While experts expect used car prices to fall in 2024, odometer fraud is on the rise nationwide and locally in Illinois.
According to a new data from Carfax, more than 2 million vehicles on the road have had their odometers rolled back.
Illinois has emerged as a hotspot for the crime, ranking fifth in the nation and impacting close to 80,000 drivers, primarily in the Chicago area.
“They can take 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, even 100,000 miles or more off the odometer of a car. And what that does is it dramatically increases the value of the car to potential buyers,” said Patrick Olsen of Carfax.
Olsen said the average consumer loses around $4,000 in value from unknowingly buying a rolled-back car, with that total sometimes being much greater.
“We looked at two Ford F-150 2018 models that are on the road today, one at 50,000 miles, one has 150,000 miles. The value difference between them is $10,300. And that presents quite the incentive for scammers,” Olsen said.
Driving a vehicle with a rolled back odometer can also put your family’s safety at risk.
“It could be that you think you’ve got a car with 60,000 miles and so you think you’ve got a little while before you need to do a major tune-up or some other major work. In reality, that major work may have been due long before or it may not have been done. And so that puts your car, yourself and your family at risk,” Olsen said.
Odometer fraud has increased by 14% since 2021, with new, cheaper technology that can perform the task contributing to the recent increase.
“Years ago, as far as the equipment to be able to do this, you were upwards of $10,000 to purchase the equipment. Nowadays, you can pick some of these tools up on the internet for $300,” Josh Ingle, President of Atlanta Speedometer- a company that specializes in instrument cluster repair told NBC Chicago.
“Gaining $4,000 in value on a car for $300, you know, even on a single car, it makes sense, you know, if you’re willing to go down that path,” Ingle said.
Ingle demonstrated how quickly scammers can roll back a digital odometer with some inexpensive equipment. He hooked up a device to a newer model vehicle and inputted the new, lower mileage he wanted the odometer to change to.
“If you look on the odometer, this vehicle currently, there’s 124,000 miles on it. And I’ve already got our miles that we want to put on here. So we’re going to take about 80,000 miles off. And once I hit the button, you’ll see a couple messages show up, and I’ve got 43,000 miles on this car,” said Ingle.
While committing the fraud may be easier than ever, there are several ways you can spot it too.
“Look at the vehicle history report from the car and good dealers and good salespeople will be transparent and offer you a vehicle history report. If suddenly it goes from 80,000 miles down to 60,000 miles, that’s a red flag,” Olsen said.
Our experts also recommend taking any used car you’re considering buying to an independent mechanic. They can look for signs of advanced wear that may not match the vehicle’s mileage.
If you feel you’ve been a victim, you can contact the Illinois Secretary of State to report the incident.
