formulovin

iTrader: (4)

My friend is looking to purchase a 99 SS, but upon running the Carfax, there was a variance in the recorded mileage. The seller is advertising the car at 48,000 miles, but the Carfax indicates that it was at one point over 100k miles. The odd thing is that the current owner says that they recorded the miles wrong and would not accept the title until it read the "correct" mileage of 30,000 miles when the seller purchased it 2 1/2 years ago. Is there anyway to check the actual miles, such as in the PCM, or is it at the seller's discretion? Also, any input on the issue would be useful. The car appears to be exceptionally clean and well maintained, but he does not wish to spend money for a car with over 100k miles. Thanks in advance.

Ralphy g-Machine

iTrader: (3)

I had a similar carfax issue, when I purchased my car two years ago. Carfax reported a mileage discrepancy. It turns out that during one of the services of the car, the dealer tech recorded the mileage in their computer wrong (it was really 29XXX and he put it in the computer as 31XXX or something similar) then on the next service, the mileage was recorded correct, and thus the discrepancy. I was able to determine that the mileage was indeed correct and unaltereed, as the owner had the two original service receipts (from the dealership) showing the dates and mileage in question. From talking with some buddies who work at dealerships, this kind of thing happens more often than you'd think: an erroneous entry of the cars mileage by either a typo, or an at-fault mechanic, and carfax reports it as a discrepancy. If I was your friend, I would try to verify mileage by any service receipts or records. Also, I'm pretty sure there is a means of determining the actual mileage within the PCM, but I'm not certain as I never had to go to that length to verify.