Discrepancies in used car odometer with AD record

[Jamesc]

Everyone knows only buy from jamesc good quality affordable used cars 

Buy from my competitors always hear horror stories 

I have no sympathy.

[Jamesc]

Paid AD how much and to check what?

Got black and white or not?

Maybe check does not include service mileage.

m

Must see his contract.

If AD check service mileage then my competitors that clock can close shop.

How to sell their cars after that?

[Jamesc]

Also cannot always blame used car dealer.

If customer buys a second hand car that was clocked and after a few years sells to me 

How I can tell if the car is clocked of not?

[Jamesc]

TS buy car from where huh?

[DOBIEMKZ]

17 minutes ago, Jamesc said:

Everyone knows only buy from jamesc good quality affordable used cars 

Buy from my competitors always hear horror stories 

I have no sympathy.

Yes indeed. Jamesc is one of those honest and trustworthy ones in Singapore market. 
Although his profile picture doesn't do him justice...

[Meanmachine]

I feel sorry for Mehaha,  i really do, by bringing your issue here of tampering odo is common practise in used car trade, i put in bluntly so you have to accept the fact first.

Second, from your description of summary event say a lot about yourself, you're a person of good and sound character, only do the right thing first, truth be told, in any business and related field, in particular car trade purchase ( new or used ) it is a visual cycle.

What you don't know won't hurt you, it is what you do know . . .By logic, if you went to pursue the case and spend every penny in your wallet, go ahead and sue the dealer, in the end whether you win or lose is getting back your integrity and clear your name. Justice is serve. What for ? to the used car dealer, thy can close today and open a new name next few days.

I had said a few times already To get the car industry regulated like Life insurance agent , property agent and all self-employed hawker too , all must take up annual CPD hours, make contribution to CPF, Medisave etc , pay trade fees etc, it can be done   it's about the authority who has to make the decision, it isn't hard to get started and clear those ppl tweating odometer, be it driver , w/s boss, mechanic, technician or used car dealer, this is a wake up call. One bro mentioned, you bought a used car with an open eyes, tested ok and running well, what is next, warranty void due to discrepancies of odo ? how does it hurt you- PRIDE or PREJUDICE ?

I would advise you to take it as a learning curl and accept it - you have learnt today, I have learnt through year of owning new cars vs used cars advantages / disadvantages, even if it's with used car dealer, the 6months lemon law does not mean anything much, it is merely a lemon meant to be there, but hardly used till it expires. it just makes the owner feels ' shiok ' only.

I can relate to your sour experiences  . .  . hope you can reconcile too

[DOBIEMKZ]

47 minutes ago, Jamesc said:

Also cannot always blame used car dealer.

If customer buys a second hand car that was clocked and after a few years sells to me 

How I can tell if the car is clocked of not?

Yea lor. Like if I buy car from Jamesc and pay him in full cash with counterfeit bills he also can't tell until he brings them to the bank to deposit. 

[Soya]

1 hour ago, Mkl22 said:

i dont get this whole post anyway. check like never check. AD confirmed ok, use words or there is a service form. or dealer said... if dealer said. then hahahahahhahahaa.🤣

 

anyway just move on la. lesson learnt....  believe a dealer at your own peril!

I oso confused

Sent to AD on 23 Mar. Odo confirm correct. Now kpkb say odo not correct

So what's the issue again? 

 

[Dafansu]

when buying 2nd hand car always assume there's no more warranty. The warranty part is subjective, eg. some will void if installed third party parts, or if service at other places. 

[D3badge]

14 hours ago, Mehaha said:

@Ct3833 

The Odo was correct on the date of checking on 23 Mar.  I took over car on 26 Mar.

 

Yes, no problem now.  But if major problem happens 2 months down the road, how can I still claim on the warranty cos the system now shows discrepancies in odo.  Should I stomach it? If I choose not to do anything now as it's being discovered, it would be used against me later as my actions would imply I've acknowledged and accepted that my odo has been tempered.  That's why I feel something should be done now rather than cross finger and hope for the best.  If we condone such practices, then we too are at fault for such lack of integrity in the system!

warranty easily void because some car warranty come with milage. example 5 years warranty 100,000km which ever come 1st, thus ODO fraud equal to integrity issue... although no fault of yours!

