Ore. bill would prevent dealers from rolling back used car mileage
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PORTLAND, Ore. – Monty King is passionate about Oregon House Bill 3137.
“We’re talking about odometer fraud. Is there other dealers doing it? You bet there are,” said King, who is the president of the Oregon Vehicle Dealers Association. “I’m gonna bring this bill back to the legislature session after session after session until you pass it.”
A KATU Problem Solvers investigation in 2010 inspired the bill to stop dealers from using a common trick: rolling back the mileage on used cars.
Right now, the Oregon DMV does not keep track of mileage on cars that are more than 10 years old. That means if you’re buying a used car, you may have to trust that the seller – and the odometer – are telling the truth.
The DMV started keeping track of mileage in 1990, when there were fewer older cars on the road. Now, the average car is nearly 11 years old.
The bill would require the DMV to keep odometer records on every car from the last time it was bought or sold. King says honest car dealers want the DMV to keep track.
“We want everybody to do it because that’s what gets rid of the bad guys,” he said.
Amy Joyce with the Oregon Department of Transportation said keeping those additional records would require an upgrade at the DMV.
“The current system has the computer system set up in a way to only accept certain numbers,” said Joyce. “So if the bill passes, the computer system needs to be changed and it costs money to change the computer system.”
Joyce said that cost would be about $80,000. For King, that’s not too much.
“For less than a penny a person in the state of Oregon, a one-time fee, we can do better,” he said.
The bill is currently on the agenda of the House transportation committee. There was a public hearing on Monday, although future action has not yet been scheduled.
On older vehicles you can almost never believe what the odometer says. Many don't have enough digits to tell how many hundreds of thousands of miles and it could have been unplugged for years. You're better off checking compression and driveability than what the odometer says. Seems like a big expense and a big cost/effectiveness ratio for something that is already against the law. This won't help anyway - all the cars that are over ten years old don't have any mileage records anyway.
@The Voice of Reason The bill is VOLUNTARY. the reaqson you want readings from people who sell their vehicles is so people later on don't get screwed by the bad guys.
Oregon DMV does NOT enter into the electronic record any numbers past the 9th year. Cars are on the road for 22 years now. Why are inexpensive cars being protected and not cars owned by the less wealthy?
In the "good ole days", I would borrow moms car to go "to the movies". We would have to spend a bunch of time driving backwards in a parking lot to get the odometer back to a reasonable number after spending the night cruising on the strip. Yes, by driving in reverse, the OD would also reverse. Had to love the mechanical OD's. LOL
Another stupid law is NOT going to keep the criminals from doing what they do.
@wondering The idea is that people buying the cars can see the odometer reading is not truthful. We don't need the cops, or anybody else once we have the right information. The only way to do that is to get DMV to enter the numbers into the record, and let Carfax buy the information. Carfax can't give you what they can't get from Oregon DMV.
I buy new cars. Â The odometer usually says "11".
Not only is it the law, but if you try it with mechanical odometers, the numbers get messed up. The electronic ones can't be reset without some rather expensive equipment.
If you are buying a car more than 10 years old, all that matters is that it runs and can pass DEQ.
@david_42 You are not right. I've talked with lots of mecahnical shops and they say it is easier. The correct odometer reading might be buried in the computer, but they can make the visible display change. Also, they can change out the odometer with one that says less miles. Same effect.
@david_42Â
I have owned two vehciles that were "byeond mechanical" i.e. their OD had rolled over.
Both lasted another 100,000 miles. It's not about the OD reading, it's about the car.Â
@Repoman @david_42 When the odo rollers make it low miles on the odometer, then it is about the miles. Fake miles. Thats what the bill tries to get at.
@Repoman @david_42 If I roll my jeep around the odometer does does it register that tenth of a mile?Â
I once bought a jeep with "104,160" miles on it. Probably more like 300,000, given that the jeep I drive now has 200,000 and is in much better shape.
It's already the law. Do we really need a new for something that amounts to a policy change at the DMV. I smell a Burdick.
@Conspirator It is NOT already the law. the DMV is only recording odometers on vehicles 9 years and newer, even when the person selling the vehicle gives them the odometer reading at the time of sale. DMV is burying it in their microfilm, and not selling the information to Carfax. Thats the problem, for consumers and honest dealers, too.
"honest car dealers", Isn't that an oxymoron??Â
this bogus article is total bs. car salesmen are among the most honest people out there. even more honest than loan sharks and chicago politicians
@PhuzzEveryone is more honest than a Chicago politician.
You don't have to go that far.Salems just an hour away they are spending money and giving our heritage away with kitzhaber
Obviously its ALREADY illegal to roll back the odometers.......
What this bill would do is have the DMV keep track of the miles when the vehicle gets new tags so  with DMV having a record of the mileage it will then prevent the dealers from rolling back the mileage since  the actual miles have been documented within the prior two years.Â
Actually, the auto manf.  are already fixing the problem with digital speedo's that can't be  rolled back.Â
@kramr The electronic ones can be fooled too, and they can also be replaced iwth odometers with less miles on them, same effect.
@kramrÂ
My issue is having to get the OD reading when you buy or sell a car as a private person.Â
Plate, VIN, OD, what next the air pressure in the tires?
@Repoman @kramr It is a voluntary records law, not mandatory.
