There is an ad in Carsales for a 2003 Verada Wagon (silver).

Advertised Odometer is 121000k

A google search on the number plate shows that Independent Motor Auctions sold the car last year with 201445k.

Dont know if the seller is aware of this.

Buyer beware..

Take it up with the seller. You can send them a message to give them a heads up. Sounds very dodgy to me, but you never know, he could have just replaced the engine

Seems like this has been the newest trend in car scams. There's a similar thread in Whirlpool with similar circumstances.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1810371&p=10

Thank goodness all auction houses list their cars online so you can find them. Always as a minimum do a google on the plates, vin & chassis number.

When inspecting the car - look at wear on the steering wheel, pedals, seats, carpet etc and assess if you think it matches the car's alledged kilometres. For example I would not expect a 5-6 year old car with 50,000km's to have a heavily worn steering wheel or interior knobs/fittings etc. Furthermore, have a look at the screws aroudn the cluster and/or dash to see if you can see any damage or marks that would suggest it was removed. The screws are usually factory painted so if a screwdriver has touched them then they're likely to have chipped paint and/or metal. If you're really concerned about the legitimacy of the km's on the car you're really interested ion - then drive a few similar cars around the same sort of km's/wear and some outside that bracket and see if you can tell any differences in the driving experience.

As always buyer beware with buying second hand vehicles.

Yep, never judge a car by it's speedo reading. With as Magna the driver's seat can be a dead giveaway - wear on the upholstery, failing or compressed seat foam, wear on pedals. Look under the car too, and look for leaks - older/high Km ones tend to leak - and failed driveshaft boots. After that, look at the speedo and decide if the number is true or not. lol

REV's and history reports aren't that expensive and can be done online. By memory around $35. I did a few when I was looking for cars recently.

It's not the "be all and and all" in determining if a car is worth the money, but its a good start. After that step its inspection time - as Madmax suggests. If the vehicle is out of town there are usually independent mechanics that will inspect the vehicle and provide a written report. I had this done when looking at my GTVi and it provided some leverage on price as well as getting a better idea of what I was in for. I also had the bank inspect the vehicle, which they were all to happy to do, though their inspection was purely for cosmetics and general condition.

There's also a green KJ XI FS on there too that I looked at before Christmas. Was listed on EBay back then & it sold for $5,500 with 180,000kms on it.

It's now listed as having 89,000 on it. :woot:

Good reason to buy new. "000043" on the speedo is believable. lol

this happens to jap grey imports all the time. the crooks have a gadget you can buy on ebay that changes the reading. simple as removing the dash and clipping this gadget over the ROM chip that holds the info.

buyer beware unfortunately , and its always the final buyer that has the least legal protection.

*sigh* We may as well join the Club - all of youse, wind your speedos back to zero. I will buy the gadget, and rent it out to youse. lol (This is a joke by the way)

Auction listing (http://www.imasydney.com.au/as_vehicle_details.aspx?sitekey=IMA&mvmta=38737)

Carsales Listing (http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/mitsubishi-verada-2003-11992705?vertical=Car&cr=13&eapi=2&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%204294964597% 204294964081%204294680280&distance=25&silo=Stock&Range=Price:Min,Max~1&sort=default)

This type of thing has been happening for years and years especially in the old skool motor dealers they tried to stop it with digital dashes but given to the right person it is easy to put any amount on the speedo or even still just purchase one with a lower kilometer numbr on it from a wrecker and replace it

*sigh* We may as well join the Club - all of youse, wind your speedos back to zero. I will buy the gadget, and rent it out to youse. lol (This is a joke by the way)

How much to jokingly rent it? >_>

How much to jokingly rent it? >_>

I was kidding, kidding I tells ya!

Actually, I did wind a speedo back once. An old Sigma, put new engine in, repainted it. I wanted to know MY Km in the car, so I reset it. Blew that motor and a second one I built for it. Gave up on it, both died in normal driving through problems known to plague the early astron engines. Dead and gone to the big graveyard in the sky. (or probably u-pull-it, or some other similar silent car park.)

EDIT: Can we add the "low km motor from Japan" myth to the list of fibs told?