Clocking - What's the Problem?

[Horse]

Why would you trust a seller because they post on the same online forum as you do?

It works here:

www.MagicBeans4U.org/forum

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

Horse: that link doesn't work for me.

Perhaps you are not to be taken in by magic beans ...

[Horse]

You have to believe

[WhoseGeneration]

There was an article in the IAM rag a few issues ago about this - the writer was getting very hot under the collar about it - making out that "clockers" are evil people, right up there with murderers and rapists. Quite unnecessary, IMO. In fact, I would go so far as to say that "clockers" are probably providing a public service and should be praised.

I remember years ago, you were looking at an engine rebuild when a car went "round the clock". These days, you wouldn't notice. Other problems are much more likely to see a car in the scrapyard long before the engine gives up.

I've just got rid of my last car - just over two years old and 120,000 miles on the clock. To look at it, you wouldn't know it had done more than 10,000. If someone "clocks" it and sells it on, does it really matter, if the owner is unlikely to notice?

In fact, I think I'd rather have a "clocked" car that was well looked after than one that had spent all it's life in stop start traffic in London with only 20,000 genuine miles on the clock.

I'm sure it's not beyond the wit of man to come up with a new way of measuring a car's state of wear other than just a number.

Appearances can be deceptive.
"State of wear", yes that'd be possible, with a lot more sensors and therefore expense.
Your 120,000 miles would need to have analysis of loads on the suspension and bodyshell as well as engine and transmission and to relate that to the design life of those components.

[revian]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/news/clocking-makes-a-comeback.html
It'll go to more pages now...maybe...

[Silk]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/news/clocking-makes-a-comeback.html
It'll go to more pages now...maybe...

I wasn't going to contribute any more, but here goes...

It's not quite as easy as that for me to clock my own car as my employer insists on checking service records once a year - a bit difficult to show only 10,000 miles a year servicing and claim 50,000 miles in expenses.

The best thing to do is take advantage of the Consumer Credit Act and doing a VT (Voluntary Termination) when you've paid back at least 50% of the finance. If you have a car with, say, £10,000 owing (as long as this is less than 50% of the total finance) and the car is only worth £5000 due to high mileage, you can hand it back with nothing more to pay as long as the car is in otherwise good condition for its age, and there's nothing they can do about it. They can't even use it against you on your credit score. They could always refuse to accept you again on a new car, but you can always go elsewhere. I've done it a couple of times. The first time, I got another car through the same finance company and they didn't seem to have a problem with it. Some dealers will even positively encourage it as it means they get another sale. The trick is to order the new car before doing a VT on the old one. This is all perfectly legal.

That's why anyone with any sense always buys a car on finance, even if they have the spare cash.

[TripleS]

It's just another curious attempt to wind up a small pool of familiar posters, is it not?

Well if that's what it is, it's not working with this poster.

I think 'clocking' is wrong. That is all; for now.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[Silk]

It's just another curious attempt to wind up a small pool of familiar posters, is it not?

Well if that's what it is, it's not working with this poster.

A bite's a bite, even if you don't land it.

The motor trade is full of scams. Some legal, most probably not. Clocking isn't the worst thing that can be done to a second-hand car.

If you make it impossible to tamper with the odometer, people will find alternative and ways to hide the history of a car from a potential buyer.

[revian]

A bite's a bite, even if you don't land it.

Sometimes a bite is a tease and the fish just humouring.

Clocking isn't the worst thing that can be done to a second-hand car.

Quite correct... There are other lying, cheating, thieving things... So that makes clocking completely acceptable.

That's the end of my part in this thread....I'm just off to steal granny's pension. It's clearly better and morally superior to beating her up...

[Silk]

A bite's a bite, even if you don't land it.

Sometimes a bite is a tease and the fish just humouring.

You just wait for another one to come along.

The way I see it, clocking is just another form of "restoration". A 3 year-old "round the clock" car is likely to have had loads of stuff recently replaced, including the cam-belt. So it's probably in better condition that a car that's only been driven to church once a week and had one service that involved not much more that spraying a bit of WD40 around the engine compartment.

[triquet]

Church every week and only one service ?

[revian]

Church every week and only one service ?

He has a poor service record... ...

I'm just off to one...

[dms66]

Buying used cars is a minefield - as the buyer, you will be trusting your safety and a significant amount of money on the condition of the car, so you REALLY want to be sure you know what you're buying.

With a used car you want to know as much as possible about the vehicle's history so you can understand the car and be sure to notice everything important. I agree that mileage isn't all important but it's a very useful way of understanding how the car has been used, and all other things the same it's an indicator of potential problems that may arise.

Mileage is an important part of a car's history and any prudent buyer wants an accurate representation of this important figure (alongside other indicators like HPI check, MoT reports and service invoices etc). Provision of false information is fraud.

[Silk]

Mileage is an important part of a car's history and any prudent buyer wants an accurate representation of this important figure (alongside other indicators like HPI check, MoT reports and service invoices etc). Provision of false information is fraud.

Is it fraud if a private buyer sells a car because they know it needs some really expensive repairs and, if they keep quiet, the potential purchaser may not notice?

[MGF]

No, unless asked.