Mileage fraud on an imported vehicle: detection and protection

The scale of the problem

Clocking (also called a rollback) means artificially winding back the mileage shown on the odometer in order to inflate the value of the vehicle. The practice is illegal but widespread, and it is particularly common on imported cars, where the buyer has no access to the local service history.

A vehicle whose odometer has been wound back by 50,000 km can look €3,000 to €8,000 cheaper than it should be, while its true value and its reliability are both seriously compromised.

How to detect the fraud

Several tools and methods let you check that the mileage adds up:

• CarVertical: cross referenced history built from the VIN (chassis number), including odometer readings and accident records
• Histovec (HISTOVEC, the free official French vehicle history service, drawn from the national registration database)
• Service book: check that the dates and the mileage recorded at each visit are consistent
• Wear on the steering wheel, the pedals, the seats and the tyres: a car showing 30,000 km should not have a shiny steering wheel
• Roadworthiness inspection history (TÜV in Germany, ITV in Spain): those readings are public

The VIN: your best weapon

The chassis number (VIN) is the key to checking a vehicle's history. It lets you cross reference odometer readings taken at different points in time (inspections, workshop visits, successive registrations).

If a reading of 90,000 km in 2022 is followed by a display of 45,000 km in 2024, the fraud is plain. CarVertical flags that kind of inconsistency automatically.

How to protect yourself when buying

Always ask for the VIN before you buy, and check the history. A seller who refuses to give you the VIN should be treated as suspect. Insist on the full service book, not just the most recent invoice.