I'm an old-skool guy who is looking to buy a 'modern' diesel (an 04-07 5.9 2500)... My last truck was a 1953 Ford (drove that one for 17 years), and my current ride is a 79 F250 (pig, pig, pig)... in these trucks a guy could change the mileage with a paperclip if he were scummy and so inclined- and it has me wondering about how 'new' vehicles work.

I went to a small independent car dealer recently to test drive a 3rd gen Dodge, and the dealer had 3 of them; (2) 2006s, and (1) 2007. I thought it was a little odd that they had 34,000; 36,000; and 32,000 miles on them respectively (you would have thought they'd me up over 50-60K at least by now- at least ONE of them anyway...). To further raise my suspision, each of the trucks, although they were washed and detailed, looked a bit too 'used' to have so few miles... The brake pedal showed too much wear in one of them; another had too much interior and undercarriage wear to be only be 32,000 miles 'young.' Yet another had a front end so worn out the truck was not road worthy- let alone safe imho. It got me to wondering if this was a shady dealer that is rolling back the odometers.

When I find the 3rd gen I want to buy, is there a way to tell if the computer/odometer has been hacked/tampered with? Will it show up with an off-the-shelf scan tool? Is such deception even common/possible on these trucks? I know I'm coming off as paranoid, but I can't lose my **** on this deal- this is the first late-model vehicle I've ever bought, and I simplly don't know how 'tamper-proof' these electronics are.

Thanks for your insight-

 

Get a vehicle report on it. I bought my truck without even seeing it and all the info checked out through AutoVerify (or something like that).

 

There's also a way to check hours on the motor

 

Decent dealer wouldn't do something like that if they know what's good for them. You may be able to roll hem back on the odo but not on the comp. I'm guessing an honest dealer would be able to tell you tho. We have a 2004 camo hi rack for hunting with a 5.9. It looks like it would have a million miles until you see the interior and the odo, reads 21734

 

There is no way to adjust the odo, at least that I have heard of. The hours/miles are stored in the ECM and not the dash. A new ECM could have started at 0 again, but that likelihood is low, and most likely would have gotten updated with the old date.

 

Just about ANY digital odometer can be changed. As someone who has been involved in law enforcement in the NYC area for over 30years I have had experience in the matter. There are "odometer calibration" programs and programmers available. These can be purchased in the $2000-$4000 range. Now how much these kits cost depends on how many vehicle lines you want to cover. For $4K you get to work on BMW's, Mercedes,etc. May sound like alot of money BUT....a rollback on a BMW or Mercedes or Porsche costs anywhere between $500-$700. These guys get to do MANY. Just do the math. Roll back two cars a day. Here in NYC there is "Jerome Avenue". It is wall to wall auto wholesalers. Last count over 200. They move hundreds of cars a week. Rollbacks are done by these dealers; by people who who have gone way over their lease mileage; those with high end sports cars that have their value highly affected by mileage, the list goes on. A Dodge HD would be an easy rollback and cost in the $400-$500 range at most. You are serioulsy kidding yourself if you think tampering with electronic odometers is not possible. Below I posted a link of company that is on the net. Yes it is in England, but it is just an example of what is just as easily available here.

http://www.abacusmileagecorrection.co.uk/

 

What a great home based business!

 

Lost Lake...you are not far from the truth. These guys usually get "referrals" from prior "clients". This is, for obvious reasons, a "word of mouth" business that is very lucrative. So they end up customers who are not only auto dealers but also vehicle owners who want to roll back the mileage. They go to your location with all that is needed.