Buying a Used Car? Be Aware of Odometer Fraud
Millions of Americans buy used vehicles every year. Buying used is a good deal, allowing you to save a lot of money. A new car may look good, but they are pricey and lose thousands of dollars of their value once you drive them off the car lot.
One of the benefits of buying a new car is that it comes with a warranty. If something goes wrong, it may be covered based on age or mileage. With a used car, you are buying it as-is. There are no warranties, so you never know what to expect.
This can be true even for the car’s true mileage. Sure, the odometer says 50,000 miles, but there could be tampering involved. That vehicle may have 150,000, 250,000, or more miles.
Odometer fraud is common, affecting 2 million vehicles in the United States. This means that many people have been victims of odometer fraud. They’re not sure of the true reading of their vehicle. They thought it had low miles when they bought it. They were wrong.
This was the case for a Florida resident, who bought a 2013 Cadillac in 2021. Soon after he bought the vehicle, it started overheating. That wasn’t the only thing that happened. The suspension and power steering also went out.
The man couldn’t figure out what was going on with the sedan until he took it to a different dealer. They pulled the Carfax report and realized that the vehicle had more than 147,000 miles on it back in 2017. When the man purchased the Cadillac in 2017 for $16,000, the sales contract showed that the odometer had 88,141 miles on it. He wasn’t expecting for the car to actually have almost double that amount.
With Americans driving an average of 13,000 miles per year, the Cadillac probably had more than 200,000 miles on it by the time the man bought it. The man was upset by the situation, calling the vehicle a nightmare. He filed a complaint with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Even though the man bought the car from a dealer, the dealer was not cited since the dealer purchased it from an individual and the car had multiple owners.
The Gainesville car dealer claims they did nothing wrong. It is possible that one of the companies servicing the car may not have reported an accurate odometer reading.
That’s no consolation to the man who bought the Cadillac sedan. For now, he is stuck with $4,000 in repair bills. His only option is to hire a lawyer.
Be careful when buying a used car in Florida. The Sunshine State ranks fourth in the nation when it comes to odometer tampering. There are more than 85,000 of those vehicles on Florida roadways.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Today
It’s important to be vigilant when buying a used vehicle. Buying used can save you a lot of money, but do you know what you’re really getting? How many miles does the car really have?
Fraud can be an embarrassing situation to deal with. Count on a Bradenton consumer fraud lawyer from Cahall Law Firm to help you get compensation and justice. Schedule a free consultation today by filling out the online form or calling (941) 281-2019.
Source:
bcactionnews.com/money/consumer/taking-action-for-you/odometer-rollback-fraud-on-the-rise-a-warning-for-florida-used-car-buyers
