USA Today advises consumers to be skeptical when buying a low mileage used car.
A NHTSA study six years ago estimated that tampered odometers can be found on 450,000 cars a year, costing consumers $1 billion annually. "It's one of the leading property crimes in the country, and it costs consumers billions," says Rosemary Shahan, founder of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety in Sacramento.
Used car buyers can protect themselves by checking odometer readings against the online records of auto database services, says the auto expert. Carfax provides the service free at www.carfax.com/odo.
Also useful precautions: Look for oil change reminder stickers with mileage that may have been left on the car, and have a mechanic inspect it before buying to look for discrepancies between wear and indicated mileage.
