How to make your car travel through time
Anyone can send a car back in time, not just Doc Brown. All you need is a screwdriver, some technical knowledge, lack of morals and a desire to con people out of cash.
So it’s not actually taking a car back in time, and it’s slightly more complex. But if you really want to wind a car’s milometer back, it’s not excessively difficult. You can wind it back so it shows a lower mileage, and appears to be worth more. The one thing is it’s illegal.
This concept of winding milometers back is called clocking. It’s a process that car salesmen of dubious reputation have a hand in once in a while. All they have to do is locate the mechanism that moves the numbers on the dashboard and turning it the other way. Figures that were recently released show that there are over half a million cars in the UK with inaccurate milometers.
Now, there may be a few people reading this who don’t necessarily see a problem with this, so let me explain. As a car grows older and does more miles, its value goes down. Of course, this means that a car that has done a large amount of miles compared to its age (More than 10,000 a year, for example) will be worth less than the same car if it had only done 1,000 miles a year. Also, when a car hits around 100,000 miles it can decrease in value rapidly, so the best way to make a few grand that you might lose out on otherwise? Get that clock wound back.
Garages that do this to you aren’t just scamming you on the forecourt either: If they wind the clock back, the car is going to miss important service intervals and could end up costing you a fortune in mechanic’s bills. So, what can you do to avoid this? First off, a HPI check should be on your list of priorities. It costs, that much is true, but it’s worth it for a complete history of the car, meaning that anything wrong with the car should be pointed out to you in clear terms and you can steer clear.
Also, price comparison websites such asmoneysupermarket have a vehicle valuation tool. This lets you known what your car is really worth. As quite often garages sell cars well over their real value – it’s how they make their money.
Finally, common sense and logic prevail. Any ten year old car with less than 60,000 miles should be checked, and any ex-company cars with only 6,000 miles a year. Think about things clearly before rushing to buy.
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