A warning to those in the market

[TurboLlew]

The dealership however does know that there is a major fault with the car (and an illegal one at that) and should therefore take the necessary steps to have the problem seen to. If it arrived there like that, they have grounds to reverse the transaction the same way a customer would.

not quite illegal...

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/how-to-avoid-getting-clipped-1084522

While it is entirely legal to adjust the odometer readings on your car (it’s your car, you can do with it what you like), it is fraud to deceive a buyer into thinking a car has done less distance than it actually has.

I would think reasoning applies here. Yes an odometer can be adjusted in cases such as where engines are replaced and you wish to reflect the mileage of the new engine, however advertising the vehicle without disclosing the adjustment and the reading before the adjustment was made is, as stated, fraudulent and so it's illegal.

failing to disclose is illegal, not the actual mileage change...
thats why they do it, it difficult to prove so they get away with it
So you are incorrect in saying that the fault is an illegal one....

Whilst you are technically correct, a dealer has certain requirements to uphold to the client and finance house (if it applies) as well as just from an ethical/good business practice perspective. If you go to certain dealers and auctions etc. they at least tell you mileage cannot be guaranteed or tell you about accident/water damage etc. The onus should be on the dealer to ensure that the vehicle checks out before they take it in and they have access to far more info than us relying on forumites to help with checks I'm sure.

This is a case where the dealer is aware and has chosen not to do anything. He might not have done it himself, but he is aware it has been done which is fraudulent.

Same goes for dealers that say 'not that I know of' or 'well it has no comments' when you ask about accidents or issues and it is visible to your non-expert eye...

 

[Demontec]

Wouldn't be the first time a dealer has done this :thumbdo:

At least repair it properly if you gona lie about it:skit:

I'm sure that Bonnet slam tray portion doesn't normally look this way?

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

Wouldn't be the first time a dealer has done this :thumbdo:

At least repair it properly if you gona lie about it:skit:

I'm sure that Bonnet slam tray portion doesn't normally look this way?

:facepalm:

 

[JENICH]

Anyone have a VIN for this car,
Not picking up deets with the registration

 

[Iceman007]

:RedNo: These dealers. I have been at a few Auctions and you should see some of the wrecks they buy and fix to resell to unsuspecting buyers.

 

[Ratslaaf]

My question is how do they manipulate the km reading on these cars?

I ponder this too.

Find a lower mile crashed car and transfer all the electronics/lockset etc across. Harder than just swapping the cluster (as on some other models) but not impossible.

That's waaaaaay too much effort. Mileage gets changed in Cluster and CAS, job done. If you really good, it can be done in 15 mins flat. Any E series and F01, F10 too. It was harder in F20 and F30 in the past, but now that these are cracked it's only a matter of time before these become commonplace as well.

It's for this reason that I've been beating my chest about this for some time, here and elsewhere. Do your due dilligence and check vehicle history and KM records. Even the dealers get taken, I'm aware of a specific X6M doing the rounds.

 

[RAArmstrong]

So I see this car is still on the auto trader and for more money than before

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[ChefDJ]

More money for it's newly discovered higher mileage :crazylaugh:

 

[Nick]

Maybe it has the "cocaine package" installed from the prior owner.

 

[RAArmstrong]

So she's still advertised. Seems the dealership isn't too concerned about their integrity...

http://www.autotrader.co.za/used-ca...x0eXBlL0RpZXNlbC9zb3J0L3ByaWNlL2FzYy9zZWFyY2g

 

[BeamerMan]

I actually looked at this deal and thought the price was originally too good to be true.

Glad my suspicions were right - seeing as the same car in CT is selling for close to 300k

 

[flintstone]

Maybe it will be beneficial to create a sticky thread with vehicles like this listed. This thread could get lost in a few months and a new unsuspecting buyer falls for this car. It would be like our Database of vehicles to stay away from?

 

[RAArmstrong]

I actually looked at this deal and thought the price was originally too good to be true.

Glad my suspicions were right - seeing as the same car in CT is selling for close to 300k

I've just come across that car in CT. I might need it

 

[Luigi_S]

Here is another one for you.

