CARFAX DATA: ODOMETER FRAUD UP ACROSS THE U.S.

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Dec 06, 2023, 07:00 ET

Number of Vehicles With Suspect Odometers Tops 2 Million, up 14% Since 2021

CENTREVILLE, Va., Dec. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CARFAX data shows that odometer rollbacks are on the rise nationwide. Roughly 2.1 million vehicles on the road have had their odometer rolled back – up 14% since 2021, or an additional 300,000 vehicles. Consumers lose an average of $4,000 in value from unknowingly buying a rolled-back car – and that doesn't include any unexpected maintenance costs.

Odometer rollbacks occur when an unscrupulous owner or seller of a car alters the miles that display on a car's gauge cluster. This might be done as a way to avoid mileage charges in a vehicle lease or to dramatically increase the value of a car. Today's technology makes rolling an odometer back easier than ever.

"Odometer fraud didn't go away with the introduction of digital odometers," said Patrick Olsen, Editor-in-Chief for CARFAX. "We're still seeing the number of vehicles on the road with a rolled-back odometer rise year-over-year. It takes con artists only a matter of minutes to wipe thousands and thousands of miles off a vehicle's odometer." Add to that simplicity a market where used car prices continue to run high, and it's an enticing situation for scam artists.

These are the 10 states nationwide with the most vehicles with rolled-back odometers. Nine of the 10 saw increases this year:

California: 469,000, up 7.2%
Texas: 277,000, up 12.8%
New York: 100,000, up 9.0%
Florida: 85,400, up 1.4%
Illinois: 79,000, up 7.6%
Pennsylvania: 69,600, up 2.1%
Georgia: 67,600, up 4.0%
Arizona: 57,000, up 4.8%
Virginia: 56,000, unchanged
North Carolina: 49,000, up 8.2%

Consumers can get a free Odometer Fraud Check as well as tips to protect themselves at www.carfax.com/odo.

Editor's note: Interviews with a used car expert from CARFAX are available at any time, including localized numbers on odometer fraud. Please contact Patrick Olsen at [email protected].

About CARFAX

CARFAX, part of S&P Global Mobility, helps millions of people every day confidently shop, buy, service and sell used cars with innovative solutions powered by CARFAX® vehicle history information. The expert in vehicle history since 1984, CARFAX provides CARFAX Used Car Listings, CARFAX Car Care, CARFAX History-Based Value and the flagship CARFAX Vehicle History Report to consumers and the automotive industry. CARFAX owns the world's largest vehicle history database. Shop, Buy, Service, Sell – Show me the CARFAX®.

S&P Global Mobility is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global is the world's foremost provider of credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets.

SOURCE CARFAX