The type of fuel, the level of consumption, age or the environmental badge are some of the issues that must be considered when purchasing a second-hand vehicle. It is an economic solution that also carries certain risks such as the car having some damage or a high number of kilometers. The Civil Guard has recently warned about this last issue, and it is that there are organized groups that are dedicated to tampering with the odometer to profit illegally.
A second-hand car with few kilometers is an added value for buyers, and that is why scams related to the manipulation of odometers proliferate. Private and professional workshops and sellers are behind these plots that aim to offer the final link a vehicle for a price higher than its real value.
The workshops and dealerships that participate in this illegal activity falsify the documentation by which the mileage of the vehicles is recorded. If you realize, in all invoices for breakdowns or repairs the number of kilometers of the car that has been intervened must appear. In addition, these businesses have their own diagnostic machines, whose software is manipulated to alter the odometers.
Whenever you go to buy a second-hand vehicle, you should request the history of the vehicle, which shows the repairs and maintenance carried out. To do this, ask your seller, whether a private individual or a professional, for the invoices that prove it, in which you can observe the chronological evolution of the number of kilometers of the car.
You must contrast this information with an official source. You can do it through the reports of the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) available to drivers at its electronic headquarters. To do this, you will have to identify yourself with an electronic ID or digital certificate and request the detailed report of the vehicle. It is in this document that the registration date, the number of kilometers and the history of technical inspections are recorded. Of course, you must pay a fee of 8.67 euros.
Dealers usually have their own workshop service, so they can offer you an evaluation of the condition of the vehicle in their diagnostic machines. This option can also be offered by some individuals. The recommended thing in these cases is to ask for a second diagnosis in a workshop you trust. And although it seems obvious: test the vehicle. If a car with apparently few miles has difficulty changing gear or has problems with the brakes, he begins to be wary.
Having done the above, if you still have suspicions that a vehicle’s odometer has been tampered with, do not hesitate to inform the competent authorities.
