Used approved Mercedes W205 - pickup in 24 hours - I suspected mileage clocking

[PaulOliveira]

Hello,

I bought a used approved Mercedes in a oficial franchise dealership.
(64 plate, C220 bluetec saloon, sport premium)

It was done for peace of mind, warranty, quality,... well you know, less worries.
I'm due to pickup the car tomorrow.

Problem:
At my request the sales executive sent me the service history of the car.
My main objective was to see what service was done on the car and if all recall's done.

Crossing service history with the 2017 MOT, I see this:

Date / Total / Miles driven
09/2018 / 49539 / 3659
10/2017 / 45880 / 2132
12/2016 / 43748 / 12090
11/2015 / 31658 / 15263
05/2015 / 16395 / 16395
10/2014 / 0

This does not look correct... it actually looks very strange!
I suspect the previous owner during 2016 started using a device to block counting all the miles.
Apparently this has become common on PCP cars.

The car is already paid-off... pickup is tomorrow and I don't know what to do now!

Is there a technical way to investigate the true millage on a W205?
What should I ask from Mercedes?

Any advice is welcomed...

 

[Trickythemerc]

It could be as simple this, the previous keeper changed jobs and became office based. Just don't take delivery until you are completely satisfied, consumer rights apply after you accept the car but issues are easier to sort out while the dealer still has the car irrespective of the fact you have paid up.

 

[markjay]

How many previous owners, 1 or 2? Most PCP deals are taken for 2 or 3 years (4 years is possible, but not very common).

Also, the owner's annual mileage may have gone down in 2016 due to change of circumstances.

Not sure how you can check this before collecting the car though.

You can try taking the car to a specialist and let them have a poke around with STAR, see if they can find any evidence for tempering.

 

[como]

Hi,
If it helps I've gone from 15000 miles per year, over the last 10 years, to 5000. Anyone looking at my mileage may suspect something was amiss. The reality is I have found a job in my home town and now walk to work every day. I do understand your concern though.

 

[CaptainChaos]

As above, it can be completely innocent. Many company cars end up getting used as a pool car if the original driver leaves, or a sales role becomes office based.

However, it is a sad fact of life unfortunately that many leased cars are clocked to keep them within the terms of the lease, and it is so easy to have done. I believe that on many cars the ECU retains an actual mileage, which is separate from the odometer reading on the dashboard. Maybe you should voice your concerns to the salesman and ask if they can hook it up to their diagnostics system for peace of mind.

 

[Will]

I think you’re reading too much into this.

There’s dozens of genuine reasons as to how many miles were driven - owner could have moved house, changed jobs, retired, work from home - anything. That’s if it’s only had one owner from new. Could have even been used by a partner instead after a couple of years - etc.

Funny that you say about 2016 - if anything it’s irregular right from new - circa 30k PA in the first year, then about 12k for the second year and then 2/3k PA after that.

Wouldn’t worry me unless there’s other reason for concern

 

[Trickythemerc]

How do you get to 30k in the first year when it has done 16k

 

[JAT350e]

You are thinking too much.

I was doing 25K-30K a year in my c350e. From April 2016 to July 2018 I have done 56K. July to now I've only added 1K miles as we have no parking facilities at work so work from home. Gutted as now I realised i could have easily take the cash instead but am stuck until April 2020.

 

[Will]

How do you get to 30k in the first year when it has done 16k

From the OP’s post?

New (10/14) mileage - 0
05/15 - mileage - 16395
11/15 (13 months from new) mileage - 31658

Apologies if I’ve got that wrong but that’s the way I read it

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

My previous car had one business lease owner, plenty of mileage and then in my possession only did circa 9000 in three years

Have you conducted a HPI check on the car?

 

[Williamwoo]

How do you get to 30k in the first year when it has done 16k

It did 16k in the first 7 months - I guess he was extrapolating to estimate 30k in the year?

 

[PaulOliveira]

I've now raised my concerns to Mercedes in writing.
I haven't conducted a HPI check (or any other check) because of this in the Mercedes used approved website.

------------
History and mileage check.
We ensure all our vehicles are independently checked and verified by Experian, HPI and The National Mileage Register, making your concerns a thing of the past.
------------

 

[PaulOliveira]

Got a reply from the franchise dealership:

"I can ensure you that you have nothing to worry about as a part of our used car check we use a Mercedes diagnostic check equipment to do millage verification and interrogation checks, if anything were to show on these we would not sell the car,
We have a Mercedes-Benz technician look in great detail of all of our cars and we are confident we only sell the best stock."

Looks like I've getting my "new" car tomorrow

 

[Eddy77]

Glad to hear it is resolved, but I can assure you as someone who works in the leasing business that the mileage pattern you see is totally normal.　


All PCP / leases are on an agreed mileage. Let's say 15k miles a year for three years. So when you hand the car back after three years, the odometer needs to read less than 45k miles or charges are applied.　

What a LOT of people do, is underestimate their annual mileage. So when they get to the last year of ownership, they drastically reduce their usage of the car to keep the mileage under 45k miles. Instead they may use another (second) car or simply drive less for pleasure.　

I have seen it countless times. You really have nothing to worry about and I'm glad your mind has been put at rest by this thread.　

Other explanations on this thread are equally valid - often circumstances change. 　

Enjoy!

 

[Darrell]

Glad to hear it is resolved, but I can assure you as someone who works in the leasing business that the mileage pattern you see is totally normal.　


All PCP / leases are on an agreed mileage. Let's say 15k miles a year for three years. So when you hand the car back after three years, the odometer needs to read less than 45k miles or charges are applied.　

What a LOT of people do, is underestimate their annual mileage. So when they get to the last year of ownership, they drastically reduce their usage of the car to keep the mileage under 45k miles. Instead they may use another (second) car or simply drive less for pleasure.　

I have seen it countless times. You really have nothing to worry about and I'm glad your mind has been put at rest by this thread.　

Other explanations on this thread are equally valid - often circumstances change. 　

Enjoy!

My sister does just this.

They get their leased car so they can do 3 trips in 3 summers to my mums in La Rochelle, 3 trips to their ski chalet in Austria and then for the last year she uses their Saab convertible.

 

[Yugguy]

In the past 10 years my annual mileage has veered between 3k and 10k and now 8k as my jobs have changed.

 

[DSM10000]

Mileage data is held in the instrument cluster, electronic ignition switch and, I think, the ECU.
Just ask for confirmation in writing from the dealer. They should be willing to prove they are not selling a clocked vehicle.