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

[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!