I was having some work done on my Magna a couple of weeks back and had a loan car for a day, I noted the mileage reading on the loan car before driving it (because I was being charged per kilometre) I did observe that the car's speedo needle wobbled in a perculiar fashion and seemed hesitant when climbing in speed and would then jump (@10 kph at a time) as if it was sticking.

I then travelled a known distance from their workshop to my house since I work very nearby I knew the distance (14 km's each way) but when I returned the loan car at the end of the day they tried to charge me for almost double the amount of kilometres.
I cross checked the car's odometer against my record which I had written down that morning before driving it, the odometer read 52 km's covered when I had actually travelled 28.2km's (I verified this after by measuring the exact distance with my car from their workshop to my house (exactly 14.1 km's each way) I argued the point that I thought there odometer was out but they said nobody else has complained until now, but then they lowered the amount by a few km's as a good will act.

It may be an honest mistake and they are not aware that their loan car has an odometer which reads almost double, but there were other certain aspects about the place which indicated that they are rather dodgey which I won't go into so I very much doubt that it is a mistake.

If you do the math it would add up to a tidy sum of money to be made on the side with a sabotaged odometer, especially if someone has the car for a couple of days, that could be a genuine 100 km's or 200 with their loan car, @ 30 cents per kilometer that's $60.00 instead of $30.00 on top of the rip off workshop prices, they have probably been "stealing" money from their customers for months or even years because of this dodgey odometer, and if they have other loan cars what are their odometers like?????

All that is required for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing, now I spoke to the RAA but they did not seem interested and said to give them the benefit of the doubt, I guess they could not really do much anyway. But since they also ripped me off with the workshop price I don't think they deserve the benefit of the doubt, someone is probably getting ripped off right now as I'm typing so who do I complain to.......anonomously?
Dodgey types are not very nice if they find out who has dobbed them in, but I feel I have to do something.


I think the car should be seized and the odometer checked by an expert for correct calibration since they are charging per kilometre
But for legal and personal reasons their identity cannot be disclosed (especially on a public forum) but there must be someone who can do something to stop them or at least get the car's odometer checked.

Well, so many things to list mate.

First of all you could take the approach that they've stolen from you and you could get some sort of legal advice.

If it's just something you want to them to fix so that it doesn't happen to other people, I would maybe try contacting the ACCC or your local council and get some advice off them.

It's a bit of an ambiguous one.

Keep us informed of how you go.

Thanks mate, it's not me I'm worried about, it's single mum with 3 kids driving all over the place, or young unemployed person who cannot afford to pay double for mileage.
It's the principle of the matter....it's stealing!

Thanks mate, it's not me I'm worried about, it's single mum on with 3 kids driving all over the place, or young unemployed person who cannot afford to pay double for mileage.

Fair enough. In that case as I said I'd maybe contact the ACCC or your local council and get their opinion on the matter.

Thanks Disciple :)

No not today tonight, what if they didn't realise that there is something wrong with their loan car?
No matter how dodgey they seem they still need the benefit of the doubt I guess.

pfft dealer ships i worked for max 50 a day, some are 30 plus fuel. Not per km unless it was rent a bomb!

Charge per kilometre? First time I have ever heard of a Crash Repairer doing that. ACA will sort it out. Cant give them the benefit of the doubt if you pointed out the problem and they are doing nothing about it.

The old "no-one else has complained" line, ha, ha, we've all heard that when we've complained about a faulty product. You're in SA, so tell the Office of Consumer & Business Affairs.

Next time you get that vehicle, just disconnect the speedo - return it with maybe 10 Km clocked up on the speedo. lol

They probably changed the gear drive on the speedo - did you notice the speedo reading high?

I can't really remember but it may have been reading a bit fast, I think Disciple hit the nail on the head with ACCC.

It is rather strange charging per kilometre for an old POS

so are you going to tell us which mechanic not to get a loan car from???
or is it being kept under lock and key?
lol

Sorry it is a public forum and cannot name them, I posted mainly to get advice and opinions on what and whether I should do something about it.

It was a crash repairer and that's all I can say :)

However, I can only advise people using loan cars to check the odometer (not trip meter) over a known but short distance (10 km's) and if it does not seem right return it immediately and query it, or even better if it seems out of calibration take it to an instrument specialist and see if they will check it, they might in an act of good will check it for free just to help stop more people from being ripped off.

Furthermore I have had several loan cars from various mechanics and this is the only one I can remember who is charging per kilometre for the use of old crappy cars. I would suggest that if you come across a loan car which customers are being charged (per km) for, just check that the odometer is correct, I've never been charged per km before but I know some mechanics and crash repairers do.