[D3badge]

16 minutes ago, Meanmachine said:

I feel sorry for Mehaha,  i really do, by bringing your issue here of tampering odo is common practise in used car trade, i put in bluntly so you have to accept the fact first.

Second, from your description of summary event say a lot about yourself, you're a person of good and sound character, only do the right thing first, truth be told, in any business and related field, in particular car trade purchase ( new or used ) it is a visual cycle.

What you don't know won't hurt you, it is what you do know . . .By logic, if you went to pursue the case and spend every penny in your wallet, go ahead and sue the dealer, in the end whether you win or lose is getting back your integrity and clear your name. Justice is serve. What for ? to the used car dealer, thy can close today and open a new name next few days.

I had said a few times already To get the car industry regulated like Life insurance agent , property agent and all self-employed hawker too , all must take up annual CPD hours, make contribution to CPF, Medisave etc , pay trade fees etc, it can be done   it's about the authority who has to make the decision, it isn't hard to get started and clear those ppl tweating odometer, be it driver , w/s boss, mechanic, technician or used car dealer, this is a wake up call. One bro mentioned, you bought a used car with an open eyes, tested ok and running well, what is next, warranty void due to discrepancies of odo ? how does it hurt you- PRIDE or PREJUDICE ?

I would advise you to take it as a learning curl and accept it - you have learnt today, I have learnt through year of owning new cars vs used cars advantages / disadvantages, even if it's with used car dealer, the 6months lemon law does not mean anything much, it is merely a lemon meant to be there, but hardly used till it expires. it just makes the owner feels ' shiok ' only.

I can relate to your sour experiences  . .  . hope you can reconcile too

I always feel if one buy 2nd hand car go to AD pre-own with previous owner service record. Peace of mind, might cost you a few thousands more? but the few thousands dollars extra assure you your ODO is not lower by 25k to 100k range? so you weight does 3k to 5k worth the ODO original 25k to 100k in milage?

BTW (AD pre-own shop not always the case they are more expensive than 2nd hand car shop. I traded in my car to AD, saw they post my Ex-car in SG carmart in fact the prices AD price my old car was competitive to 2nd hand car shop, and my car was old within 3 mths by AD! I dunno is this consider fast or slow the duration to sell my car within 3 months) 

Edited June 18, 2021 by D3badge

[DOBIEMKZ]

7 minutes ago, D3badge said:

I always feel if one buy 2nd hand car go to AD pre-own with previous owner service record. Peace of mind, might cost you a few thousands more? but the few thousands dollars extra assure you your ODO is not lower by 25k to 100k range? so you weight does 3k to 5k worth the ODO original 25k to 100k in milage?

BTW (AD pre-own shop not always the case they are more expensive than 2nd hand car shop. I traded in my car to AD, saw they post my Ex-car in SG carmart in fact the prices AD price my old car was competitive to 2nd hand car shop, and my car was old within 3 mths by AD! I dunno is this consider fast or slow the duration to sell my car within 3 months) 

Maybe more better peace of mind, buy pre-own cars from authorised dealers like Inchcape Pre-Own, Lexus Pre-Own etc, or those more virtuous car dealers.

[PSP415]

Mehaha, I am abit confused on the following points :

1. AD confirmed that odo was correct when car was brought in for check. The AD here, I assume is the Authorised Distributor? 

2. When you brought car in later, the AD say odo meter reading is different from their records? Did you have any proof on the odo reading being checked and verified as correct at the first instant? 

3. Is car warranty still valid? That is, it's 5 years warranty not expired yet. If its still valid, why is the AD unable to proceed with the required service just because of difference in odo meter reading? Did it specify anywhere in the warranty that difference in odo meter reading will render warranty invalid? 

Pardon me if my England not up to mark to understand your sharing properly. Hope you can get this issue resolved soon. 

Stay safe 

Cheers 

 

[macrosszero]

15 hours ago, Mehaha said:

I don't wish to suggest that they could be into the "tempering odometer"  as it could be disastrous for their business. 

This is one situation that trying to blow the matter big will not cause anyone else to bat an eyelid.

