As BBC uncovers more dodgy car dealers, experts give tips to avoid buyers being stung

The BBC’s Watchdog television programme’s expose of a car-clocking scam in a show broadcast in early May has prompted motor industry watchers to reiterate warnings for would-be buyers to take extra care when looking to buy a used car. The latest scam was exposed in conjunction with vehicle information company HPI, and involved a fraudster and his brother turning back cars’ mileage readings, so that they could sell them on for considerably more than their real value.

The pair was caught out after buying a car from an undercover reporter. When it was sold to the fraudsters, it showed a mileage of 128,000, and they paid £2,300 for it. The same car was later seen for sale with its mileage reading turned back to 47,000, and being offered for sale for £6,000. HPI was involved in uncovering the scam, which it says is a common occurrence – one in every 12 vehicles whose history it is asked to check has had its mileage reading tampered with in some way.

The company says that the Watchdog programme’s findings show that there is still a large number of unscrupulous traders prepared to ‘clock’ cars as an easy way to raise a car’s price, and hoping to trick an unsuspecting buyer into paying more than the real worth of a car. A report earlier this year from the Office of Fair Trading estimated that clocking costs car buyers an estimated £500million a year, much of which can be saved by a potential buyer having a history check carried out on a car before committing to buying it.

HPI has records of every car registered in the UK since 1997, meaning that it has a database of 135 million readings. A car is usually logged on HPI’s records every time it is bought or sold through a reputable car dealer, meaning that its mileage at the time it was sold by its previous owner is noted. So if the same car is later sold having had its mileometer rewound, it can be instantly detected.

Consumer Services Manager for HPI, Nicola Johnson, said that there is no particular type or make of car which is considered a favourite for the clockers. She added that turning back a car’s mileage reading could mean that potential new owners are putting lives at risk if they do not spot signs which give clues to the true distance a car has covered. Double-checking a car’s service history against the claimed mileage is one of the safest ways of detecting mileage inconsistencies, but careful visual examination of a car could spot signs that a car might not be displaying its true mileage.

These might include excessive wear of the rubber on the pedals, material on the seats, or obvious replacement of high-wear parts, such as tyres, brake pads or discs and windscreen wiper arms and blades. It is also important to carry out a final check of a car’s mileage when it is collected, as it is not unknown for the reading to be altered between a buyer first viewing a car, and picking it up. Of course, it is also in reputable sellers’ interests to make these checks before putting a car on sale, so one way of knowing that you are dealing with a genuine seller is to ask whether an HPI check has been, or can be carried out on the car.

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