Odometer Rollback in NJ

[Chalis1211]

What is the name of your state? NJ
2 Months ago I approached a guy that I'm acquainted with (We live in a small community where everybody knows, or knows of, everyone else) about his 1988 BMW M3. He said that he was willing to sell it to me for $10,000. The car odometer read a little over 54,000 miles on it. I paid him by Check and received the car & the title to it. The title that I received has the original owners name on it ~ the guy that I bought it from never had it switched over into his name. I ran a CarFax Report about a month ago & discovered that the last reported mileage on the car was at a little over 96,000 miles & that was in 1999. I approached the guy & obviously he claims to know nothing about the mileage being rollbacked. I tried to contact the original owner, but he has not returned my phone calls. I don't know what to do. Since he never transferred the title into his name, I can't really prove that I bought the car from him. I do have the bank records copy of the check that he cashed ... It states on the check that it's for a BMW M3. I really believe that the rollback was from the guy that I purchased it from .... He's has his own Auto Repair Shop .... So, he's probably familiar with how to do it. Can I take legal action against him even if the title wasn't ever put into his name? I, myself, haven't put the title into my name yet because I want all of this to be straightened out before I do. Any advice? Thank you to all who respond.What is the name of your state?

[DRTDEVL]

I think it was a typo along the way...

Think about it. For a car that was 6-18 months old when the mileage was reported as 96,000, it would have needed to roll an average of 5300 miles per month (for 18 months old) to 16,000 miles per month (6 months). BMW M3's just aren't driven like that. It was probably reported at 9600 miles in 1999 (600-1600 miles per month), just got messed up along the way.

If you are really questioning the odometer reading, take it to a dealer. They can look to see if the computer is original, and if so, check the programming to see what odometer reading it says. Can't change that one.

[teflon_jones]

Originally Posted by DRTDEVL

I think it was a typo along the way...

I think you misread the original post. It's a 1988 and in 1999 it was reported with 96,000 miles on it, or 727 miles/month.

Unless the OP can prove that the seller knew how many miles were actually on the vehicle, they're out of luck.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by Chalis1211

What is the name of your state? NJ
2 Months ago I approached a guy that I'm acquainted with (We live in a small community where everybody knows, or knows of, everyone else) about his 1988 BMW M3. He said that he was willing to sell it to me for $10,000. The car odometer read a little over 54,000 miles on it. I paid him by Check and received the car & the title to it. The title that I received has the original owners name on it ~ the guy that I bought it from never had it switched over into his name. I ran a CarFax Report about a month ago & discovered that the last reported mileage on the car was at a little over 96,000 miles & that was in 1999. I approached the guy & obviously he claims to know nothing about the mileage being rollbacked. I tried to contact the original owner, but he has not returned my phone calls. I don't know what to do. Since he never transferred the title into his name, I can't really prove that I bought the car from him. I do have the bank records copy of the check that he cashed ... It states on the check that it's for a BMW M3. I really believe that the rollback was from the guy that I purchased it from .... He's has his own Auto Repair Shop .... So, he's probably familiar with how to do it. Can I take legal action against him even if the title wasn't ever put into his name? I, myself, haven't put the title into my name yet because I want all of this to be straightened out before I do. Any advice? Thank you to all who respond.What is the name of your state?

Why did you even bother with the carfax report a month AFTER you purchased the vehicle? Is there something now wrong with it, that you decided to check it AFTER the purchase, but not BEFORE?

[DRTDEVL]

Originally Posted by teflon_jones

I think you misread the original post. It's a 1988 and in 1999 it was reported with 96,000 miles on it, or 727 miles/month.

Unless the OP can prove that the seller knew how many miles were actually on the vehicle, they're out of luck.

I didn't say where the typo was now, did I?

[genivieve]

How ever the typo is first off, the person who sold the car is title jumping. Which is illegal. Contact your DMV and make a complaint.

I am not that familiar with NJ titles but almost all titles make you sign on odometer disclosure. Again contact DMV to see what the mileage was that was written by the previous owner.

The car would be exempt for mileage if it was over 10 years old. The problem with the whole speedometer thing is, they do break. And they come in a cluster. So replacing the speedometer means replacing the odometer also. It could be an honest mistake. I know many dealers that do change the clusters just to give the appearence of lower mileage, then they will list the vehicle as "TMU - true milege unknown"

[Zigner]

Does the odometer read 6 digits for that car? If not, it's not a "roll back", it's a "roll over."

[2901bruce]

No. This car probably has 100k+ miles. Didn't you & seller create a bill-of-sale, or something in writing?? If not, the cancelled check should be sufficient. Find out what the deducted mileage cost ($$$$) should be from Kelley Blue Books, then if the seller won't pay this cost difference, take him to small-claims court. Even if he claims ignorance - he sold you the car under deception, & he's in the auto business. Next time you buy any used car, give the seller a small, 24 hour refundable deposit to hold the vehicle (get a receipt). Run home, get on the internet, and look up the car on CarFax. If anything is not to your liking on the report, go back & get your deposit.