@kramr Yes, and the music industry is taking steps to prevent piracy...I am fairly certain anything Detroit comes up with, will be cracked within weeks.  The only difference is we will then be able to be wrong with a high degree of confidence :)
just dont buy a car from a dealer that you are not familiar with. Â Arm yourself with as much information you can before you go in to make the deal. Â Use kelly bluebook and other online resources to determine car value. And ask the dealer point blank if the car has been wrecked, by law that have to tell the truth if they know. Â use the lemon law if you get hosed and get your financing done in advance
remember these are professional negotiators whose goal is to make money
they, enjoy your new ride, car ownership is a great privledge
@From the OC The lemon law only applies to NEW cars, not used cars. arm youself with the latest odometer readings. Thats what the bill is about.
did anyone read the article? The title is a little confusing but-  It's not a new bill against roll-back, "The bill would require the DMV to keep odometer records on every car from the last time it was bought or sold." -because they know the dealers will shirk the law no matter what.
Or you could just do a Carfax which saved me from buying 2 crappy cars-both from the early 1990's.Â
@djshimon Wrong. It is a new bill agasint rol-backs, but it would not REQUIRE you to submit odometer readings on older cars. If you gave it to DMV, they would have to keep that in the record until the next record came in. But Carfax would have it by then.
I thought tat activity was already illegal.
You mean that <<<GASP!>>> people aren't obeying the law???
@Mikey For th emost part, this law is enforced by the peole buying cars, and checking the records to see what the past odometer readings were. Other states do this for their citizens. Oregon does not.
Hmm... If only there were such a law....
Oh! wait... There IS!ORS 815.410 Illegal odometer tampering
Nnnnnnnnnnnext!
I can understand why the legicritters are working so hard at feel good legislation, the actual biggest problem facing the state of Oregon is... well... the cost of the state of Oregon. Since it's unlikely that they're going to get a cart blanche approval of any significant tax (read:revenue) increases, and their popularity among voters for upcoming reelections will likely be hampered by any real efforts to cut costs at state agencies (read:state employee union PR blitz), it's much easier and palatable to simply go after do nothing, feel good legislation that really doesn't do anything......well, nothing that isn't already done anyway.Â
@MarkKpic Bill is not by legislators, it is by the car dealer industry, against the bad guys in the industry. Simple, eh?
First off isn't it against Federal law to roll back miles? Â So if Oregon make a new law to prevent this, will it stop? Â
No it won't.
@MFMFIM Law was made when cars only lasted 10 years. Now they last 22+. Time to get with the present.
I thought this was already illegal
Remember, if ya dont come see me today, i cant save you any money!
So Google can profile my demographic and send specific ads...that I don't want.... directly to my email and KMART knows that my daughter is pregnant but the DMV can't keep track of milage on a vehicle with a known and unique VIN number? Really?
http://www.couponaholic.net/2012/02/great-article-target-figures-out-16-year-old-is-pregnant-before-her-father-details-on-how-they-push-your-spending-buttons/
....Oh, and it's going to cost $80K to fix that....politicians make too much money for doing too little work. It's like the American people have to pay an extra gratuity to get politicians to do what they were elected to do in the first place......their excuse: "well, the corporations pay me so if you want the best treatment.....skin my palm...." Â
They should just HANG dishonest car dealers. Problem Solved!
@32jim2Â Â
 That would be a lot of hangings....and a lot of left over polyester plaid suits.
Good grief, is the DMV still running a pretty interface over the old DOS system?
It'd have to be, to cost that much.
@starshadow Yep, thats exactly what has happened.Â
80k to change the software? *cough* 1 field in the DB and Client? Yeah...
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@TheUglyTruth There can be no enforcement with the database of odometer readings, which DMV is not keeping. therefore no enforcement. The biggest enforcement is a person buying a vehicle and being able to see the odometer has been spun back. No sale. No government involvement. A good thing all around.
@TheUglyTruth  There is nothing better to resolve a problem that results from not enforcing a law that you already have on the books than adding another law to the books that you don't plan to enforce....that is the beauty of bureaucracy....more laws and bigger budgets and more people but zero change. Â
I thought the DMV already kept odometer records? I'm confused. It's already illegal to roll the mileage back. Â
This sounds more like the first step in instituting a mileage tax or some such thing. The whole part about "prevent dealers from rolling back used car mileage" is just a red herring.
@axpman DMV only keeps records on vehicles 9 year old and newer. Cars now last 22+ years. Lots of room for fraud, right?
@65gtoman You've missed the boat. This isn't about fraud or keeping dealers legal. It's only about getting their foot in the door on a mileage tax. Something like that doesn't happen over night. It's all incremental.Â
@axpman According to the article: "Right now, the Oregon DMV does not keep track of mileage on cars that are more than 10 years old. That means if youâre buying a used car, you may have to trust that the seller â and the odometer â are telling the truth."
"The bill would require the DMV to keep odometer records on every car from the last time it was bought or sold. King says honest car dealers want the DMV to keep track."
@MC @axpman You think you're so smart with your reading skills and comprehension.  We're trying to build outrage here!!!!
It hasn't been illegal?? Wow !..Oregon is a progressive state??
@Rob C 503 Of course it's already illegal. The article explains what the bill is about.Â