What does Odometer Disclosure Statement mean?

Odometer fraud is very common and has grown in recent years due to the high volume of car sales. A car with less mileage number shown in the odometer is more in demand and has a higher sale value. Due to this reason, sellers often tend to manipulate the odometer reading. The early car models were equipped with analog odometers, which made odometer tampering easy. Today's cars have a digital odometer installed in them. Due to a federal law called the Federal Truth in Mileage Act (1986), every automobiles' mileage is stored in a database and is updated every time a vehicle is sold.  

Digital Odometer rollback is on a rise

Many people have an impression that odometer tampering has reduced with the arrival of digital odometers. This is not true at all. In fact, digital odometers are much easier to tamper with than analog ones. The primary motivation to roll back an odometer is to sell the car for a higher price than its actual worth. Because the lesser the mileage of a car is, the higher is its resale value. 

What Is An Odometer Disclosure Statement?

In case you are planning to buy or sell a car, you should be familiar with the term 'odometer disclosure statement' and its requirement. An odometer disclosure statement washington is nothing but a declaration of a vehicle's mileage as shown by its odometer, and if whether it is an accurate reading or not. In case you are not aware, you have completed a generic odometer disclosure statement if you have ever sold a car. 

Why is it required?

The law states that odometer disclosure is required, with a certain exception for some vehicles. It means that violation of this law will result in heavy fines and even imprisonment. In the state of California, vehicles that are ten years old or older are not required to have their mileage disclosed. Commercial vehicles with weight limits are also not required to disclose their mileage. Apart from them, vehicles sold by a manufacturer directly to an agency and vehicles transferred before their first retail sale are also exempted from the list.   

Conclusion

It's important to be honest about your automobile's mileage as odometer tampering, as stated by federal law, is an offence that can result in heavy fines and imprisonment. It's okay if you cannot show the real number but make sure that it is mentioned as such while conducting the sale. You can also get a VHR (Vehicle History Report) to see the past recorded mileage of the automobile. If you want to be guided through the odometer disclosure statement, consult a professional and reliable service to help you through the process. 

Andrew Richardson is the author of this Article. To know more about What is Car mileage please visit our website: allenstewart.com

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Created on Dec 29th 2021 05:02. Viewed 98 times.

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