Would you all buy a C5 that the carfax shows as an odometer rollback? The owner states it was a clerical error and that the DMV has updated the title and provided him with a letter stating it was a clerical error. I’ve asked him for a photo of the title and letter from the DMV. But even with the letter, how does the DMV REALLY know it still wasn’t rolled back? Aren’t they just essentially taking the owner's word?

I love the car, but this is making me 2nd guess the purchase.

 

People at DMV can make mistakes, my girlfriend’s mom is giving a motorcycle to her grandson and found a mistake that could mess up the transaction.

The motorcycle belonged to her bf and he died, the title had his name and/or her name, but they put her last name as the bf’s last name.

She was mad thinking he did that, went to DMV and lady working there saw it was a mistake on their end, issued a new title with correct last name.

Maybe that’s something like what happened here, someone typed in the wrong miles.

If you are in the same state, maybe make appointment and go to DMV with VIN and ask about it.

 

What is the ‘current’ mileage and what was the previous mileage? Is your plan to sell the car at some point?
if your interest is a known term limit, then why deal with the worry? Unless it’s a smoking good deal - which would be a red flag unto itself - walk on by.

 

I just updated the original post with photos of the carfax!

 

the condition of the vehicle should determine if you want it or not.

You will get alot of opinions on what to do.

If you can afford it without a loan.... make an offer and see what happens.

 

his price shows 22,500...but he said he'd take 20k. Which is reasonable, given the market.

I sure wish I knew what a low mileage C5 went for before the pandemic...that was before I bought a few corvettes, so I have no idea what to compare today's prices too.

 

does it look or drive as if that same owner suddenly started driving it 15k mi a year & then found a 20yr old instrument cluster from a totaled 14k mi car to replace it with?

 

That 14k mileage is correct. You can see in the carfax where the mistake was made. The only decision you have to make is, do you want the hassle of convincing the next owner the mileage on the odometer is correct when they see the carfax.

 

That 137119 number was probably 13719, with an extra 1. If you like the car, have at it.

My car was originally from Canada 3 owners ago. The dealer I bought it from kept reporting km as miles when servicing the car for the previous owners, so the mileage kept bouncing back and forth, showing a possible cluster tampering on the Carfax. I saw what had happened, and used it to bring the price they were asking way down.

 

Have a mechanic look at it. They can probably tell the difference between 14k and 137k miles.

For example, have the brakes been done, are the original belts and hoses still on the car, etc….

 

i'd pass on it for these alone

 

That's the reason I would get it.
You know it was a garage queen if it has those.
Mileage is correct. 👍

 

I would get it, I used Craigslist and did not get a car fax, I just inspected the crap out of the Car. (2002 A4 77k for $15,000).
So after I bought the car and over the winter I got a Car Fax and found it had been in two minor accidents over it's lifetime.
Do I care..................no I have had all kinds of fun with. I would buy that red C5 remove the bling on the back and run it.

Side note: Do you know what the gearing is in the rear diff for just riding around the 2.73 is ok but 3.15 is much better.
I changed my Diff and it was a nice improvement.

 

At first glance, the car does not appear to have anywhere near the stated 137,000 miles.
The driver’s side seat bolster is not showing the wear that would normally reflect 137,000 miles of getting in and out of the car. You can find many C5s with 50-60,000 miles with very worn bolsters because many of us are sliding across the bolster upon entering and exiting the car (especially entering). The carpeting - especially the rear area does not appear to be faded for having the car outside enough to accumulate that much mileage.
As others have suggested, you can check wear items such as brakes (especially calipers), hoses, belts, etc. And as both a determination of age, as well as for your safety, what are the date codes on the tires? Does the tire date code match up closely with the date of manufacturing of this car (tires produced before the manufacture date)? If so, it is entirely possible those are the original tires, may not have lasted long enough to go 137k miles and probably reflect a garage queen over the last 16 years.
From your CARFAX it appears the current owner bought this car in 2006, and I see at least 2 service entries from Winegardner Chevrolet in 2012. Does the current owner have those receipts of service? (Some of us have been known to keep every receipt for service or any other work on our cars. &#129322.
If the current owner is able to provide the letter from DMV, I would feel safe making this transaction assuming everything else checked out to your satisfaction - and then use that documentation to get CARFAX to fix the goof.
And, you could try to use the mileage discrepancy to get the price a little lower, but even $20k is a good price for the perceived quality (based upon the pics), and low mileage.
Best wishes with your potential purchase!

 

That car should certainly show like it has 137K on it if it really does, and it doesn't look like it from the pictures. The CarFax shows when the mistake was made, I would believe the seller and I would petition CarFax to fix the error. I have a car that the DMV changed a 0 to an 8 on the mileage. The car had 80,000 miles and the title indicated 88,000. It happens, probably frequently.

 

Looks like replacement seat covers to me

 

As others have said, DMV making mileage mistakes is somewhat common, and you can see where the mistake was made. What nobody else has mentioned is that the Corvette has a digital odometer. It would be challenging to actually "roll" it back. I suspect that the seller is being honest about it. The car appears to be in good condition. There is a C5 in the NCM that has 770K+ miles on the original engine. A long as the car has been well cared for, and is in great condition, the mileage is less important. I would strongly suggest that you get a pre-purchase inspection done on ANY C5 before you buy it. If this one checks out, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

 

I've had it happen before. You can see the owner jumped on the issue pretty quickly within 30-60 days. It's not a big deal, especially if you plan to keep it for a while. Obviously the steering wheel and shifter which would show wear have been replaced. But look at the pedals, as well as the carpet around the pedals. Those are tell tale areas of wear which are not typically replaced and are easily overlooked if one is trying to pull one over.

 

particularly the carpet and accelerator pedal.

Perfect wheels and color matched - not covered - calipers. Very nice!

 

Yeah, I don't know of any method to roll back mileage on these cars other than to replace the instrument cluster.