that, so here is how the scum runs the scam:

1) Scumbag #1 buys a really clean but high mileage vehicle.
2) Scumbag #1 buys a low(er) mileage gauge cluster and if needed ECU from a wreck for a couple hundred dollars.
3) Scumbag #1 transfers the title to Scumbag #2 with the transfer marked as "miles unkown".
4) Scumbag #2 advertises the vehicle as say 100K miles vs. 250K miles and states "original mileage".
5) Poor, unsuspecting guy #1 comes along and pays what he should for a 100K vehicle which is substantially more than what a 250K mile vehicle is worth.
6) Scumbag #1 and #2 go to Outback and have a nice steak dinner on the $3K profit they just made by ripping off Poor, unsuspecting guy #1 and split the difference.
7) If Poor, unsuspecting guy #1 figures out what is going on and contacts Scumbag #2, Scumbag #2 says "Hey, the guy I bought it from claimed the mileage was original. Go away.".
8) Then you have the situation OP is in.

There are a LOT of people out there who are driving 3 or 4 owner cars that have no clue that the car has twice the mileage on it that it shows on the ODO.

Never underestimate a criminals ability to rip off an honest person.

As I said before, check, recheck, question and Carfax the shit out of it before you even call.
 
I wonder if at this point, if you can file charges. At least try and get a warrant out on this guy.
 
Buddy of mine bought a brand new ninja motorcycle. After riding it for 6000 miles it developed a Crack in the gauge cluster. He took it into the dealership. They replaced it under warranty. His bike now has 0 miles on it. I don't understand how the dealership changed the cluster out and put 0 miles on it with no accountability to the owner to market it as such if they sell. Thankfully my buddy is an honest man and wouldn't screw someone.
 
To the OP, my heart goes out to you man, I too learned the hard way about dishonest people when I purchased my first vehicle at the age of 18. No need to recap another horror story here. ��

CarFax while not perfect does offer two free products for everyone, their lemon check and their odometer check, I try and screen cars before I go see them using those. When I ask a seller for the VIN it usually helps weed out those that might be defrauding folks because they never send it to me.
 
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Brique said:
Every time I go to look at a vehicle at the pull it yard guess what the first thing gone is...that's right, the gauge cluster. From now on if I ever see a vehicle there with an intact cluster I'm gonna f#&$ it up and save someone from having this experience.
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So you're justifying and advocating vandalizing property that doesn't belong to you.

That's no better than someone that commits odometer fraud.
 
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02SE said:
So you're justifying and advocating vandalizing property that doesn't belong to you.

That's no better than someone that commits odometer fraud.
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No, you're right. I guess I'll pay the five or ten bucks to buy it, then destroy it.
 
BrandonF said:
Pretty unnecessary comment. I'm not the only one here giving this point of view on the topic. The yota drivers I know, myself included, would man up and figure it out. Why not confront him first without an attorney holding your hand?

These trucks run forever anyways. 223 xxx miles in september 2014… it's just getting broken in.
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That's idiodic advice all around. First off, that's a great way to start a pissing match and get nowhere. It's not a matter of whether or not they run forever. Third, he wasn't whining but was telling his experience and warning others to be more careful.
 
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