Rolling back the mileage odometer
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,993
Likes: 7
From: LaPine Oregon
Rolling back the mileage odometer
Howdy 'all;
Question as to how easy is it to 'roll back' the C5's odometer. While searching for my next Vette I've run into several dealer cars that look like they have a lot more miles than what's on the odometer. I'm old school when rolling back an odometer was a ten minute job for most anyone without ethics. I do plan on only buying from a private party but would like to hear if odometer mileage can be altered.
thanks, dD
Question as to how easy is it to 'roll back' the C5's odometer. While searching for my next Vette I've run into several dealer cars that look like they have a lot more miles than what's on the odometer. I'm old school when rolling back an odometer was a ten minute job for most anyone without ethics. I do plan on only buying from a private party but would like to hear if odometer mileage can be altered.
thanks, dD
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 14,285
Likes: 0
From: Houston, Tx Got traction?
CI 5-6-7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07-'08
It can be altered, it's a computer chip in the guage cluster that needs to be re-programed. I do beleive many dealerships have the tools to do that. Check a carfax type report to see if there's any discrepencies in the mileage.
Chris
Chris
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 7,364
Likes: 6
From: Rocky Mount Virginia
Funny this was brought up. I bought mine from a dealer that was 140 miles away. They advertised it with 50,420 miles. They had a driver drive it to me (140 miles) and guess what was on the odometer? 50,420 miles.
Hmmmmmm......
Hmmmmmm......
Guest
Posts: n/a
Checking the CarFax should be LAW imho. So much you can learn. Some people won't spend the petty amount they charge for the report and yet they'll roll the dice on a vehicle for 10's of thousands of dollars based on "trusting" the seller. Lunacy, pure lunacy 
Racer
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 408
Likes: 0
I've been wondering the same thing.
I'm in the market for a C5 and looked at several. They all looked like they had more miles than the odometer displayed.
One in particular was listed as a perfect 10 of 10, low miles, and original paint. When I checked it out it had a clean car fax. When I actually went to look at it, the car had been repainted (badly)! WTF! Paint was peeling in a few areas too!
I don't know how some S.O.B. figures a bad paint job = 10 out of 10! The car also had some badly done cosmetic mods and appeared very worn out and dirty underneath for unde $50k and a CA car.
Buyer always beware I guess.
I'm in the market for a C5 and looked at several. They all looked like they had more miles than the odometer displayed.
One in particular was listed as a perfect 10 of 10, low miles, and original paint. When I checked it out it had a clean car fax. When I actually went to look at it, the car had been repainted (badly)! WTF! Paint was peeling in a few areas too!
I don't know how some S.O.B. figures a bad paint job = 10 out of 10! The car also had some badly done cosmetic mods and appeared very worn out and dirty underneath for unde $50k and a CA car.
Buyer always beware I guess.
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Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,993
Likes: 7
From: LaPine Oregon
Concours has different definition......
Hellbent;
Exactly my thoughts. Concours must mean something other than the definition I was tought. Barrett -Jackson has done good and bad for collector cars and cars in general. Everybody things they can get a million dollars for what ever junk they have. The defining word though is Barrett-jackson quality of car.
1/4 mile drag cars have low miles but what a beating they take. Buyer beware.
I always check Carfax or Autocheck.
thanks for the responce, dD
Exactly my thoughts. Concours must mean something other than the definition I was tought. Barrett -Jackson has done good and bad for collector cars and cars in general. Everybody things they can get a million dollars for what ever junk they have. The defining word though is Barrett-jackson quality of car.
1/4 mile drag cars have low miles but what a beating they take. Buyer beware.
I always check Carfax or Autocheck.
thanks for the responce, dD
Carfax is required to produce mileage when the title is transfered. I used to work at a Chevy/Dodge Dealership. It is very easy to turn back an odometer!
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,426
Likes: 285
From: West Barnstable MA
When you get to the final stages, you might want to have someone on the forum pull the service records. This might give you additional information coming from a slightly different direction.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,227
Likes: 15
St. Jude Donor '06
I changed the gauge cluster in my car to add HUD...i never updated the chip though...fortunately i wrote down the old cluster mileage and the new cluster mileage so i can calculate if need be...fortunately, i never plan to sell so it doesnt bother me...
Regardless, you can have this programmed very easily or even disconnect the cluster and drive if need be. I'm not sure if the mileage is stored anywhere else in the vehicle though...
In my old lumina, i could hook up a autotap and it would read the mileage (it was slightly different from what the gauge cluster odometer read too (only a couple hundred miles)...i hooked up my vette to my autotap but it could not read the mileage....hmmmmmmmm
Advanced
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 95
Likes: 0
From: Stone Mountain GA
Carfax has my mileage at each annual emissions check, but unless there is some annual state document about a vehicle, Carfax may be worhless.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 408
Likes: 0
I'm very skeptical about carfax. It seems like so many vehicles have only a few records. Especially vehicles being sold by dealers?
I've seen a few Vettes that were disasters and had a clean car fax. CARFAX cannot tell if a car was repainted, abused, in a non-reported accident, or if the engine or tranny has had serious issues.
The other troubling thought is, you don't see many salvage Vettes, although they seems to be plentiful at auctions. Hmmm...
Perhaps someone has found ways around CARFAX?
-AL
I've seen a few Vettes that were disasters and had a clean car fax. CARFAX cannot tell if a car was repainted, abused, in a non-reported accident, or if the engine or tranny has had serious issues.
The other troubling thought is, you don't see many salvage Vettes, although they seems to be plentiful at auctions. Hmmm...
Perhaps someone has found ways around CARFAX?
-AL
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2001
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St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,256
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From: Charlotte NC
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11
I was able to call my local dealer, give them the vin and they ran a full history of the car before I bought it. Granted it only shows when it was serviced by GM but it does have the milage and issue at each visit Were pretty good friends with them (it was the Caddilac dealer my parents know) so Im not sure if that is some thing a GM dealer would normally do but its work a try
Were pretty good friends with them (it was the Caddilac dealer my parents know) so Im not sure if that is some thing a GM dealer would normally do but its work a try
Heel & Toe
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Actually there are many ways CarFax reports can be "incomplete". Cash for any body repair with no insurance company or LEO reports will fly under the CarFax radar. Friend of mine bought a vette that CarFax said was clean. Took it to a guru of Corvettes and he found it had major repairs. Story goes less than scrupulous repair shops north of the border buy US wrecks, rebuild them and send them back south again. This also escapes the CarFax net. If you have a CarFax report that covers all the mileage with no gaps, you're probably in good shape. But CarFax isn't perfect either. Before laying down coin for any used car it is a good idea to take it to somebody you trust and have them look at it if you are not sure or suspect something. It is all about buyer beware. If an odometer can be altered, bureaucracy can be circumvented also. Another example of why there are so many lawyers. 
