How did you buy it with 37,xxx if they put 38,xxx on it?. (First sentence) You can see how easy it is to mistake numbers on an odometer that only shows six digits. You need documentation for a low mileage car if you even want one, and even with documentation you need documentation for the documentation
AS Satchel Paige once said, it's mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter

 

Low mileage on a 50+ year old car is always suspect. Lots of cars had the speedometers rolled back as they passed through the used car lots. I drove a car with a broken speedo for nearly 3 years. Different things happen over the year's.

 

My thoughts are if it is old it is old! Miles mean nothing If every item has not been rebuilt it is a accident waiting to happen!

 

The only cars that can be called low mileage cars IMO as an automotive guy are cars with documents and records recording the mileage and dates. I've found, over the years, that 'believed low miles' and 'dealer installed upgrades' are 99% of the time BS.

 

All that being said; It is really cool when you find a genuine documented low miles car
I will go out on a limb and say that most of us will know if it is low miles. There is just a look ( and gut feeling ) .

 

I bought my '66 in 1993 and it had 45K on the odometer. I was able to talk to all of the 6 previous owners. I asked each how many miles were on the car when they bought it and when they sold it. I did not tell them how many miles were on the car at that point. Each person was able to tell me the bought at mileage and selling mileage as best as they could. At most the difference between owners sold at mileage and the next owners bought at mileage was only a few hundred miles. Each owner had fond memories of the car that they shared with me. Two owners were women who drove the car sparingly, none of the owners drove it in the winter except the original owner who only kept the car for 2 years. The car now has 58,755 miles on it so in the 28 years that I have owned the car I have put on just under 14K miles. I have put more miles on it than any of the 6 previous owners. When I restored the car and had the instrument cluster done I had the original mileage left on the odometer. Because of the history I have with my car I believe the mileage to be correct.
DFA
.,

 

My wife bought her 2012 GS in 2014 with 1,900 miles on it. The car now has 14,000 miles.

Someday, someone is going to be questioning this car’s mileage. However, we’ve kept a 3-ring binder with all receipts and records so we’ll be able to show it’s the actual mileage.



Steve

 

My 66 has 26k original miles. They are documented by the original owner from day 1. Why would he do that you might ask? He liked to keep track of gas mileage and every time he filled up he recorded the date, gallons, mileage in a notebook. I have continued the legacy only I record it each time I drive it. It’s fun to do and I even write about where I went.

When I had the car at Mike McCaghs house one guy climbed way up under the dash because he didn’t believe the mileage. He was inspecting fire wall insulation, when he came out from under the dash he said “I believe the mileage”

Now for a Mike McCagh good moment. He put my car on his lift and everyone from MAC NCRS was under that car. Now Mike has known my car since before I was born and knows the original owner.

I notice 2 guys inspecting the exhaust and one says “think that’s the original exhaust?” Now I heard the question and Mike heard the question and I felt a lack of confidence just jumping in, and let them talk. At first I thought Mike didn’t hear the question as the one guy informed the other guy that it wasn’t original and A B and C was why etc. After there was plenty of rope to hang the guy Mike stepped in and assured them it was in fact the original and explained why. Very slick and maybe Mike would remember it different or maybe not remember it at all but I learned Mike doesn’t talk just to talk like I do. When he says something I have learned to listen up because it’s usually important. I try to remember that when I stop by to bug him now and then, ask my question, thank him and leave.

 

My dad was a mechanic at a GM dealership in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. They had a machine they would use to roll back the odometers on their used cars. I believe it was just some kind of electrical machine that connected to the speedometer cable that ran the speedometer cable backwards to turn the miles back. He told us that when the used car manger would get a clean car on trade or a clean one they bought at an auction, the manager would bring it over to the mechanic and say something like "put this one back 20,000" meaning miles and they would just connect that machine up and let it do its thing. It wasn't illegal back then but im sure they still didn't want people knowing they did that. Im sure lots of other car dealers did the same thing back then. So I would for sure second guess any old classic car with low miles on the odometer.

 

I had the same situation a few years back when my gauge cluster was serviced. I opted for the original mileage because I knew it was true- lib

 

I think it's really 31k +/- ...but the point is it rolled over. Sorry for the hyperbole.

 

lots of private parties would have the odometers turned back. Speedo shops were everywhere for 25 bux you could have a lower mi car it was so common.
Youll know a true low mi car when you see it...but seems most today are low mi cars. Think about it..lol

 

The odometer reading is meaningless unless you have documentation to back up the numbers.
I can't believe this topic gets discussed routinely and people still believe that the odometer readings in many advertisements are legit.
No provenance = no value with regard to mileage. Period.

 

In a C2 mileage is meaningless. It is all condition.

 

and this is a lesson in how it's actually done ... cutting the clock, Rob Pitts "Rabbit's Used Cars"

 

I've seen the machine that C7sebringgs mentions and know people that used it to keep their mileage under the warrantee period. One could say a "get even" with the dealerships that used it to lower mileage on used cars. It was a simple motor that ran backwards with a speedometer cable that you would hook up to your speedometer and let it run all night. It would turn back mileage. AND IT WORKED, unlike what Ferris did with the Ferrari.
Gary

 

I enjoyed watching that. I learned something.

I thought it was interesting how he assured us multiple times how he is an honest guy and would never do anything dishonest like he was demonstrating while he has a parts Corvette sitting out back that he admits he bought under suspicious circumstances and “never asked questions” to the seller. And he doesn’t want to run a Carfax on the car because he’s afraid of what he might find out about the car <LOL>.

Steve

 

key on the left is original GM key for my C2. 28k on the odometer that has never rolled. Key on the right is from a 64k C10 that has 50k original miles. Both owned by family members so I know the above is completely accurate.


missing detail is the odometer broke the second year of ownership in ‘68 and due to being deployed my uncle in law didn’t take it in to chevy to have it repaired. So the C2 has slightly more miles.

 

I bought my 64 convt with 46,xxx miles on it and it is correct. The owner had owned the car for over 30 years and drove it less than once a month mainly to local car shows and such. He had the speedo rebuilt and the invoice shows the 46,xxx on it with the odo reading 958 miles since the rebuild five years ago. To me, on a car this old, mileage is not of much importance as the condition is. My engine was opened up somewhere in the 30,000 mile range and runs great with no smoke or starting issues. If the car is nice and runs well then the mileage is not very important. On modern vehicles, the mileage is an indication of use in a short period of time and takes on a much more important role.

 

I like that story. I have a related one.

I had an '86 S10 Blazer I bought new. I maintained it meticulously but when it had ~175K, I began looking for a replacement. I found a '91 S10 on a used car lot which showed 90K-something miles and which looked promising. Yet things didn't add up.

Sales critter claimed they changed the oil. I pulled out the dipstick which revealed black oil. I pulled out the dipstick on my '86, which was due for a change, and the oil was a nice golden colour. I showed the two dipsticks to the sales critter.

Next I held the heavily brassed key for the '91 next to the darned-near-pristine key for my '86.

The sales critter dropped his head and said quietly, "Good catch".

I passed on the '91.