Bought a very nice used 2009 Chevy HHR LT2 with 25,100 miles.Got a clean Carfax report with nothing reported.Car was bought at a local Chevy dealer and traded in at a local Ford dealer where I bought it.I went to a Chevy dealer to get some touch up paint and for the heck of it asked the service department if they can give me any warranty service history.
Well it stated the last service was performed at 34,401 miles.I bought the car with 25,401 miles.
The 1st service was at 19,147,the 2nd 27,587 and the 3rd at 34,401.
Any suggestions…Do you think this was just a typo at the service department or should I need to be concerned.The service writer at Chevy said it is almost impossible to roll back the milage.Not sure what to do at this point.
It’s difficult but not impossible to roll back digital odometers. Off the top of my head, grab the actual odometer (the part that counts, not the part that displays the numbers) from a wrecked HHR with 25,100 miles on it and stick it in the 40,000 mile car.
A typo I could believe. Two typos 7,000 miles apart that are internally consistent with each other is stretching the limits of credibility.
Something’s fishy here.
It’s NOT impossible to roll back the OD. Just more difficult then it use to be. I’ve yet to meet the service writer who even knows how to change oil…so I wouldn’t believe them.
Here’s a simple way of rolling back the OD…
All you have to do is buy it and put it in…
Nothing reported on a Carfax report means NOTHING was reported to them. But that doesn’t mean that there was nothing to report.
Yes…I’d be concerned…
Somethin’s clearly fishy. But if you like the vehicle and believe you got it for a fair price, just relax and enjoy it. The dealer that sold it to you probably had no indication that the car had more miles on it than the odometer showed, so there’s no fraud involved by teh dealer.
And don’t put your faith in CarFax anymore. Have a new vehicle checked out before buying.
I’d go talk to the service manager at the Chevy dealer to make sure that the mileage is correct. Make sure that he knows you hold nothing against them, just that you want to make sure that the mileage you got from the service writer is correct. Once you have the information substantiated, go to the police. Since rolling back the odometer is illegal, you might be considered an accomplice if you don’t report it. Yes, I’m serious. The police might never know, but that is a risk you take. It is possible that the mileage was rolled back before the Ford dealer took possession of the car, and they would not have known it. In Maryland, the seller has to sign an odometer statement when they sell or trade the car to the dealer. If your state also has this paperwork, there is a trail to the offending party. The original owner may have signed the form without reading it, but that’s his problem, not yours.
The original owner might have been the one who rolled it back before they traded it in, ya never know.
“The original owner might have been the one who rolled it back …”
Yes. The point I really wanted to make is that no one knows where it happened yet. The Ford dealer may have bought the HHR at auction.
The main problem here is when OP goes to sell the vehicle. Since she’s gotten it serviced, and the current odometer has been recorded, Carfax will return an odometer rollback alert.
When I have sold a car, I have to sign a affidavit. I have to either a box that reads something like to the best of my knowledge the odometer reading is correct or another box that says that the odometer reading is not correct. If the orginal owner changed the mileage and didn’t report it, he/she has violated the law and could be in trouble. Any person along the way who altered the odometer reading and signed over the title is also in violation of the law.
I would have sworn that was a rental return bought at auction. There are tons of those being rented and that’s about the mileage they get rid of them. Someone I guess needs to talk to the previous owners. Doesn’t take much to plug in the wrong VIN on a service record I suppose though.
Back in 1961 my Dad traded in his 58 Chevy wagon with about 70K on it for a 61 wagon. A week later the car showed up on the Chevy lot with the stone chips painted, the car polished, and the odometer reading 26K. Don’t spose anyone knew-then it became illegal.
According to the AutoCheck the car was bought and traded in locally in my area.The Dealer I bought the car from called the previous owner and they confirmed the milage although they could say anything they want.I emailed General Motors to ask if it is possible the warranty history was wrong and am waiting for their response.It was suggested to me that some shaddy dealers will use a vin # for cars in warranty to get repairs done on other cars…I don’t know how possible this is.
This is a police matter, contact your local prosecutors office and see if they have any investigations ongoing about auto fraud. I would be concerned about no service reports until 19K miles. Something shaddy happened here, but it isn’t your job to play Dick Tracy and figure it out.
I would advise you to contact a lawyer about suing the Ford dealer for fraud. I think you have enough evidence to bring a civil suit for the “damages” in that you paid too much for the car based on phoney odometer reading. The judge can award you damages plus a penalty if he feels you made your case.
Yes dealers do/did use other Vins#'s for warranty work. Seen it done. Today though it would be hard to get away with. To many data bases. I was told that (but never seen it done) with a scanner you can read the miles from the car’s computer. Anyone know if this is true? If the miles are not correct,the dealer can be in trouble. Also you will have to disclose this info when you sell it. Cars with not actual miles are always worth less than a car with actual miles.
“This is a police matter, contact your local prosecutors office and see if they have any investigations ongoing about auto fraud. I would be concerned about no service reports until 19K miles. Something shaddy happened here, but it isn’t your job to play Dick Tracy and figure it out.”
I agree, but I wonder if it might be proper to ask the service manager at the Chevy dealer that did the maintenance work if the mileages are correct before contacting the police. This would prevent a wild goose chase if the service adviser made a mistake. The next step would depend on how tha service manager handled the request. If he blows it off, the contact the police. If he answers honestly and provides documented evidence that the car has about 25,000 miles on it, then drop it.
Friend of mine in NY who owns a GMC and Nissan dealership…got the Nissan dealership when the other company was caught rolling back the OD…Been doing it for years. One day the NY state AG walks in and shuts the Nissan dealership down. My friend then bought the franchise and the remaining inventory.