Ethics of odometers

[CEgg11]

Hi all - I have a question - I know the law on the matter, that on my title, it will say that the mileage is not accurately shown. But is it ethical to reset the odometer to 0 if :

 

It is a new motor/trans/diff/radiator/floorpans/rails/wiring/lights/rear hatch/brakes/master cylinder/etc etc etc?

 

I'd like to reset it, just to keep up with mileage on the motor without doing the math.

 

Thoughts?

[Pop's Z]

Given that our cars rotate through the odometer several times in their life, and that your car is "new", you can do whatever you like. Go for it. After mine rolls through 99,999 on it's original miles I would reset it if I was to thoroughly re-do the whole car. How many of our cars have rolled around more than once?

 

Cheers, Mike

[Stanley]

Maybe ethics isn't the question. As for as that's concerned, you're in the clear, since there's no intent to deceive. Question is, should you do it.

I had the same idea when I had the engine rebuilt on my 63 Chevy truck. It had 112000 miles and I set it back to zero to keep track of break in period. For my car insurance yearly mileage report, I had to add in the mileage I took out, so it didn't save me any math. Way more math in fact. Then, about 5 years ago, I looked at the mileage for the report, and wrote it down with a number in the thousands place that was actually in the hundreds place (like I'd driven it an extra 6000 miles). AAA charged me extra on my insurance that year. I went down, had to explain what I'd done. They took a photo of my odometer, which was way lower than what I reported. Finally got it straightened out, but it was a hassle. Bad idea, IMO.

[rossiz]

agree that it's a bad idea looking at things long-term as it's always harder to explain an inaccurate odometer than to show a rebuild and do a little math. i bought a '96 4runner and discovered it had been hit & poorly repaired - it was a fix-up project so i decided to sell it and start with a better one. first prospective buyer did a carfax on the vin# and discovered that the PO had also rolled it back 100K miles. now i look like an idiot and a cheat. i spent an afternoon ripping the dash apart, took the odometer apart and rolled it back forwards 100K to put it right. wound up selling it at a loss and it was a huge pita.

 

just write down the mileage at time of restore and keep it w/your folder of receipts - it will be all you need for future reference and should you decide to sell the car down the road, you'll be in a much better place.

[Diseazd]

I agree with rossiz.....

[djwarner]

There is also another issue to consider. Our state motor vehicle departments track mileage at each sale and at other times as well. When I bought my car in Ohio, the previous owner wrote down the mileage as 165??? miles when the actual mileage was 162??? miles. When I went to title the car in Florida, the DMV agent went out to verify the odometer and found the actual mileage lower than what was stated on the Ohio title (63,??? miles). Needless to say, her first impression was fraud, until she realized the odometer was flipped.

 

With the disparity from the previous title, she could not record the current mileage on the Florida title. Since the car was considered a collector car, she ended up using a code indicating the car had unverifiable mileage. As I understand it, the feds have some serious regulations about this now.

[CEgg11]

_{Georgia doesn't have those same requirements. All that is needed in GA is to check a box that says "The odometer isn't correct", so I think I will reset it. I don't have any desire to ever sell this car. If I do, it will be as a collector type purchase anyway.}

[John Coffey]

Once the odometer exceeds its mechanical limits (on our cars its 100,000 miles) the mileage doesn't matter legally or as a way to determine a car's value.