Dealership told him low mileage was due to single owner — but it was actually odometer fraud

Steve Andrews had been buying for a utilized car online for a portion erstwhile helium came crossed a registered dealership successful Burnaby, B.C., advertizing a 2012 Subaru that seemed to acceptable the bill.

He and his spouse were connected a budget, but needed a car to get astir with their increasing household — a two-year-old and a one-year-old. 

"They said it was successful precise bully condition, that determination were nary existent problems," said Andrews. "Everything seemed to beryllium close astir it."

Most importantly, helium said, the mileage connected the odometer was debased — conscionable nether 98,000 kilometres. Under 100,000 kilometres is simply a saccharine spot erstwhile selling a utilized car.

WATCH | Experts accidental increasing request for utilized cars could worsen rising odometer fraud:

But erstwhile the car developed mechanical problems soon aft the merchantability six weeks ago, Andrews brought it to a mechanic who became suspicious astir the debased mileage and told him to telephone a Subaru dealership wherever the car had a callback contented repaired successful 2020. 

Andrews discovered that astatine that time, the car's odometer was already astatine 112,000 kilometres. 

"It was beauteous shocking," helium said. "I was decidedly angry."

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Andrews brought the car backmost to the registered dealership, DD Auto, and produced the Subaru callback study showing the odometer had been rolled back. 

The income cause called the manager, who agreed to refund the $13,000 Andrews paid for the car. He besides claimed to person nary cognition of the odometer fraud, saying that the dealership itself had been scammed, but did not elaborate. 

Odometer fraud 'on the rise,' officials say

Across Canada, nary 1 is keeping way of however often odometer fraud occurs. Go Public checked with the national RCMP, respective provincial constabulary departments, Transport Canada and respective provincial regulators of car dealerships. 

All said statistic were hard to isolate, due to the fact that the contented is often portion of a larger fraud investigation. 

A spokesperson for the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC), said successful a connection that it believes odometer fraud "is connected the rise," citing "many caller investigations" that person progressive immoderate signifier of odometer tampering.

Odometer rollbacks are intimately tracked successful the U.S., wherever the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that implicit 450,000 vehicles are sold each twelvemonth with mendacious odometer readings and that this benignant of fraud costs American car buyers much than $1 cardinal annually.

With precocious announced tariffs threatening to thrust up the outgo of caller cars, much drivers whitethorn crook to utilized cars — request and prices for pre-owned vehicles person already gone up since January, according to a caller study connected the Canadian automotive marketplace by AutoTrader.

Easy to alteration odometer

Odometers connected older exemplary cars utilized to beryllium analog counters connected the dashboard, truthful rolling them backmost meant manually turning a dial to alteration the number. 

Today, integer odometers tin beryllium re-programmed utilizing a handheld instrumentality that plugs into a vehicle's computing port. You tin bargain them online for a fewer 100 dollars.

"A click of a button" tin instrumentality years disconnected a car's beingness and dramatically summation its value, says mechanic Josh Ingle, an odometer adept and proprietor of Atlanta Speedometer. 

"You don't person to person immoderate know-how, you conscionable request to cognize however to prime a conveyance connected a screen," helium said, noting the devices bash person morganatic purposes. For instance, if a damaged power module wherever mileage is stored needs to beryllium replaced, which is wherefore they're readily for sale.

'Things happen'

Go Public called the manager of DD Auto, Charlie Zhao, to inquire astir Andrews' case. He said a caller study by CARFAX, a institution that sells conveyance past reports that way things similar mishap data, work issues and rubric records, didn't suggest immoderate reddish flags. 

"I don't cognize wherefore you request [to do] this investigation," said Zhao, who pointed retired that the dealership gave Andrews his wealth back. "Things happen."

He besides claimed that aft Andrews informed him of the odometer fraud, the dealership removed the car from its website.

But Go Public saw it inactive listed for merchantability astir 3 weeks later, and erstwhile a shaper visited the batch posing arsenic a customer, a salesperson suggested the mileage whitethorn beryllium debased due to the fact that the proprietor "didn't thrust it much." 

Only aft further questioning did the salesperson telephone his manager, who told him that the odometer had successful information been rolled back.

It's not amerciable to knowingly merchantability a conveyance with an inaccurate odometer, arsenic agelong arsenic that's made wide to imaginable buyers, says Shari Prymak of Car Help Canada, a non-profit that helps radical navigate the process of purchasing a caller oregon utilized car.

