Used car buyers beware! These are the most commonly clocked ‘nearly new’ brands as sellers hide true mileage

One in 14 ‘nearly new’ cars advertised for sale in the last year have been ‘clocked’ to hide their true mileage, according to new data.

A new report has revealed the extent of mileage cheating on one-year-old cars, commonly referred to as ‘nearly new’ and sought after by some buyers.

By falsifying a vehicle’s mileage, sellers can list cars with prices well above their true value – and there is very little victims of this type of activity can do to get their money back.

Below we reveal the brands with year-old cars that were identified as being clocked most commonly in the last 12 months.

Used car buyers need to conduct history checks on one particular Japanese brand when purchasing a ‘nearly new’ example to make sure it hasn’t had its mileage adjusted

Why modern day clocking happens

Clocking is a long-running con against car buyers but has stepped into the modern age with the advent of digital odometers and mileage-related finance deals.

The new figures come from data shared by CarVertical – a vehicle history checking service that allows consumers to check if a used vehicle has previously been written off, outstanding finance or had the mileage shown on the odometer adjusted.

It says that 7.1 per cent of all nearly new cars it has checked between September 2012 and this month were flagged as having been clocked.

While clocking is often seen as a dying crime that’s solely targeted at older vehicles, CarVertical says such assumptions are wide of the mark.

The act of ‘clocking’, which was prevalent in the days of analogue vehicle odometers that were simple to wind back, has become more common thanks to new tech available to those who want to manipulate the shown mileage.

Easy access to mileage adjustment services online, some of whom will behave legitimately – but others less so – are all exacerbating the return of this dodgy activity.

What’s also making it more common, according to experts, is the increase in mileage-related finance arrangements such as Hire Purchase and Personal Contract Purchase.

These make drivers more likely to consider finding ways to alter the digital odometer in their car to avoid costly penalties for exceeding mileage allowances in their contracts.

Clocking was prevalent in the days of analogue vehicle odometers that were simple to wind back. Now you can find services online that can adjust the indicated mileage on a digital dash

Meanwhile, falsely lowering a used vehicle’s mileage can inflate its sale price by as much as 25 per cent, CarVertical has estimated.

This means unwitting buyers could overpay by thousands of pounds. 

It can also lead to much higher maintenance costs, as clocked cars that have been driven more miles than it appears will have also sustained more wear and tear.

And for victims who buy a clocked car, it can be particularly difficult to seek justice and compensation.

That’s because the act itself of clocking a car’s odometer is not an offence.

Instead, it’s only a criminal action if a clocked car is sold on the used market without its genuine mileage being declared.

Most clocked nearly-new cars by brand

CarVertical’s data shows that almost one in five nearly-new Nissans it checked in the last year were clocked.

Renault, Peugeot, Kia and Citroen follow behind, with the vehicle history checker saying more than one in ten of each brand was found to have had the mileage adjusted in the last 12 months.

Nissan topped the charts for most clocked nearly-new cars by brand in the last 12 months. A staggering 18.9% of models checked by CarVertical since September 2022 were found to have adjusted mileage, it claims

Overall, 9.6 per cent of cars of all ages checked on CarVertical since September 2012 were found to be clocked. 

‘With around 1.8 million used cars changing hands each quarter in 2023, around 690,000 drivers are at risk of becoming a victim of mileage fraud this year alone,’ it said.

Matas Buzelis from CarVertical added: ‘A lot of drivers might think buying a newer used car which has had fewer owners and miles on the road is a safer bet.

‘But buying a newer vehicle doesn’t eliminate the risks of getting a car with clocked mileage or hidden defects.

‘Some new car buyers purchase vehicles and agree not to exceed a certain mileage so they can get better financing or lower their monthly rates. However, fraudulent drivers ignore these agreements and roll the odometer readings back so it appears they complied with the contract they signed.’

He went on: ‘A car’s mileage is a crucial determining factor of how much it’s really worth. So when you’re shopping for a second-hand car, it’s essential that you get an accurate mileage figure, and are aware of any other issues, such as damage, that might impact its true value.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk