MILEAGE TAMPER

[NATHAN]

Hi Guys

Need some help please
purchased a 2006 e92 coupe recently
when i requested service history print out from bmw the mileage was at 97886 on the 19/01/2009 , the mielage on the car now is 108100
a whole year later
i think have have beed ripped off by the mileage been tampered with ,is this possible?
can anyone advise , really appreciate

thanks

 

[james]

Maybe ask BMW to check the electronics. Could have been used as a weekend car.

 

[P1000]

Could have just been driven 10214km since then? If the new value was less, it would be a clear sign, but how much could it have been adjusted if it had been? 20000km? That would not be worth the effort IMO.

 

[Hellas]

I know of weekend-cars that have been driven even less than that. 10000km in a year's time is not that out of the ordinary, even if the average might have been 25k per year before that.
+1 on P1000, if you want to go into the trouble of tampering, do a decent chance and not just 15000 km

 

[NATHAN]

Could have just been driven 10214km since then? If the new value was less, it would be a clear sign, but how much could it have been adjusted if it had been? 20000km? That would not be worth the effort IMO.

Thanks guys
yes could of been but , when i checked the printout from BMW the previous owner seems to have done about 30000km's a year
car purchased 2006/10/01 as at 2007/03/31 24552 then 2008/01/29 62500 and then 97000 at 2009

 

[zaleonardz]

There are 4 places the car strores the km readings,

Have them check it out to see if the km on the key correspondes to the cluster,the cluster corresponds to the ECU, i think its stores in the EWS and LKM units as well, but its possible that it has only done the 9k since then.

We own a 2004 mini that we bought new and it only has 36,000 km, thats like 7,200 km a year, and the car gets used daily, it just doesnt go very far

 

[andrewbuch]

My dads jeeps a 2005 Model, its just hit 50 000Km. And thats after an epic trip this december where we did 6500Km. so its possible that the car hardly got used..

When my mom had my car from new she averaged only 6000Km a year..

 

[Hellas]

Are you the third owner? Usually, the BMW gets traded just before 100 000km (for motorplan reasons) where after the next owner could have traveled less than the original owner, hence the sudden drop in km per year.

 

[NATHAN]

Thanks Guys

Most appreciated , feel more at ease now , but will go to BMW for them to check against the Key

Cheers

 

[zaleonardz]

If they do discover tamper with the cluster, then you can go and see the dealer, tell him to buy the car back from you right here and now, or your next call will be to your finance house and SAPS to declare fraud.

Watch how quickly he jumps

 

[rick540]

The cluster has a red tamper dot next to the mileage reading. If you try mess with it the dot shows bright red. It's quite a secure system, there are supposed to be ways around it, but I have yet to find one that has been sucessfully tampered with.

Like ZL says the mileage is stored in like 4/5 places in the car, and the only sure way to tamper is to replace about 100K worth of modules and the cluster.

My E39 now does less than 5000Km per year because I am trying to keep the mileage down, so I use the E34 daily instead, so yes low anual mileages can happen.

 

[james]

Another 5c, I stay less than 10km from work. So I do less than 12000km a year.

 

[Spy007]

My wife does 400km a month and thats everyday driving. So thats like 5000km a year. I baught new tyres for her before I went to Taiwan 2 1/2 years ago and they still look brand new. I on the other hand did 16k since 17 Feb this year. So is possible. And I agree if you gonna change dont just drop 15k drop lots, like my getz was on 374212 when i traded her.

 

[M3SMG]

my old man has a 97' Jeep wrangler which we bought new. it has 76,000 km on it. I was doing in excess of 35000 km a year last year. This year my M3 has done less than 2000km because I'm on contract away from S.A for the majority of the year.

I don't think you have anything to worry about mate.

 

[StK]

The cluster has a red tamper dot next to the mileage reading. If you try mess with it the dot shows bright red. It's quite a secure system, there are supposed to be ways around it, but I have yet to find one that has been sucessfully tampered with.

Like ZL says the mileage is stored in like 4/5 places in the car, and the only sure way to tamper is to replace about 100K worth of modules and the cluster.

My E39 now does less than 5000Km per year because I am trying to keep the mileage down, so I use the E34 daily instead, so yes low anual mileages can happen.

mileage is stored on the ECU and cluster...If you were to replace the cluster the tamper dot will come on and also if you try and tamper with the mileage it will come on.If you were to replace the cluster you would have to have it coded by BMW,they can also retrieve the genuine mileage from your ECU with their diagnostic equipment.Its not easy to tamper with the mileage but it can be done.....although we are talking several thousand rands worth of Daig equipment and software

 

[P1000]

mileage is stored on the ECU and cluster...If you were to replace the cluster the tamper dot will come on and also if you try and tamper with the mileage it will come on.If you were to replace the cluster you would have to have it coded by BMW,they can also retrieve the genuine mileage from your ECU with their diagnostic equipment.Its not easy to tamper with the mileage but it can be done.....although we are talking several thousand rands worth of Daig equipment and software

On older model cars like the E46/E39 the ZKE(body computer) and cluster had to match up in terms of mileage and VIN, the rest is not important for the tamper indicator dot. The cluster can be programmed through the ODB connector if the mileage is less than 1000km. The ZKE you have to remove a chip and reprogram it and replace it. Same on the cluster if it has more than 1000km on it AFAIK. Problem is, the chip you have to remove is sandwiched between two circuit boards that are soldered together, so it is quite a mission (and that is after you have gotten to it).

On these newer models, I'm sure it is even more difficult.

 

[Dave]

also, the car could have stood a while, before you purchased it. perhaps it was traded in, but just took a while before it was sold... recession?

 

[netercol]

some more info here, from last time we discussed this, fyi...

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=5100&page=2

 

[KarshS]

I think you guys need to read this Carte Blanche thread...Pretty hectic...

They also tell how a BMW Dealer sent this ou a car with 15 000km and turned it back to 224KM and sold it as a brand new car!!!

http://beta.mnet.co.za/carteblanche/Article.aspx?Id=1697