Odometer Fraud

It seems a bit difficult to commit odometer fraud on a Tacoma, since you basically have to swap out the ECU too. I know with my motorcycle, it's stupid (read "scary") easy to do and only involves removing one bolt and swapping the gauge cluster.

Does anyone know what would be involved in changing the Odometer reading? I'm assuming the ECU would have to be swapped, correct? Is there a VIN # stored on the ECU to cross reference with the frame/body VIN?

I would assume there would likely be some sort of inconsistency like this if you were to investigate. Short of having someone skilled actually hack the ECU and cover their tracks, which I doubt the seller would have the knowledge of

 

again thank all of you for your responses. I will definitely be updating this thread with any news I get. karmas a b.

 

Eh.. if it's in great shape and you like it and plan on driving it into the ground then I'd not let it bother me too much.

Certainly a bit of a punch in the dick, but if it's as good as you say it is (a mechanic can verify condition of engine and trans for not much money), then enjoy it. You won't have any real legal recourse unless you want to sue the guy who sold it to you, but if he doesn't have any money and can't pay you, what good is that judgement?

That's about all you can do, and as has been said.. not much point.

 

i agree with la0d0g. getting swindled is shitty, don't necessarily give up on what legal options you might have, but don't give up on the truck either. the truck hasn't changed since you bought it, your understanding of it has.

if you like the truck, focus on that. they're great trucks, you'll get a lot of life out of it even if it has 220. it will mean some added preventative maintenance, but you were going to do that eventually anyway.

 

from what I've been told, all you have to do is swap the odometer unit or the entire gauge cluster, and it will read different mileage, and I don't think, but am not sure, if there is a vin# stored on the ecu. if anyone does have this info tho it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Maybe just take it as a life lesson, on the good side my grandpa owns a 2002 with 290k. Timing belt and water pump have been replace twice and it runs like new. zero problems, replace those 2 just to be safe that way you will know when it was done. 1st gen are bulletproof for what I have seen.

 

I like that, I've been telling myself all day "it's not the trucks fault".

again, the dilemma is, am I throwing good money after bad?

 

Happens all the time, very easy to do in California for $100 in LA. As for CarFax, the data is only as good as what is reported. For example, Toyota owner will do all his own maintenance to include any and all free services so that mileage is never recorded or reported and then roll back odometer prior to selling. CarFax will not reflect any of this nor would you have much of an argument or case in civil court to prove such an action occurred. Second situation is in the case of higher price point race cars (read 911s, R8s, and such) get used as intended for the most part and all the associated damage that goes along with racing and then fix out of pocket to avoid losing equity in the investment. Once again, CarFax will not reflect any of this work or damage because it was not done through insurance and never reported to CarFax.

 

Not sure on newer vehicles but not so long ago you could put the vehicle up on blocks and just drive it in reverse. The odometer would go backwards

 

LOL

 

I did not read the whole thread has any thought been given that it was a typo ??

I run into this all the time .

Last Truck I bought the Notary butchered The VIN not even close so when the Title showed up it was not even close

Just a thought .

The hard part will be proving criminal intent

 

I can confirm that this would work. On my old Tacoma (2000), I swapped a member on here for his white-faced gauges from his 01-04 Tacoma. He wanted the black-faced gauges from my 98-00. We removed the ODO portion of the gauge cluster and the mileage stayed with the correct vehicle.

 

The typo theory is definitely valid, but changing mileage is very easy to do up into second and third gen tacomas. The hardware may have safeties built in, but the software is a fairly simple hack. Either way, sorry for the displeasure in your purchase and sucks when people cheat.

 

Did you run any other reports, such as an AutoCheck, to make sure it shows the same information as Carfax?

 

Hmm, I wonder if maybe the VIN is etched on the motherboard of the gauge cluster. You could look for tool marks on the screws and fasteners too, to see its been removed or tampered with.

 

I haven't, but toyota dealership records match car fax.

yeah if anyone knows this it would be much appreciated.

 

If you have the guy's contact information (ideally take a photo of the driver's license of the seller PRIOR to purchasing), then what you could do is threaten legal action and threaten to report him to the police (even though its a civil issue according to the police). A scammer (assuming he is one) does not want to get into legal trouble, civilly or criminally. I don;t know how long its been, but I doubt he spent all the money already, that to me sounds like some BS excuse. You want to basically get a refund for the entire purchase price, or at the very least, get a couple grand back. If you have any lawyer friends who can draft a letter threatening legal action on legal letter head, that would make the threat actually worth the paper its written on. It is not worth actually suing of course, since the hourly rate of an attorney will eat up whatever money you hoped to recover. The idea here is to posture so that the seller caves. A scammer generally thinks that an item of this value would never be worth suing over, the calculus however changes dramatically if you have connections that make suing worthwhile. Document everything.

 

You have no clue on the financial situation with the seller. You also have no clue whether he's aware the odometer isn't correct or not.

But yeah, threaten him. That'll definitely fix it.

 

may or may not fix it, just a suggestion since the options are extremely limited. If he bought the truck on craigslist in the bay area, fraud is not uncommon in the area.

 

Coincidentally, neither are legit vehicle sales.