ebay car purchase has become my worst nightmare

[cjbrown929]

I can see for miles and...

ashkyla: they DID take a few photos of this car, huh? Here's a question: why does the odometer only have 5 digits + 1/10ths? I can't think of any car manufactured nowadays that can't register over 100,000 miles.

My point, and it's admittedly a long shot, is that if for instance the dash (and thus, the odo) was replaced when the car was rebuilt, it would HAVE to be sold as TMU. Even if they put in a new odometer and put a sticker on the doorframe listing the miles when it was changed, same deal.

I feel certain that the (apparently) low mileage on this car was a strong selling point. Due to the extensive amount of damage it obviously suffered, I feel it would be worth investigating if there was even the slightest problem with the odo. Call it a loophole or whatever, it's a FEDERAL loophole and if there IS a problem, the buyer will be in the driver's seat, so to speak. If the odo is off by even a fraction of a mile (sounds nitpicky, but a good lawyer will point out that no one can know if it's 1/4 mile or 40,000 miles), the seller can be held liable

There are many ways the buyer can try to establish whether the miles are right.

 

[cjbrown929]

odo should read 008855.9 not 08855.9

There is DEFINITELY something wrong here.

I called a Ford Mercury Lincoln dealer to confirm what I already suspected: this vehicle should have a six digit (plus one for tenths of a mile) odometer capable of registering up to 999,999.9 miles. The picture of the "odo" on the car purchased shows something like 08855.9, NOT 008855.9, and no, it won't add an extra zero later on.

This dealer or person lied from the get-go. If they had only repaired what they reported, the car would still be under factory warranty (4yr/50k I think) AND it wouldn't have a salvage title. I read most of this guy's positive feedback-they all sounded like they were written by the same person. USE the odometer thing: if I'm right, you can nail him.

I have a feeling that it is set on one of the several "trip" functions.

 

[widebody2]

When I got the car it had almost 10,000 miles on it. The close up on the auction of the odo has like 8xxx. The miles are not a major concern of mine anyway...they are just one more little thing on a list a mile long. The tranny is the malot deal.

 

[cjbrown929]

If I told you that you could possibly get out of your (apparently) bad deal because the seller might've made a major mistake, would you be interested?

I KNOW that you don't care about a minor(?) discrepancy in the miles, but the feds do. Sorry to bother you with a possible solution.

 

[widebody2]

cjbrown, I appreciate the help. Please don't think I am ignoring your advice. I made my last post w/o reading your posts on the second page. The thing about the missing zero has me very interested. The seller obvisouly never said anything about dash parts being replaced. The LS's were first made in 200 I believe so I would expect all of their odometers to go up to 999,999+tenths but who knows...mayeb it was replaced with an older model's. Litterally nothing would surprise me comming from the seller that I bought the car from. He is a flat out criminal.

 

[cjbrown929]

OP: no problem, hopefully some of our collective advice can help.

If your car came with an owners manual, try consulting the section about dash functions. Cars like the LS are so loaded with features that what you and possibly the seller think is an odometer reading could be a "trip" function, which would explain the five digits (ie, trip function will function up to 99,999.9)

I sold cars for ten years, and I can give you my personal guarantee that the odometers for this upscale vehicle (MSRP on an LS V8 can top $40,000) can register up to 999,999.9 miles.

Get out your manual (or call or go to a nearby dealership) to find what buttons you need to push to make sure the numbers you are reading are from the odometer. Generally, there is a small reset/change button right near the LED's. The dash should read "odo" or "odometer", not trip 2. And don't forget, a trip meter will have less miles than the odometer unless it was never reset.

It should be noted that if they used the miles from the TRIP meter, as opposed to the odometer on the contract, you might have an issue an attorney can work with. If not, we tried!

 

[cjbrown929]

Check out the seller's ("Mike") supposed feedback from "satisfied customers"; Two glowing recommendations from different buyers (varuzhan818 and bpbishop) improbably use the exact same words:

"Lincoln just as described...good car...good price...good to his word".

"Good to his word"? Right...

Let this be a lesson to anyone who thinks they are gonna score big by buying something on ebay. It ain't gonna happen, dopey!

 

[widebody2]

I messed with the odometer this morning. Hit the reset button and the switch button a handful of times. The trip is the top numbers...there are 2 setting for this A and B. I reset both. I am pretty confident that the bottom is not another trip because next to it, it says miles...the trip says trip next to it. Also, obviously the miles would not reset. I agree its very strange that the odo wouldn't be able to crack 100k and I agree it doesn't look like another number space will apear once it reaches 100k. I don't have a manual.

 

[cjbrown929]

widebody: I've sold several used lincolns and one thing I remember about them was their almost "exotic" array of dash functions, most of them more confusing than informational

Often, they were so exotic that it took a keen power of attention to follow the manual to achieve a very basic function. Most people who owned them didn't find most of the functions particularly useful, but you know american car manufacturers: they make a big selling point out of, say, having an approximated digital readout of your gas consumption, or the estimated miles the car can travel before the tank runs dry. Down to the tenth of a mile.

Then someone comes by and just wants to know what the reading on the odometer is and it's much harder than it should be. I'll do some more research, but that "missing" 0 bothers me. All of the digital odometers I know will register up to 999,999.9 miles, and thus show 000000.0 when new.

I hope something here will help you. After reading the two identical evaluations the seller supposedly got from different buyers, I read ALL of his reviews. I would give him an AAA++++ for bull**** You need to find an angle that will suit your purpose. The odometer angle is only one, but if it works, it works GOOD.

 

[Zigner]

On my Mercury (granted, much older), it didn't display the tenths spot. The odometer only displayed whole numbers.
The trip odometer DID display the tenths though.

 

[cjbrown929]

Zigner: I haven't checked yet, but I'll bet you're right. Does anybody out there know how to punch the right buttons on a 2004 LS to get the ODOMETER reading?

 

[teflon_jones]

Yeah, read the owner's manual...

 

[cjbrown929]

Teflon-I was busy. I figured someone of your caliber could handle the grunt work.

 

[teflon_jones]

Teflon-I was busy. I figured someone of your caliber could handle the grunt work.

ooooooh low blow.

 

[dallas702]

I did some searching about odometer problems and the Lincoln kept popping up very frequently. I once owned a 1987 Town Car (one of the best cars I ever had, with almost 200K on the clock when I sold it). Because they all had 5 digit odometers you will see people claiming less than 100K all the time. Of course, they are all lying.

Try his site and you should be able to get all your questions answered about your ODO. By perusing the repair companies I get the feeling that the 2000-2002 LS is easily and often tampered with.

http://www.odometer-correction.com/forum/ftopic658.html