Not actual odometer. How to find out the true mileage?
Last edit: June 27 2024 • 726 view
In this blog post, we will take a look at cars that come to auction without keys, thus having no miles as not actual odometer reading. How to find out the true mileage? Easy hack from Andrew Autohacker.
No keys?! Why?
When you see cars with no keys at salvage auto auctions, they are most likely theft recoveries or vandalism damage. By the way, this is one of my favorite types of damage. It’s easy to program a new key, but you get a used car at a 50% discount. Amazing, right?
But how would you know the true mileage of the vehicle?
Autohacker’s way to find the not actual odometer reading
I check the CarFax report to see the latest service odometer reading. Most services require recording the odometer reading, and CarFax is the best report to gather this info. I highly recommend using VIN.DOCTOR to get CarFax reports, need to be a registered user. Use my promocode AUTOHACKER to get a discount.
Running CarFax on this Infiniti QX70, I found two important data points:
- The value of the vehicle was $10,200.
- The last reported odometer reading was 183,600 miles.
By running a CarFax report from the comfort of my home, I found the true latest odometer reading and discovered that the declared retail value at the auction listing is $6,000 over the current value.
After checking CarFax, our customer made sure to bid an appropriate amount and got the vehicle for just $4,200, which is 40% of its retail value. Great deal.
You can also watch a video of how I do it on YouTube:
Summary
CarFax is an amazing tool to check a car’s VIN history, mileage readings, service records, and accident details. Make sure you always get a CarFax report when buying cars at CARS4.BID.
Autohacker’s Community
While you are here, I’d like to invite you to join my Autohacker’s facebook community. You gain access to the best supportive community out there with 1300+ members and you get my free mini-course that can make you a Professional salvage buyer within less than one hour.
