"Incorrect Mileage" affecting trade-in

[andrewmc]

I live in Wisconsin

About May last year, I bought a car from the Ernie Von Schledorn dealership in Menominee Falls. It was a used car, which I paid for using a combination of a trade in and check. This week, I was thinking about changing cars again, and when I went to get my car appraised, the carfax sent up a red flag that incorrect mileage was reported, and I can only get 2-3k for my car. A friend of mine told me that I may have a case to get my money back from the dealership for not informing me of this, because had I known about this issue, I would not have bought the car. There is nothing on the title denoting incorrect mileage either. Any advice?

 

[justalayman]

is there a place to mark "mileage unknown" or anything or the sort and was it checked?

 

[andrewmc]

on the title or on some piece of paperwork?

 

[justalayman]

most states have something right on the title.

but then, you may not have seen the title. If not, any paperwork. I believe there is a mileage disclosure that you must receive stating the mileage or unknown.

 

[CraigFL]

What was said is correct but it is also possible that Carfax is wrong or even the person who reported the mileage was wrong. If the dealer reports 91,000 miles one time when it should be 41,000 miles because the writing was sloppy, it can cause a problem like this.

 

[andrewmc]

right. So if it is incorrect, how could I prove that/get it fixed.

there is nothing on the title stating any mileage inconsistencies, so would I have to check the paperwork?

Assuming I was duped, what would be the next course of action?

 

[justalayman]

here are a few sites that have a wealth of info concerning this:

Odometer Fraud | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) | U.S. Department of Transportation

CARFAX Used Car Buying Guide: Odometer rollback fraud tips

Federal Odometer statute, odometer rollback, tampering and fraud

 

[andrewmc]

ok, one last thing. On the title, it says

exempt from odometer- vehicle over 10 years old

does this mean I have no case? Just because it's an older vehicle doesn't mean it should be exempt from the law of telling someone if their odometer is incorrect right?

 

[justalayman]

I would have to research but if it clearly states that, then I would suggest this removes any liability for an odometer disclosure and as long as they did not intentionally lie to you about the mileage, you have no recourse.