Odometer Rollback on Ebay, Pretty Funny

[mbumgua]

I think that the drill only works if you have an actual cable to hook it up to. Hard to find on vehicles built in the last 15 years or so.

[neuroplague]

Yeah, mbumqua is right ... the drill thing worked only with a cable driven speedo, not electronic. I tried it once on an old speedo I had around the garage, its a good way to check if its functioning. The only problem with the drill was that it would only make the speedo go about 65 mph ... sooo I suppose it would take a really long time to roll the odo back to zero.

[abaird]

No, I'm the second owner. The first bought it new and he was middle aged with a family so I assume the mileage was correct 75,000, 2 years ago It has 118,000 miles now. Everything on the truck is extremely solid and the only thing that needed replacing was the windshield wiper motor which I have heard that they tend to be shit on these trucks. So, I'm assuming with great confidence that it has never been rolled back. Also the nubers are perfectly straight unlike the ones on the tahoe.

['97ventureowner]

I remember an episode of 60 Minutes that aired sometimes in the '80s tht covered this subject. They spent time with some dealers who rolled back odometers, and showed how easy it was to do, and how easy it was to cover their tracks. The problem is more rampant than you might realize. But thanks to technology, and more effort put fighting against this problem by the car manufacturers, the chances of this being discovered are greater now than in the past, as evidenced by the eBay pic. My experiences with eBay in the past made me realize they are slow to respond to claims like this and seem disinterested in pursuing it when you bring it to their attention.

[94bigblazer]

I started this thread because the truck I drive now is a direct result ebay odometer misrepresentation (in a good way!). Back in January, I won this auction -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=4517412320

The dealer claimed 129,595mi -

So I drove from upstate NY to downstate CT only to find the truck in trashed condition, half the dash screws missing and the cluster practically falling out. Foolishly i didn't run a carfax until I was down there... How about more like.. 247,890mi! Someone had swapped the whole cluster! I was so pissed, angry, hostile... anyway the guy was very cool, and refunded my deposit.

But I'm in CT, already booked a hotel room.. planned on driving that back to NY with my GF the next day. We decide to go for dinner after leaving the dealership, and what do i see parked 5 miles down the road at the edge of a grocery store parking lot with a for sale sign? A Blue 1994 Blazer, Identical. Cheaper. Waaay less miles. I figured it was some kind of sign, because we all know God drives a Chevy Truck. Called the number, talked to the guy, one owner, confirmed with carfax.. Bada boom, sold. CarFax is Goooood. Use it. Ebay has Experian vehicle history report built into their auctions, that is also just as good!

['97ventureowner]

94bigblazer, i had to respond to your post because it sounds familiar to me. Back in December, I was trolling through eBay looking for parts for a 1990 Lesabre I own. I came across an auction for one for $69 for the complete car. I was amazed because of the description and the pics that were in the auction. The car was also located in Wallingford CT. I bid on it and won the auction. I rented a U-Haul car carrier and drove there with a friend a week before Christmas. The car was exactly as the seller said, no rust, and very clean. The vehicle would turn over, but not start. My friend who is also a mechanic and I theorized it might be the ignition coils.( I finally had the chance to work on it lately as our snow finally melted, and indeed it was the coils.), even if it wasn't the price of $69 couldn't be beat for a complete parts car. Apparently the owner didn't wish to put anymore money into it, and donated it to the Conneticut Public Broadcasting Co. who then in turn had the eBay seller sell it through their business. The eBay seller runs his business through a car auction place, and has the eBay site as a side business. I check their auctions frequently as they have some good deals on cars with clean titles that run and start at either $69 or $79. They even had a '65 Buick Wildcat up for auction I would've like to bid on. Their address I think was on the same road as the seller in your eBay auction. Talk about coincidence.( BTW the seller's eBay ID is wecarbay if you ever want to check what they have to offer.)Sorry your experience originally turned out bad, but at least you were able to have a happy ending!

[Chevy-SS]

If you look close at the furthest-left "9", you can see bright flash reflections at the bottom of the "9". There is one more reflection on the bottom of the next "9", but not quite as bright. I would have to say that the silver areas in question are simply lighted reflections. It looks pretty obvious to me.

As far as the "flaming war" goes, heck, that is easy to start with anyone. The guy got upset when he's being accused of something he didn't do (based on evidence I see). We'd all get upset in that situation.

Interesting topic though. Just my $.02

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by Chevy-SS

As far as the "flaming war" goes, heck, that is easy to start with anyone. The guy got upset when he's being accused of something he didn't do (based on evidence I see). We'd all get upset in that situation.