Car actually has just over 340k on the clock. Pitches up a few days later for 15k more and half the mileage.

https://www.gumtree.co.za/a-cars-ba...tpack-manual-r74900/1002010064700910193737109

Notice how the car has no books, but has all 3 keys, the plastic service key, owners manuals, torch and the complete toolkit??????

 

[sash]

This car belonged to gent who used to work in my office park. Last time I spoke to him the car was hijacked in Roodepoort and the thieves accidented as they were driving off damaging the front. Police recovered it a few days later and insurance wrote it off...

I am going to look for a pic of it in the parking lot just to confirm the number plate but I am positive this is the one .

No luck with the pic?

 

[JENICH]

Apparently this 530D is sold

According to the dealership

 

[H|TM@N]

The dealership however does know that there is a major fault with the car (and an illegal one at that) and should therefore take the necessary steps to have the problem seen to. If it arrived there like that, they have grounds to reverse the transaction the same way a customer would.

not quite illegal...

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/how-to-avoid-getting-clipped-1084522

While it is entirely legal to adjust the odometer readings on your car (it’s your car, you can do with it what you like), it is fraud to deceive a buyer into thinking a car has done less distance than it actually has.

I would think reasoning applies here. Yes an odometer can be adjusted in cases such as where engines are replaced and you wish to reflect the mileage of the new engine, however advertising the vehicle without disclosing the adjustment and the reading before the adjustment was made is, as stated, fraudulent and so it's illegal.

failing to disclose is illegal, not the actual mileage change...
thats why they do it, it difficult to prove so they get away with it
So you are incorrect in saying that the fault is an illegal one....

It can easily be proved as the guys that usually do the "haircut" forgets to sync the mileage with all the other modules, they usually just hack the cluster. But even if you have that info, the dealer still can't care less. They will not disclose it. Some dealers lie so blatantly, that the sticker with the mileage of the last service and the mileage for the next service is still in the door sill. We have to be vigilant.

The EWS, LCM, EGS, DME/DDE and Cluster modules all have a copy of the mileage stored on them. I have only come across one car that had the mileage synced to all the modules, but Coisman still picked it up on e-Natis. And guess what, no tamper dot on the cluster either.

 

[rodga]

I actually meant proving that the dealer did the tampering or was aware of it. They can just say it wasn't them and didn't know about it.

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[TurboLlew]

I actually meant proving that the dealer did the tampering or was aware of it. They can just say it wasn't them and didn't know about it.

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This will probably always be the default response I'm afraid.

 

[TurboLlew]

The dealership however does know that there is a major fault with the car (and an illegal one at that) and should therefore take the necessary steps to have the problem seen to. If it arrived there like that, they have grounds to reverse the transaction the same way a customer would.

not quite illegal...

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/how-to-avoid-getting-clipped-1084522

While it is entirely legal to adjust the odometer readings on your car (it’s your car, you can do with it what you like), it is fraud to deceive a buyer into thinking a car has done less distance than it actually has.

I would think reasoning applies here. Yes an odometer can be adjusted in cases such as where engines are replaced and you wish to reflect the mileage of the new engine, however advertising the vehicle without disclosing the adjustment and the reading before the adjustment was made is, as stated, fraudulent and so it's illegal.

failing to disclose is illegal, not the actual mileage change...
thats why they do it, it difficult to prove so they get away with it
So you are incorrect in saying that the fault is an illegal one....

It can easily be proved as the guys that usually do the "haircut" forgets to sync the mileage with all the other modules, they usually just hack the cluster. But even if you have that info, the dealer still can't care less. They will not disclose it. Some dealers lie so blatantly, that the sticker with the mileage of the last service and the mileage for the next service is still in the door sill. We have to be vigilant.

The EWS, LCM, EGS, DME/DDE and Cluster modules all have a copy of the mileage stored on them. I have only come across one car that had the mileage synced to all the modules, but Coisman still picked it up on e-Natis. And guess what, no tamper dot on the cluster either.
[/quote]

Good info. Nothing can be taken for granted. Makes me very suspicious of some of the sub-50000km cars that have come up for sale that look like they have been driven by a sumo wrestler.