Hey guys (and gals) I hope I am posting this in the right forum.

I am looking into getting my first vette and I found one in TN (I'm in NC) so I was able to get a VIN check on it (from a reputable online company that will remain unnamed) and saw that it came up with an "inconsistent odometer reading" .

It is a 2001 coupe that was checked at the Arkansas DMV with a reported odometer reading of 121,000 in 2003

Nearly a year later in 2004 it was checked at an Auto Auction listed as a fleet vehicle with a reading of 30,638.

Now, I just recently found this out and it is for sale from a dealer. I would ask the dealer about it but the dealer is Bill Heard Chevrolet of Nashville and I have heard mixed things about them from the forum.

My question is this: How should I go about making sure the reading is correct now or see if there was any tampering. I didn't know tampering was as big with a digital odometer but I don't see why not.

I'm in NC and the vette is in Nashville so is there any "official" way I can get the dealer to check on it and send me some type of "official" document so I can save a trip to there?

Finally, I noticed, though it was the DMV, that the reported reading of 121,000 was pretty darn even and could it have been that whoever was reading the digital gauge just accidentally added a 1 in front of it? That's a pretty big mistake but who knows. It makes sense because 21,000 is less than 30,638 (as opposed to the DMV reading being like 140,000 then there is no way that an accidental 1 could have been added).

Anyway, if I haven't managed to confuse anyone reading this, some advice would be appreciated. What do I do???

Thanks in advance.

 

Ask the dealer for a service record, if the mileage is above that 30k number, then you have a problem.

 

I think that someone might have made a typo on this I doubt that someone drove it 60k a year for 2 years. I drive alot and I dont put that kind of mileage on my DD. You can try to contact the dealer and have them pull the service history:

08/28/2001 26 ColoradoMotor Vehicle Dept.Littleton, COTitle #148567 Title issued or updatedFirst owner reportedLoan or lien reportedRegistered as lease vehicle
09/05/2001 ColoradoMotor Vehicle Dept.Littleton, CO Registered ascommercial lease vehicle
09/05/2001 ColoradoMotor Vehicle Dept.Littleton, COTitle #148567 Registration issued or renewedLoan or lien reportedRegistered as lease vehicle
10/16/2002 ArkansasMotor Vehicle Dept.Fort Smith, AR Title or registration issuedLoan or lien reported
10/22/2003 121,000 ArkansasMotor Vehicle Dept.Fort Smith, AR Title or registration issuedLoan or lien reported
11/11/2004 30,638 Auto Auction Sold at auctionin Southwest RegionListed asa fleet vehicleINCONSISTENT ODOMETER READING

 

can someone even change the meter on these cars? I guess anything is possable but I always thought it wasn't, not like the old days when you could just roll the meter back.

 

You could do it if you put a new instrument cluster in it and didn't reprogram the cluster. Sounds like a typo to me though.

 

I'm going to contact the dealer tom., hopefully it was just a typo. I haven't been able to find a vette that had everything I wanted in months. Thanks for the advice guys!

 

Not for nothin', but if you see the car in person it should be fairly obvious. Check underneath, paint, seat wear, etc. A 120k mile car should be pretty noticably dirtier/worn than a 30k mile car which should look basically new.

Dope

 

It isn't difficult...sure not everybody can take them apart and do them like the old days but it isn't hard. I can and do do them for legit people around here when a digital cluster goes out and stuff like that.

 

Years ago I bought a cherry Mustang with 18k miles on it.

I accidentally checked the wrong box on the title transfer and the DMV agent kindly added 100,000 miles to the new title without confirming with me. I got a corrected title issued as soon as possible after I saw (to my horror) the new title.

Even still, car history checks show "odometer fraud" for the simple typo.

 

One thing to know is that in Arkansas, when you pay your tag renewal fees each year, you submit the mileage. It is not checked by anyone, and we do ours by mail. I would bet it is a mistake. Certainly warrants investigation, as Arkansas is a haven for cleaning titles. With self renewal and no state inspection, let the buyer beware.

Good luck.