looking at ford raptor ..question

In Tennessee the title has a square to check if the mileage on the vehicle is not correct. You have to sign the title saying this is a true statement, This truck has much larger tires and a lift kit. The seller says he will have to check this square if he sells the truck. Is this on other state titles?

 

I believe it is for Oregon.

 

The concern is not having the correct mileage, might affect Ins. values.

 

https://www.tn.gov/safety/tnhp/sib/odometerfraud.html

"No person or agent of any person shall misrepresent the mileage on a used motor vehicle which is offered for sale, trade-in or exchange by changing the mileage registering instrument of a used motor vehicle so as to show a lesser mileage reading than that recorded by the instrument..."

I don't live in TN and I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds like the intent is to certify that the odometer is not fraudulently changed or reset. It's not fraud to put bigger wheels on a truck, and it's still the original odometer recording the metrics.

Free advice is free, though. And usually worth every penny.

 

Most states have a similar notation on the vehicle title. Used to be for rolled odometers (5 digit ones). Also a concern if you've swapped dash components or rebuilt the instrument cluster or ...

Oversize tires also cause inaccurate odometers, depending on tire size. My 255/85s give me 7% more miles per indicated mile...

 

I've sold several vehicles in TN with aftermarket lift/tires and I've never heard of the need to check that. Its purpose is to show the odometer hasn't been fraudulently changed.

 

If the seller feels obliged to check that box, good for him for his honesty.

Or....does he know something that he is not telling you?


I think I'd pass.

ETA: Checking that box may flag the VIN with the State (and CarFax)...what happens when you sell the truck and don't check the box?

 

It's in Arizona too. I wouldn't buy if he checks that box, there's no way you will get what you want for it if you ever sell it.

ETA: If you really want to buy it, make him get the odometer recalibrated.

 

I have a couple of Tennessee titles. This is the exact wording the seller is worried about .

"I certify to the best of my knowledge that the odometer reading is the actual mileage of the vehicle. "

The next line has a warning in large letters " Warning ..Odometer Discrepancy "

https://cdn.theclunkerjunker.com/titles/TN/TN_title_back.png

 

It's lying. Reputation is what others think of you. Honor is about what you know of yourself.

 

It’s a federal requirement I believe. You only check the box if the odometer is NOT correct. If he wants to check the box because of that, know that the value of the truck will be significantly affected.

 

I would venture to guess that most people who put bigger wheels/tires on their truck don't even fully understand that it could have an impact on odometer mileage. I kinda think it's a non-issue and your seller is wayyyy overthinking.

But again, free advice is free.

 

If he checks the box, offer him the new value of the truck.

 

Not in the movie karate kid 2.

 

Its to make sure the odometer has not been tampered with and nothing else. Let me give you an example:

You buy a used truck with stock everything including tires. This truck however has been only making left turns on it's route for five years. The outside tires had 500 more miles than the inside tires. The sensor is on the outside tire. Would you report it?

Just for reference, if you drove 200 laps around a circle with a diameter of one mile you would put an extra mile on the outside tire.

 

So the speedo/odo is calibrated exactly for OEM tires? Does it re-calibrate as the tires wear? No and no. All vehicles have error already. FFS.

 

I buy from Costco. They will only sell and install tires that the size on the door indicates. They will go 3-4% larger if you insist. They insist they will NOT be held liable for law suits because of speedometer error. They will sell you any size tire and you can pay for it and leave the store without getting them installed at Costco. My Toyota dealer says the same thing about liablity . They will not disconnect the Millimeter Radar Camera in the grill if you go to larger tires . You will lose the safety features of the vehicle at your own peril. Even one size larger tire could cause an error light to appear. The Collision stop might not be accurate, opening the door for a legal challenge in court about accidents.

 

The seller is overthinking this. That question is most likely on every title. But even from the factory the odometer will often be off by 5% even if you stay with factory tires. My Tacoma's odometer and speedometer were showing me high by 2-3% with factory tires. When I went up in size they were correct. At least until the tires wore down.

Back in the day odometers only went to 100,000 miles then went back to 0. It wasn't uncommon for cars to have 175,000 miles on them and sellers passed them off as having 75,000 miles. Or in some cases the odometer broke and didn't record anything. That is the purpose for the question. My truck has 199,000 miles on it, +/- 2000-3000 due to odometer error. No one cares about that small amount of error.

 

I've been on a BMW forum for years. Almost everyone says the BMW speedometers are 4% to fast when they are sold new. It's a sales pitch. You think you are going faster than you really are. There are laws about how much error is legal , BMW pushes the limits.

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-259272.html

 

There are no laws, only SAE standards lol. For speedometers, the standard is plus minus 2%.
Somebody is worrying too much. Even underinflated tires will cause a big difference.