Tampered odometers are literally the norm in the used car industry, and the exception is the car that hasn't been clocked (and can be proven). 

There is always plausible deniability because the dealer can claim that was the mileage that they got when they took the car into their inventory.

I have seen friends' low mileage cars (like literally 40k km at 5 years old) get clocked down to 25k when posted for sale. I mean, what difference does it make to the dealer?

None at all. 

But it makes a big difference to missed service/replacement intervals for some critical components.

I have constantly said that Ministry of Transport should require mileage to be logged at every inspection and be available for prospective buyers. If inspection centres can store the photographs of cars with certified exhaust systems, they can store one additional data field. This will go a long way toward making odometer tampering a pointless exercise.

Its almost as though they are happy to let odometer tampering continue!

[Hamburger]

First check was done at AD and who brought the car in for inspection? 

 

If its the sales person, then its double whammy for suckered and paid for dubious check rendered. 

[Xers007]

Everything must be in black and white before signing on the dotted line (even buying from AD) for one to pursue any discrepancy further. Many used car dealer will become "rogue" after you sign on the paper. Go down bang their table also no use.

[Mehaha]

My thanks to all your responses to my posts.

Let's be clear, I have not accused anyone of adjusting the Odo mileage.   Events in chronological order is …. 

14 Mar. I view car.  Noted the mileage was almost 10k.  Yes, it was <3 yr old car.  Agreed on conditions to deal being good confirmation from Authorized Dealer (AD) that the car is as per claimed still under warranty.  Dealer says inspection allowed only by AD, cos seller fears other technicians may “do somethings to car” that void the warranty.  I agreed and paid for the inspection by AD. 

23 Mar.  Seller sent to AD for inspection.  Report showed to me reflected that the mileage was 10k.  Dealer also also got a recorded phone recording of her conversation with AD saying that the said car is still under warranty. 

26 Mar.  I paid the balance and took delivery of car.  Didn’t immediately notice the discrepancy in Odo.  Driving it for almost a week and finally figured how to call out the mileage on the instrument cluster.   I then realized that it was exceptionally low.  But hey, since no fault indication and car running well.... so no urgency and I can always ask the Service Advisor (SA) when I send in my car for the next servicing. 

14 Jun.  I sent in my car to the AD for servicing.  When asked what’s my mileage, I brought the issue that I don’t understand why my number looking off.  Service Advisor noted that the Odo reading differs from what should be expected.  And his report flagged it as a discrepancy.  When asked further, the SA explained such situations often shows up when someone try to adjust the mileage.  Not that it is the only explanation for it, but often the case.  He further highlighted that such discrepancy could result in the warranty being void if I should need to make claim against the warranty during this period.  We also explored the possibility of it being a software issue or a faulty instrument cluster and the SA agreed on it is  possible though not usual. That eveing, I sent an email to dealer on their website the same evening.   

15 Jun.  Called the dealer’s office line.  Spoke to a Mr Tan.  Claimed he can’t remember and agreed that I send email on the issue. 

16 Jun.  Sent a chaser email.  Nothing.... 

17 Jun.  Called and spoke to Mr Tan again.  Claimed never receive any email and don’t know what’s wrong.  I reconfirmed email address and send another email while on line with him. 

  

So that’s all folks.  I am NOT accusing or suggesting that anyone has twitched the mileage on the Odo.  Maybe it was indeed a software issue or a faulty instrument cluster and the AD should look into it and rectify it.  But for them to do it, understandably, they would need to a good confirmation that the car has not been tempered with.  Perhaps something did happen to the car between 23 and 26 Mar that required attention and in the process, the Odo was messed up.  There are so many possible reasons.  But all I need is that AD respond to me.  Just ignoring me is just so WRONG!  I am providing a chance for them to respond before I take it to the next level, whatever that can/should be.  We often read how companies/businesses claim how they are accused and not having chance to be heard.  And here I have some people who just doesn’t want to engage to find a solution.  So, back to my question. What tactics/ methods can I employ to get a response from them before I decide on my next course of action. 

[kobayashiGT]

I agree with what @Ct3833 have said, just move on as long as the car is healthy. From the look of it, Mr Tan have no intention to rectify your problem.