Interesting topic though. Just my $.02

I don't know. If I was the seller and I was honest, and if I was being accused of something like odometer rollback, I would have proof that, that is the accurate mileage. Whether it be Carfax, a DMV report, or whatever, I wouldn't "go off" on a potential customer. That's not a very good business practice. Especially on eBay.

[Cadillakin'98]

One picture looked like a glare "conveniently" in the area of question. Yet another picture really does appear to silver/white/not black/etc. In any case, looks suspicious to me. BUT, the IMPORTANT thing to remember (in my opinion) is that only God can judge us. Of course the Supreme court thinks they are God sometimes so that's good enough!! Can't remember who originally posted this but great job. You have made many of us aware (myself included) that odometer fraud could be right in front of us yet we may not even know. My numbers were all lined up when I bought it (as a 2nd owner) but I remember seeing them one out of align just slightly. I have an eye for detail (usually) so I know for some reason it my odometer looked different but I didn't put much thought into it. The numbers are straight again but despite my attention to detail, I am not sure if there is black or silver between the #'s. Guess I'll check this weekend.....

Anyways, back to the guy originally posting this: turn it in if you haven't already, IF thats what you want to do. As far as this dumb ass in question, walk away from it. Hatred is a waste of energy. Personally the way he got so defensive immediatley after you made the aqusation shows his guilt. But, like I said, only God (or the Supreme Court) can judge us. Thank you for making me aware that I'm not as aware as I like to think Im am!!!

[markqc]

As I said before, all my numbers have silver color between them (and line up perfectly in a straight line) and I bought the truck from a GM dealership at 1 1/2 years old with 39000KM on it. Doesn't make sense that the odometer would have been rolled back. I would think a dealership would check for or notice this.

My question is what does it mean if every number has silver between them? Does it mean that it was over 100,000 km in 1 1/2 years and rolled back completely to 000000 KM and accumulated back up to 39000 Km? If the first digit rolled back from only 1 to zero, would the first digit only have silver part way around the drum and not all the way? Would the numbers that are rolled back always not line up?
Just wondering.

Very interesting subject!!

Mark

P.S. How many of your trucks have silver color between the numbers?

[rae61]

I think used car salesmen have a questionable reputation for a reason and buying a used vehicle from a dealer or a private sale is taking a risk. Some people will try hiding anything that will make their vechicle worth less. The responsibility really falls with the buyer you really need to check out everything you can and be willing to walk away if somthing does not make sense. I was taken many years ago by a little old man who was an amputee, I made a bad character judgment and I learned my lession.

One last thing check out all the used dash guage clusters for sale on Ebay. I will bet that the majorty of those are beeing used to alter a vechicles mileage for resale.

[Cadillakin'98]

You have a point rae61, it took me 2 and 1/2 months to find my truck that I drive now. I walked away from MANY trucks I really liked alot. Trucks I thought I had to have because I swear my name was written on it. But no, it was 2 and 1/2 months until I found my truck. Did I make the right decision purchasing it? I believe so. My truck has done nothing but impressed and suprised me several times by all the use and abuse I have had to put on it. Just as my user name implies: my '98 is still CADILLAKIN' after 100,000+ miles in the little over 2 years I've driven it! Buyer beware, be patient, what your lookin for is somewhere!

[96BIGCHEV]

Although GM did try to stop/slow down odometer fraud, it is so easy to do, the only way to stop fraud would be to switch all to electronic (harder to bypass). The simple mechanical odometer , can easily be removed by no more than 6 screws/ and the motor that turns it, and turned back with a drill, without disturbing the metal slots in between each number, AND WITHOUT USING A LAPTOP/ OBD CONNECTOR! I caught a guy trying to sell me a 1995 full size blazer saying it only had 153,000kms, i had my speculations, just by looking at the interior, and undercarriage (completely rusted out, beat up), i then looked at the kms and someone had attempted to do so, but there handy srcerwdriver slipped and scrapped through the "1", also you could see the silver shim that fell into place, showing me it had been tampered with, i laughed, shut the door, told him nice try, counted the cash, laughed again, and walked away, its way to easy to trick someone, and i feel bad to the ones who have been tricked, another way is to take out the cluster, and look at the sticker (barcode), it should read the VIN on it at the bottom of the sticker, just trying to keep people aware from those @$$ holes who do this for a LIVING!

[302dude]

How's the odo look on my '92 LeSabre? No silver. Auction car, history unknown. The car was sold as an abandoned vehicle. For 87k the drivers' seat leather is all tore up and the steering wheel worn.. Odo looks OK tho..?