Turning back the clock
Published:Sunday | March 4, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Mel Cooke, Sunday Gleaner Writer
When Karen Kelly bought her car, a 2007 Honda Fit Aria sedan, two years ago she was told that the odometer (which records the total distance a vehicle has been driven since new) would have to be replaced as it had stopped working. It was done in short order and the reading went back to zero, Kelly conscientiously recording 36,000 kilometers which had been on the old odometer.
After she had been driving for a while, Kelly had to have the car valued again for insurance purposes. By this time, the odometer had registered 17,000 kilometres and she pointed out to the valuator that the odometer had been changed and asked that the 36,000 kilometres be noted in the report. This was after consulting with the insurance company on the correct course of action.
resistance
The valuator not only resisted, Kelly said, but enlisted the assistance of three other valuators to persuade her that she should not have the notation made as it would lower the vehicle's value significantly.
"They told me it was okay. They said it was basically a new car," she said. Also, they told her that for a 2007 model, at the time of the valuation the current value was reasonable."
Kelly insisted and the notation was made.
While her situation was accidental David McKay, president of the Loss Adjusters Association of Jamaica, has seen a number of cases where the turning back of the car's clock has been deliberate.
"Particularly for Japan, a lot of the mileage has been changed," McKay said. When odometer tampering is detected, it is impossible to determine the vehicle's actual mileage, McKay saying that the wear on pedals (accelerator, brake, clutch), seats and steering wheel upholstery are good indicators of more distance done than the odometer shows.
Then there was a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado in 2008 or 2009 which was made the same year the valuation was done. The odometer read 5,000 kilometres but, McKay said, "they had forgotten to take the service sticker off the door". It showed 58,000 kilometres.
With a digital odometer, the final digit is often the target of the tampering, so that a vehicle with 50,000 miles or kilometres is instantly reduced to 5,000. With the analog versions, it is commonplace to get them stuck with the last three digits at 999. "We used to see a lot of that," McKay said.
And the odometer reading is critical, as McKay said, "We take mileage seriously." This is to the extent that a low reading for the year model car pushes up its value while, conversely, a high mileage pushes it down.
"It has quite a lot to do with the mileage," McKay said.
Not her real name