Possible rollbacked odometer. Should I wait for the DMV or sue?

[sarxlives]

I'm located in PA.

I bought a car around October 2023 from a low-credit dealer. Before purchasing the vehicle, I tried to do the most in-depth history search ever using various online vehicle search tools (with the exception of Carfax, but I will get back to that in a bit) and everything came back clean.

However, after owning the car for a few months, I got a suspicion that the odometer might not be correct. The car is making creaking noises and some other things just didn't check out. Around January, I decided to run a Carfax report and it came back that the odometer may have been rolled back. I contacted the last mechanic who worked on the car to find out the milage and on the milage in/out they recorded the milage was higher then at purchase.

I have been going back and forth with the dealer trying to get them to look into the matter but they're pressed on using Autocheck, which completely leaves out the milage information, and states it's probably a mistake. I have been bugging and bothering the DMV for about two months now to look into the matter however it's just been pure red tape, pushing to other departments, lost documentation, etc that has honestly wasted so much time.

At this point should I resort to filing a small claims suit? I don't know what the DMV is doing anymore. I sent in the documentation for filing vehicle fraud and the point of contact person apparently lost it. I'm currently financing the vehicle with a horrible upside down loan that eats alot into my income.

 

[quincy]

Here is some information from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on odometers:

https://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/dvspubsforms/BMV/BMV Fact Sheets/fs-odometer.pdf

You can speak to a consumer protection attorney in your area if you need legal assistance.

 

[adjusterjack]

At this point should I resort to filing a small claims suit?

Against who? And for what? Where is your evidence that it was rolled back? If it was, where is your evidence as to who did it.

Besides, how do you expect anybody to advise you when you leave out all the important information.

Year, make, model, features, odometer reading when you bought it, odometer reading and date when that mechanic worked on it, odometer history from the Carfax.

Sure, it could be a mistake. I've had two occasions where odometer mistakes were made.

 

[Taxing Matters]

At this point should I resort to filing a small claims suit?

Against whom? As the plaintiff, you have to have evidence to prove your case. If you sue the dealer, you need evidence it rolled the odometer back or that it had knowledge of it. You may also have to prove the dealer misrepresented the mileage to you when it sold you the car (in other words, if the dealer said nothing about the mileage then there may be no fraud on the part of the dealer even if the dealer knew of the roll back). Whether mere silence on the matter is enough to get the dealer off the hook varies from state to state. But before you reach that issue, you have to show the dealer knew of the roll back. Do you have any evidence that the dealer rolled it back or knew of it? Or was the roll back (if in fact it was rolled back) perhaps done by the previous owner, which he/she used to get a higher trade in value? This is what makes these kinds of cases difficult. You have to identify the right person to sue and enough evidence to convince a judge or jury that the person did what you claim they did. You also have to prove the damages you suffered as a result. Defects in a car can occur at any mileage. If the proper mileage was given to you, it would still be the same car with the same issues. Most used car sales are as is, which means there is no warranty and any problems that come up after the sale are your problem to deal with.

You did a history search, which is good, but you don't mention doing the most important thing when buying a used car: having it inspected by an independent mechanic for any lurking problems in the vehicle. Did you do that? If you did, what was the result of the inspection? If you didn't do it, why didn't you have that done? That inspection may have identified the problem(s) causing the things that are happening with it now that concern you.

 

[Redemptionman1]

a lot of times a car fax discrepancy is someone keyed the mileage in wrong at some point -- either through the local DMV or in maintenance. I doubt you could sue anyone for that and it will be impossible to correct but I would take up your findings with Carfax

 

[adjusterjack]

I would take up your findings with Carfax

With appropriate documentation Carfax will correct its records and provide a corrected copy.