I'm looking to get a used car soon and was wondering if a dealership can roll back digital ones?

 

It's illegal. A legit dealership would never do that. Used car lots on the other may have been tampered with.

 

The only way to do that is to buy another gague cluster with lower miles off of E-bay or from a junkyard and install it. So look for signs of dash disassembly.

 

not necessarily...there are other ways

 

I honestly dont think that works for the max. I think the ECU knows how many miles the car has. So lets say you have 115K and put in a cluster of 60K its gonna pop up as 115K because the ECU knows what miles the car has.

Nick

 

I was just going by what the dealer told me. Thats the only reason I didn't buy a white gague cluster from him because it had 50k+. Sorry for any misdirection.

 

Yes a digital odometer can be rolled back, last time I visited Monterrey in Mexico, a place 2 hours from the south border in Texas, got a place where all the people sell and buy auto parts and some guys there already rolled back some digital odometers on a 1999 Nissan Maxima, 2001 Dodge Stratus and 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee using a home-made device, they even can put messages in your odometer screen, like HELLO, GOOD BYE, etc. Stay alert ! Of course it can be rolled back !

 

Yes, you can rollback a digital odometer, there are people outthere who will "calibrate your cluster to the Mileage of your choice"

No, the ECU does not keep the mileage, the cluster does,

If you're buying a used car it's really hard to tell if the odometer has been rolled back, ecpecially a digital one.

The best way to guestimate the mileage is to get another car with similar mileage/year and compare the undercarriage.

I have a 98 with 85K on mine and when I compare it to my Moms 97 with 40K it looks a lot different.
Major difference on the exchaust shields, brake calipers, suspention parts and other items which can show signs of rusting and wear.
My Ypipe has much more rust on it. Calipers and suspention parts also show more rust and wear on them.

 

carfax doesnt hurt either

 

Don't know if it can be rolled back. However, the ecu will keep the original miles, no matter what the odometer says.

Also, whats to keep someone replacing the entire cluster with one that has lower miles.

 

nothing at all...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by humberto_i30
Yes a digital odometer can be rolled back, last time I visited Monterrey in Mexico, a place 2 hours from the south border in Texas, got a place where all the people sell and buy auto parts and some guys there already rolled back some digital odometers on a 1999 Nissan Maxima, 2001 Dodge Stratus and 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee using a home-made device, they even can put messages in your odometer screen, like HELLO, GOOD BYE, etc. Stay alert ! Of course it can be rolled back ! [/QUOT

Hey I'm from South Texas.Yes its very easy to go to Mexico and move back the digital odo..lots of people do it down there..I have lots of friends who have done it on newer Chevy trucks and nissans ,,just about any car can be tampered with..I now live up north And when I tell people that digital odo's can easily be tampered,they look at me with disbelive...But I have seen it on just about every car..Beware of Texas cars with low miles only buy one from a good dealer then have it doulble checked..

 

If there is money involved, someone will always find a way. Just ask DirecTV about their "un-hackable" satellite systems.

I saw equipment for sale that "calibrates" digital speedo's to reflect "actual" mileage. It was at $1800 on E-Bay, and going up fast. It was not a hack job, but a professional name-brand machine.

So, to answer the question, yes, they can be tampered with. Someone can obtain a new blank speedo or a low mileage used one, add mileage, but less mileage than original, and fool you. Always look around dash/gauge area for any scratches, smudges, or other signs of possible tampering. I don't know how machine works. It may tap into system somewhere other than directly into back of speedo. If so, it would be impossible to tell. That's why CarFax is good, but not perfect either. They can still be wrong. All a person has to d is check Carfax, see what last recorder mileage was, and go from there.

If buying from a dealer ask if you can contact previous owner if it is "one owner trade in". See how they react. An honest dealer wil let you call them.

Watch out for those corner car lots with "Shish Kebab" or something like that in the business name.

If car does not have plates in it, ask to see actual title or registration. A missing plate may indicate car has has title washed through many names and states( but some states require plate be turned in upon sale) Check with your state laws.

If buying from a private party, ask for repair receipts. They should have mileage on them, so you can check against actual mileage.

Ever notice most used cars on E-bay are being sold from Florida, Texas, Georgia, and New York? Wonder why. Do they wash titles through to those states? What's the scam?? Anyone??

If it is a hot chick selling the car, you're screwed. You won't remember any of the above. She'll smile, and you will buy the car as is.

 

i could've sworn there was a thread like this a while ago, someone had just put in a new engine and tranny, and wanted the odo to reflect this...........

 

If it is a hot chick selling the car, you're screwed. You won't remember any of the above. She'll smile, and you will buy the car as is.


I wish I was lucky enough to get screwed by a hot chick selling her car.
And you guys bring up a good point about cars being sold on ebay. I had a friend do some research on this. She said that 43% of the vehicles for sale on ebay were or are being sold from the state of texas. She also said that 91% of the 43% were being marketed as "low milage" vehicles.
'If ish don't stink then why are there fly's all over it.'....Yes something does smell fishy and it ain't grandma..

 

 

I know that if you rebuild a wreck from Florida or Texas, and then transfer the title to another state it comes though clear, with no brand of the reconditioning. This is a common practice for less respectable dealers around here - I know one in particular who gets shipments from Florida all the time, and every one of them is either a previous salvage or flood, but all them have "clear" titles. The worst part is that the titles really do show up as clear. And, I just noticed by accident, that he's started to tap the eBay market.

 

The ECU does keep the mileage. I personally saw an odometer that showed 66k miles on it (Buick Regal). A mechanic at a dealer showed me that the ECU said the car had 180K Boy did I get screwed!

 

Drive in reverse.

 

Driving in reverse doesn't help much ! I already tried driving from Texas to Florida and just 2,000 miles were backed in my ODO ! Don't try this at home please !

 

Driving in reverse does nothing, it still adds miles to your car. Yes you can roll back the miles on a digital odo.