protects you from scams and ripoffs
where you live the i-team
rolling back the facts news for Jax I
team investigation of digital odometer
fraud crooks here in our area shaving
miles off of cars duping unsuspecting
buyers news for Jax item investigator
Victor Lucia shows us how it can be done
in less than 60 seconds it is a number
that might have you spinning 60,000 cars
in Florida with odometer roll backs on
the roads right now
according to CARFAX
5000 are right here in the Jacksonville
area because it's so easy this scam is
growing not only in Florida but
nationwide Chris Basso has been with the
car history company for years he
demonstrates how quickly a con artist
can change the miles on a vehicle how
quickly can they do it it takes less
than a minute this pickup truck actually
has 230,000 miles on it making its
Carfax value around three thousand
dollars
but in seconds josh is able to make it
look like it has 130,000 miles the drop
means the trucks value increases to
about eighty two hundred dollars it's
it's an average loss of about four
thousand dollars per case not only in
the value of the car but in the repairs
the service and maintenance that those
cars are going to need with a lot more
miles than you think they do and that's
an all and out-of-pocket expense to you
the days of mechanical mileage rollbacks
our history but digital odometer fraud
is alive and well it is not hard to find
the devices to illegally alter an
odometer this $295 piece of equipment
from China is available on eBay this one
for around the same price promises
mileage adjustment for most major makes
and models to get access to the
speedometer odometer unit you actually
don't need to take off the gauge face
and YouTube videos show step-by-step
instructions on how to rollback an
odometer in minutes for somebody that's
really really good with technology
computers laptops what-have-you it's
probably getting a big deal for them
either mechanic Aaron Nelson has seen
just about everything
he has words of warning for anyone
looking for a used car deal that's just
too good to be true when you start
talking about money like that these
crooks out there if they got a weight
figure a way to get an extra 5 or 10
grand out of you they're gonna think
they're gonna get it it's not only
dishonest it is a crime according to the
Florida Attorney General tampering with
an odometer and even owning a vehicle
with a compromised odometer is against
the law
if you suspect odometer fraud look for
oil change stickers service records or
warranty cards with the mileage ask the
seller for the odometer statement to see
the mileage when they bought it if
you're buying from a dealer contact the
previous owner and check the car's door
frame if an odometer is repaired or
replaced legally a notice must be
attached the good news for consumers is
there are resources available and we got
people working hard right now to protect
you from buying these cars basso urges
people to ask for a vehicle history
report
Carfax will flag vehicles with
suspicious circumstances reporting
potential odometer fraud so if you are
buying a used car and you want to know
if there are red flags about possible
odometer fraud Carfax will give you that
information for free whether you are on
your phone or at home on car faxes
website all you have to do is type in
the VIN number of the used car that you
are looking to buy the dealership will
give it to you and then you put in your
email address the results if any will
appear on your screen and Tom and Mary
state troopers in Northeast Florida tell
me in the past five years they have
gotten 323 complaints of odometer fraud
and that's just here in Northeast
Florida that's not all across the
Sunshine State while you were
investigating this did you come across
any local car dealers who encountered
odometer fraud from somebody bringing
them a trade-in I called around and I
spoke with a lot of people they were
aware of it because this is an old trick
it's been going on for decades they're
just doing it differently so some said
they did others said they didn't so it
is a discrepancy that they keep an eye
out for though and as I said it's not
something new and over the past few
months we have
discovered cars with possible odometer
fraud as we investigated other
complaints at some dealerships so
certainly it is a problem here in
Northeast Florida keep your eye out
truly Thank You Vic and right now in
News four jacks con we have a direct
link to the free carfax odometer fraud
check that Vic just mentioned you'll
also find a direct link so you can
request background information on a used
car like previous owners and past
odometer readings that's all available
by request from the Department of
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles just
look inside this story under the i-team
section on news for Jax com