Minister for Fair Trading, Eleni Petinos, said as used motor vehicle sales had risen amid the Covid-19 pandemic, so too had incidents of odometer fraud where perpetrators wind back the mileage or replace the odometer with one showing fewer kilometres.
“NSW Fair Trading Investigators dished out $112,200 in fines and 76 penalty notices in 2021 and 2022 – a huge jump from 22 total penalties in 2020 – so anyone considering conning a potential buyer by odometer tampering, should know that when you are caught, it’s going to cost you,” Ms Petinos said.
“In one case, a seller shaved off more than 400,000km off a 2012 Subaru XV, reducing the odometer from 470,000km down to 52,709km. The vehicle was then sold for $32,000, an $11,000 increase on the original sale price.
“To intentionally rip off a fellow everyday Australian just trying to buy a second-hand car is abhorrent and our NSW Fair Trading inspectors will continue to go after the crooks who think this type of behaviour is OK.”
Ms Petinos says if it seems too good to be true, it just might be, so it’s worth taking extra measures to make sure you don’t end up with an expensive mistake.
Odometer altering boom sparks alert
A FOURFOLD increase in the number of fines for odometer tampering, has prompted a warning for potential buyers to always conduct due diligence when buying a used motor vehicle, particularly if it has a low odometer reading for its age.