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Hundreds of complaints have been filed over odometer tampering since a NSW government crackdown, with the used car trick making a resurgence thanks to new technology.
The NSW Office of Fair Trading launched a free online tool last June that uses a car’s registration to reveal the last three odometer readings.
Since then, 588 tampering complaints have been filed and three people have been prosecuted.
“Consumers get a pretty quick indication about whether they’re about to get ripped off,” NSW Fair Trading Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said.
Tampered-with odometers are becoming so common in the second-hand market that customers are urged to get secondhand cars checked independently before making a purchase.
“Inspection doctor” Mitchell Pedavoli says he uncovers at least one meddled-with odometer a week while carrying out pre-purchase checks of secondhand cars in Sydney’s west.
“The biggest one was on a Skoda – a 150,000-kilometre difference – and my scan tool was able to pick that up,” Pedavoli said.
He says older models are most likely to be targeted.
”I see a lot of Mazda 3s, Toyota Corollas,” he said.
One used car dealer in Belmore was found to have reduced the odometers on seven cars by more than one million kilometres.
One Mitsubishi Triton was sold after its odometer reading was changed from 227,000km to 156,000km.
The offence now carries a $55,000 fine if someone is caught with a tampering device.
“Fair Trading will prosecute those who are caught,” Chanthivong said.
