Buying a used car? Watch out for odometer fraud on the rise

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The used car market is still very competitive, and finding a car with low miles is very appealing, so that's why you have to be on the lookout for what's known as rolled-back odometers. Odometer fraud is on the rise and North Carolina ranks as one of the top ten states with the most cars on the road with rolled-back odometers.

New research from CARFAX shows odometer fraud is up 7% in the last year, their statistics show there are more than 1.9 million cars on the road with rolled-back odometers, 45,000 of those here in North Carolina.

CARFAX estimates the Raleigh-Durham area has 14,900 vehicles on the road with a rolled-back odometer, making it #28 nationwide compared to other major metropolitan areas. The Raleigh-Durham area saw a 12% jump in numbers from 2021. Unfortunately rolling back an odometer has become easier over the years. CARFAX set up a demonstration, with Josh Ingle who works in the auto industry at Atlanta Speedometer to show with the help of a tool you can buy online, you can roll back a car's odometer within seconds. The car has more than 150,000 miles but when Ingle used the special tool, he was able to roll the odometer back to just a little more than 51,000.

Ingle added, "This is a permanent record on this car. You're not going to go find a digital footprint that this thing used to have 150,000 miles on it."

If you buy a car with a rolled-back odometer it will cost you. Emilie Voss with CARFAX says, "On average, you're going to overpay by about $4,000. So the impact is very real to the pocketbook, and that's just the upfront costs, let alone the maintenance of the cost during the lifetime of ownership."

To protect yourself when buying a used car with a rolled-back odometer, first look at the vehicle history on CARFAX to see if you spot a mileage change over the years and if the mileage adds up with the year of the car. And of course, always take it to your mechanic to have it looked at to see if the wear and tear on the car, matches the mileage.