my car is up for sale again, with half the mileage

[ekam]

Wow. Is this the person you sold the car to? It doesn't say it's an S anywhere.

[Flavor 987S]

DJ, just file a report with Carfax.

[djomlas]

well its on the decklid....and i have no clue who this is, as it keeps popping up on chicago CL with different sellers all the time with different miles.

i even saw it tagged as a 2003 not long ago

[Brucelee]

Boy, it is no longer "easy" to wind back on odometer. But, you can replace them, although you have to know what you are doing.

I wonder if CFax is going to catch this. It should.

[djomlas]

yeah i dont know how its been done....it looks exactly the same as when i had it, with green tinted film still intact. must have been unplugged from the car and hooked up to something...

[Cloudsurfer]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

Boy, it is no longer "easy" to wind back on odometer. But, you can replace them, although you have to know what you are doing.

I wonder if CFax is going to catch this. It should.

It's shocking at how easy it is to do on a 9X6 car (I don't know about 9X7). All you need to do is grab an appropriate cluster (basically either "old" style or "new" style) with lower miles, swap it into the car, and if it was coded correctly, you're done. If not, just get a friend with a PST to re-code it and that's it.

BMW stores the mileage in two places (the cluster and what's called the "Light Control Module") and those two values must match within 60 miles, otherwise it throws the "tamper dot" on the mileage display. Porsche only stores it in the cluster (this may have changed with the 9X7 but I don't know).

If Carfax doesn't catch it, the state should.

[Boxtaboy]

Contact them and tell them you know what's up, and that the authorities are on their way to prosecute them.

[Lil bastard]

It's not that hard to change the mileage. The PST2 or PIWIS can set a new odometer to any number you want - that's what a dealer does if you have to replace it. The key here is that it's just a number.

Hiding 60k mi. worth of wear and tear is another story. There are so many things you can check to see if the car is consistent with the miles clocked on the odo. Minor things from carpet wear, windshield pitting, underside dirt/corrosion, rubber parts incl. seals and hoses, etc.

I have bought many low mileage cars. I'm attracted by the posted miles in the ad, but then I spend a whole lot of time comparing what I actually see with the numbers on the odo and service records.

The 20 y.o. 964 I recently bought, advertised with 20k mi., had no wear or scratches on the steering wheel, no wear to the seat bolsters or carpets, the pedal rubbers were practically new, owners manual pac intact with no creases or dog ears, original tires and battery, spare never mounted, complete, unused toolkit and jack, shiny exhaust and heat exchangers, no minute scratches on any of the exterior light lenses, clean suspension members, engine stickers, paint not shrunk or cracked from excessive heat cycles, all zinc chromate coated parts still a nice gold/yellow. Everything I checked was consistent with the mileage advertised. The bonus was the service records which listed all service from a dealer warrantied clutch pedal adjustment at 416 mi. Also, the mileages and dates (on receipts and work orders) were also consistent. I have absolutely no doubt that the car's indicated 20,372 miles were correct and original. If I had ANY doubt, I wouldn't have necessarily walked away from the car, but I would DEFINITELY have lowered the top price I would be willing to pay.

So, while it's dastardly (not to mention illegal) for a seller to roll back mileage to try to sell a car or sell it for more than it's worth, it's a fairly lazy or unwary buyer who's gonna fall for it.

You have to look beyond the numbers and corroborate them by the car's appearance. Any inconsistencies (and there should be VERY few) need to be reasonably explained.

Cheers!

[Cloudsurfer]

Originally Posted by Lil bastard

It's not that hard to change the mileage. The PST2 or PIWIS can set a new odometer to any number you want - that's what a dealer does if you have to replace it. The key here is that it's just a number.

I doubt these guys bought a new cluster and coded it to the mileage they wanted to show. They probably just found a cluster with lower mileage and swapped them.

[pompous]

Originally Posted by Cloudsurfer

It's shocking at how easy it is to do on a 9X6 car (I don't know about 9X7). All you need to do is grab an appropriate cluster (basically either "old" style or "new" style) with lower miles, swap it into the car, and if it was coded correctly, you're done. If not, just get a friend with a PST to re-code it and that's it.

BMW stores the mileage in two places (the cluster and what's called the "Light Control Module") and those two values must match within 60 miles, otherwise it throws the "tamper dot" on the mileage display. Porsche only stores it in the cluster (this may have changed with the 9X7 but I don't know).

If Carfax doesn't catch it, the state should.

Really? I was thinking the box might store it in the engine control module or something. Is this not the case & it's only in the cluster? I'd think with all the security features the car has that the mileage would be kept in at least two spots to prevent such things.

[jmatta]

I sent the ad poster an email asking to see the car, since I live in the Chicago area and "know" the car, plus it's history from the forums. I also stated the Boxster community knows the car well, since the prior owner was an active online member.

We'll see if I get any response in return...(won't hold my breath).

[djomlas]

yeah, i dont mind someone selling it, drove it, enjoyed it, and now wants to sell it, fine.
but saying that its something that its not and falsifying miles on it is pretty much robbery.

[Cloudsurfer]

Originally Posted by pompous

Really? I was thinking the box might store it in the engine control module or something. Is this not the case & it's only in the cluster? I'd think with all the security features the car has that the mileage would be kept in at least two spots to prevent such things.

Nope.....

I just purchased a new 996 cluster for my 3.8 Boxster, so here's to having some fun with the PST coding this thing....

[RandallNeighbour]

DJ, they could have taken a different cluster with lower mileage and simply popped off the faceplace from your cluster and put it on the other cluster.

I've taken apart a cluster a number of times and it's quite easy to do.