Tampered vehicle odometer: How do you know?

Milton Chingwenya who was deceived into buying a vehicle with a mileage of 500 000km is warning the public to be cautious when purchasing pre-owned vehicles.
Chingwenya’s excitement in buying the 2012 Toyota Hilux D4D pick-up at one of the car dealers in Strijdom Park did not last when he discovered that he had been scammed. He only found out that the car’s odometer reading of 188 000km was tampered with after he went to a Toyota dealer in Randburg.
“I had gone to a Toyota dealer, as I grew suspicious about some information of the car when I enquired, I was told the worst news ever,” he said.
He complained that he could not return the vehicle as the process involved was going to cost him more money.
“I bought the car through MFC Finance. I informed them about returning the vehicle to the dealer and they told me that the vehicle had to go through an auction in order to recover the money since the cool-off period had elapsed,” he said.
The only option he was left with was to go through the civil courts and he has since reported the case to the police.
The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) public relations manager Layton Beard warned prospective buyers to check the overall condition of the vehicle before purchasing it.
He advised buyers to check the interior, conditions of the tyres and even test drive the vehicle to see if the performance matches the odometer reading. “It is very difficult to know if the odometer is tampered with. Look at the condition and do your homework,” he said.
Here are the other items to check for when buying a used vehicle according to AA:

•  Look at a low-mileage demo model from a reputable dealer; these cars are usually well-priced, almost new, and have often been well looked after
•  When test driving, check handling, brakes, and look for any signs of mechanical problems such as overheating
•  Check the interior for any obvious faults such as ripped material or leather. The wear on the rubber of the brake, clutch and accelerator should be consistent with the age of the car
•  Turn off the radio while you test drive, check that there are no extraordinary knocking or rumbling sounds when you start it up
•  Check that the battery terminals are clear of any build-up
•  Check for smoke from the exhaust – this may mean some sort of engine damage
•  Check that the body colour is even throughout the car, a change (even slight) may mean replacement bodywork has been done and may indicate that the car was involved in a crash
•  Look for overspray on the inside of body panels, this may also indicate body work has been done
•  Check that the tyres are in a good condition, and if not, that replacements are both available and reasonably priced
•  Tyres with uneven wear may indicate bigger problems, not easily resolved with tyre alignment machines.