How do you find out what legitimate mileage is ?

V1llianous

Hi,

I am going to look at an older car next weekend and am looking for any suggestions on how confirm the mileage is correct:

So far, i have,

check NCT certificate and service history if available.

I have done a CarTell.ie check but this doesn't check mileage which I thought would have been useful.

TIA.

craichoe

No real way to tell unfortunately, its so easy to clock a car its not funny.

Look for signs of wear, clutch for example, or if the rubber has been replaced your talking big mileage

rowanh

Yea friction marks on pedels also steering wheel, gear stick, seats etc. Also if the numbers on the milage dial dont line up perfectly that is a sign its been changed.

Henry Ford III

FSH, & NCT certs, telephone call to whomever serviced it (look for timing belt receipt) should give a good level of reassurance.

Look at the screw threads around instrument binnacle. Be wary if these have signs of use.

stratos

a small trick I find helpfull not so much to do with the mileage but a tell tale is do the front and rear reg plates look the same is one newer looking or a different type, its a small clue for crash damage.

I also find look at the person selling you the car. the old cliche would you buy a used car from this person holds true mostly.

Captain Slow IRL

One method of checking to see if the clocks have been removed is to have a look at the screws holding the fascia around them in place - if they look like they have been removed, or any marks that might have been made by a screw-driver.
With digital clocks, this can be done without removing the cluster and is harder to detect! (Although, some cars, like bmw, can have the ecu checked for mileage but you'll need someone with the correct equipment to check this)

Have a look at the steering wheel, hand-brake handle, gear lever and drivers seat - excessive wear like a seat that has worn through to the padding and also shiny steering wheel/gear lever handle/ hand-brake handle can suggest mileage in excess of 100k. Also, check around the gearbox to see if the bolts holding it to the engine have been removed at any point (slightly rounded off at the edges) A clutch should last around 100k, maybe beyond depending on the driver, unless - and I'm not being agist or sexist - an old lady has been driving it!

If you have a spare few hours, go around to any dealerships that have your potential car in stock and have a look at the condition they're in in relation to mileage on the car.

What type of car is it anyway?

bazz26

stratos wrote:

a small trick I find helpfull not so much to do with the mileage but a tell tale is do the front and rear reg plates look the same is one newer looking or a different type, its a small clue for crash damage.

Not necessarily though. I've replaced my front number plate and my car is not clocked or crashed. The front number plate simply became hard to read due to genuine wear and tear. They are cheap and don't last very long especially the front one which gets the most exposure. A replacement one only cost €10.