Generally speaking, used car dealers would prefer NOT to know about problems
with their cars, so they can say with complete honesty that they weren't
aware that the odometer was rolled back (or that the head was cracked,
sawdust in the transmission, etc.).
In Virginia, and I presume many other states, the seller (either private or
a dealer) must either certify that the mileage on the odometer is accurate
or say that it is unknown (in which case, that will be reflected on the new
title).
Right now, I don't believe there's a way for most dealers to run Carfax
checks on the used cars they buy at auction, which is where they get most of
them. So the dealer didn't run a Carfax check before he bought it, he
probably wouldn't want to run one before he sold it, in case it gave him bad
news.
(Example: I'm a car dealer. I buy a car where the title shows 80k. I run a
Carfax check and find out that the 80k is bogus and it's probably more like
150k. Do I disclose that when I sell the car, sharply reducing its value? If
I don't disclose, of course, then I'm committing fraud. On balance, I'm
probably better off NOT running Carfax and hoping for the best.)
That said, I think this is changing. Dealers are victims of odometer fraud
as much as anybody else, and I think the Carfax/Experian checks will become
almost universal components of any transaction.
However, I fully agree with Gene's comments that a thorough check by
somebody who knows Triumphs is much more valuable than a Carfax report.
Graham
Graham> ... and he'd bought the car from a dealer who certified the
Graham> mileage as accurate (and the dealer probably didn't know unless
Graham> he ran his own Carfax check, since it didn't happen on his
Graham> watch, either).
I can't imagine why a dealer would certify the mileage on a car not known to
it. I assume a Carfax check for dealers is pretty cheap insurance against
* getting sued for something trivial by the person who buys the car from
them
* getting fleeced by an unscrupulous seller
especially for fairly valuable cars (dunno if a 928 qualifies as such
anymore).
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