What are the laws on clocked cars ?

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big x

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Anyone know the actual facts of the matter?

Seems to me this spiv in Londonistan has yet to commit an offence as the car is unsold:

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=28730

The AA say one in four cars on the road have had the mileage "corrected" so whatever the legal situation it's not working
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adam
 
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It's illegal to clock a car and not disclose this at the time of sale.
 
big x said:
Anyone know the actual facts of the matter?

Hi adam, The legal issues are one thing, but buying a car from a private source is a minefield. I would NEVER buy a second-hand car without seeing the old MOT's and hopefully other proof of a history. I haven't 'clocked' it the dash needed replacing.

The prosecuting authority will usually be Trading Standards, but they are not really keeping abreast of this problem.

Ebay and auctions are a gamble, there are excellent cars to be bought, but if you want to sell a clocked vehicle, then auction or ebay are the locations of choice.

Have a read of this little snippet and of course this (see clocked cars)

John
 
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It's a trading standars issue. There are many issues with cars and mileage.

The closest criminal offence being done is attemped deception, part of the theft act 1968.

Hard to prove though....
 
It's incredible how easy it still is to clock cars. Neither the industry nor the law takes the problem especially seriously, otherwise it would be nigh on impossible.

As a buyer you just have to keep your wits about you. It's very difficult to make a high miler look like a low miler inside, for instance, and you should always assume a car is clocked unless there is strong evidence to the contrary. Of course, many cars are clocked early on - before the first MOT is due - and that can be hard to pick up.

Regarding e-bay, why is it that traders are not required to declared themsleves as such as they are when advertising in auto trader etc?
 
It is not an offence in itself to alter the mileage nor is there a requirement to disclose this to a buyer , but if the buyer asks about it , you must answer truthfully . If you are asked and you fail to disclose something which would materially affect the value of the car (mileage or accident/repair history) then this is fraud .
 

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