"Dealerships are required to disclose definite worldly facts, [such as] whether a conveyance has been progressive successful a superior collision, whether it has a rebuilt oregon salvage rubric and whether it has a rolled backmost odometer," said Prymak.  

He says dealerships are besides required to marque definite their unit are informed astir the vehicles they're selling.

Zhao said helium told unit astir the odometer fraud successful a greeting gathering and that the salesperson who interacted with the Go Public shaper whitethorn not person been contiguous astatine the gathering due to the fact that helium works part-time oregon was perchance sick. 

He besides said the car was connected consignment from different dealership, Easy Road Auto, based successful Richmond, B.C. Zhao said that dealership purchased the car from a backstage seller who'd posted the conveyance connected Facebook, with mileage showing astir 98,000 kilometres.

Prymak says it's inactive mostly the work of the dealership showing the car to fig retired wherever the odometer fraud happened and who is to blasted "because yet they volition beryllium held accountable."

Odometer fraud is an offence nether provincial and national laws.

After respective requests from Go Public, a manager astatine Easy Road Auto yet provided a conveyance transportation signifier helium said showed the car's odometer was not tampered with by his dealership.

The papers showed the mileage astatine conscionable nether 98,000 kilometres, but it had nary day of merchantability oregon merchantability price, and was not signed by the seller.

And erstwhile we tracked down the proprietor of the vehicle, she said erstwhile she precocious sold the car to Easy Road Auto the odometer was "around 150,000 kilometres." 

In an email, Easy Road Auto said it takes the contented "very seriously" and has "conducted a thorough interior investigation," but did not accidental what that probe involved.

A spokesperson besides said it's emblematic for the worker who buys a utilized conveyance for the dealership to beryllium the lone idiosyncratic successful interaction with the seller. According to the spokesperson, that worker "went backmost to her location country," truthful they couldn't interaction her anymore. 

Despite each the digit pointing, Prymak says the subordinate stops astatine the dealership showing the conveyance to the public. 

"Dealerships person a work to recognize what they're selling," helium said. "A nonrecreational dealership that knows what to look for volition often beryllium capable to place if thing is wrong."

Steve Andrews has filed a ailment with the Vehicle Sales Authority of B.C., but the regulator would not corroborate whether it is investigating. A spokesperson said immoderate trader recovered to person violated provincial laws could person their licence suspended oregon revoked.

Beware 'curbsiders'

While licensed dealerships person to travel provincial regulations, determination are nary protections for radical buying a conveyance successful a antithetic script — from a backstage seller.

If radical bash this, Prymak says it's up to the purchaser to marque definite the seller is the existent proprietor of the vehicle.

"So cheque the ownership of the conveyance and besides inquire to spot a driver's licence and marque definite that the 2 match," helium said. "Because if the seller is not the proprietor of the vehicle, they could perchance beryllium a curbsider — idiosyncratic selling utilized cars illegally for a speedy profit."

WATCH | Tips for protecting yourself erstwhile buying a utilized car

Often, these are radical selling "junk vehicles" that are re-built oregon that person rolled backmost odometers "to marque a speedy buck," Prymak said. "So there's a immense risk, buying a utilized conveyance from a curbsider."

Last year, OMVIC laid 1,242 charges against 169 alleged curbsiders, up astir 47 per cent from 2023. 

Prymak says doing your ain owed diligence earlier buying a utilized conveyance includes requesting conveyance past reports, inspecting the conveyance thoroughly, and consulting a trusted mechanic. 

Though conveyance past reports from companies similar CARFAX tin beryllium invaluable to have, mechanics and dealerships aren't required to grounds their enactment oregon a vehicle's mileage connected them. If these reports are sparse oregon incorporate ample gaps successful odometer readings, experts accidental that's a reddish emblem that buyers should investigate.

Andrews and his spouse ended up buying a 2020 Toyota RAV4 with lone 40,000 kilometres from a larger dealership. And they made definite the conveyance had due documentation showing its afloat attraction and mileage history. 

"We're paying a small spot more," helium said. "But we person bid of mind."

As for the 2012 Subaru with the odometer issue, it was obscurity to beryllium seen erstwhile Go Public precocious visited the DD Auto dealership. Zhao, the manager, says it won't beryllium sold to anyone, and alternatively volition beryllium rented out, apt to a company.