I have an eye on one 01 Jetta VR6 that have suspiciously low miles. My question is: Is it possible the odometer to be scrambled? I mean it is electronic and it can not be rewind, I know, but is there any other ways now to turn it back? Or may be to stop the reading for an year or so and then again to be fixed. Does any one know how can I check that? Please replay to this post or e-mail me to snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com
Thank you!
Ned
Only 2 ways I know of
1-replace the cluster and program the miles less than what was on the old cluster. 2-run around with the speed sensor unplugged, but then the mil/cel would have been on.
One thought to consider is checking the VIN with the local department of motor vehicles. If the car is being resold by someone that's not the original owner this can be a way to get the real story. I once looked at a car that was likewise suspiciously low on mileage given it's age. I checked the VIN with the MD MVA and found the original owner. She was quite surprised to hear the car she'd sold with 132k miles on it was being now sold with only 42k miles. The local police were quite good at handling the crime.
So get the VIN and visit a local MVA office to inquire of it's title record. It might actually just be a good deal. Or it might be a chance for you to do your civic duty and keep someone else from getting screwed on the deal.
-Bill Kearney
Yes, install a new cluster.
How suspicious do the maintenance records look? (If there are none, assume that the car is high risk and the warranty will not be honored.)
Title history from the DMV (or a title history search service) may give some clue. The warranty and recall history should be findable from the VIN at a VW dealer (for a 2001 in the US, the 5000, 10000, and 20000 mile services, and the first brake fluid change at 2 years were free under the warranty).
If the mileage is lower than the typical lifetime of the OEM tires, it may be suspicious if the tires are not the ones that came with the car (check the tire's make, model, and date code).
And even if low mileage is genuine, it could have been hard city miles, or a car that spent a lot of time sitting around without being driven.
Also try carfax.com. It's not infallible but for $20 it helps. The VIN thing from a dealer also gives insight too. If at any time the car's mileage reads higher from carfax.com or from the dealer's service history (if any), it's been rolled back. Otherwise,you can kinda figure if the current mileage is reasonable for the car based on its history.
It's called title washing! A owner in state "A" sells car to someone in state "B" and car gets a title for state "B" with reported lower mileage. A used cluster or a new one which has had the miles programmed at a lower valve is then installed. Clusters can only be programmed 1 time and only up too 100 miles. When a car in brought back into our state the VIN and miles must be verified by a inspection mechanic. So all the dirty work is done out of state. Yes it can happen, but the dealer can enter the VIN and see all the warranty work done on the car since new which includes mileage and dates repairs were done.
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