I like your post but it has a possible flaw....
What if, the previous owner of your car had fancy ( larger diameter ) aftermarket wheels fitted in 2008, but had the original factory wheels and tyres stored for 3 years and he just swapped the originals back ( selling the aftermarkets ) just prior to them advertising the car for sale? Or maybe, you got one of the few legit cars on the road in HK.
just saying...lol
Last edited by Skyhook; 07-04-2015 at 03:47 PM.
It's no different to stealing in my opinion...in some ways it's worse because it also involves premeditated and deliberate dishonesty and has a long term financial impact in maintenance costs as well as, perhaps, safety issues.
Put the odometer reading in a database at every MOT.
They should do this during EVERY transfer of ownership. If the system could react like it does when it discovers there is money owed to the government ( unpaid fine with court costs etc ) it locks the the screen so the transfer to the new owner cannot take place, the moment the TD database detects that the mileage listed at transfer is lower than what was previously recorded.
Once discovered, then the system issues a large fine and refuses to allow the transfer until the previous mileage has been reinstated back to the odometer. This would be great, but all of a sudden, HK's mythically low car mileage would all have post 80,000km for a 5 year old car, double and more for a 10 year old family car (50% less on 2 seat sports cars ) like everywhere else in the world....
I wont hold my breath about the govt doing anything about this....HK just isnt that type of city.
Last edited by Skyhook; 07-04-2015 at 06:55 PM.
It's indeed a simple matter of changing the system so that it is not possible to re-register if the mileage has been wound back. It works simply in other countries. It's another example of the very poor attitude of government towards consumer protection.
I've had 3 used cars here, and all have had their mileages wound back. Its very easy to get into a habit of just accepting the status quot, when, in reality, things like this are screaming out to be changed, but maybe never will.
It's similar in some ways to issues such as building regulations, town planning, and food safety. The consumer is very vulnerable to so many unscrupulous, but common, practices.
So many newspaper reports of access roads in rural villages being blocked off, roads not accessible by emergency services, the issues around alterations to flats for multiple tenants, illegal structures on rooftops, bait and switch selling practices, collusion in building refurbishment contracts, development in country parks, the role of property developers buying up sites before they are listed for development and the list goes. on..........
I'm surprised he was caught, since it is a well-known trick in the trade.
Yes, as Skyhook said, you can get the real mileage if you want to, but most second-hand buyers don't bother given the bureaucratic process, otherwise why would these dealers still engage in this blatantly illegal act? Because they know in 99% of cases they can get away with it.
Try calling the respective dealer / importer and asking for the service history (just the dates & kms and not what has been done) as this has nothing to do with the previous owner's private info.
They'll most likely spin you the privacy BS and refuse to tell you anything. In this case just email the respective brand's HQ in Germany/japan telling them what you are after and they will help you with the local dealer.
Be sure to mention about this will help them protect their brand image and resale and how much you love their product and how their local importer wasn't very helpful.
It's not they have nothing better to do. You are about to buy one of their products hence a customer (service & parts) and a potential new car customer.
And yes, a German brand based in Bavaria helped me with the local importer providing me with the car's history.
It was a 4 year old car so relatively new, may not be too helpful with a older car tho as the dealer may no longer service the car.