Used cars with scales, the scam of the removed km: how the scams happen

In the collective imagination, the scam of the “schilometrata” car is visualized with a salesman intent in bad faith to scroll backwards the odometer connected to an electric drill. A picture perhaps grotesque but at the same time reassuring and which leads to consider the new generation cars safer, because they are protected by electronics. And yet, “the phenomenon of skilized cars hit a sensational peak a couple of years ago,” says Massimiliano Palestra, responsible for the Autotorino group. Even today, as the sector moves towards the energy transition and digitalization is a fundamental component, the odometer deception leads to important economic advantages for the cheaters, going to alter the real market value of the vehicle. Incorrect sales practice is considered a fraud and punished according to the criminal code. “To protect us and our customers, we have the seller sign a sheet certifying the actual mileage, assuming responsibility for what is declared and the consequences in case of willful misconduct”.

A fraud that is difficult to recognize

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Recognizing a “skimmed” car is very difficult, almost impossible in most cases. At least when the sale is between private individuals: “Every car purchased by us, before being put on sale, undergoes a very thorough physical appraisal”, explains Palestra. “Our dealer network has the ability to acquire vehicle history data, thus verifying all the maintenance and overhaul steps carried out and being able to compare the mileage recorded here with those shown by the vehicle”. When this is not possible “we rely on an area of ​​expertise that allows us to evaluate the state of use; type of coupon invoices and consultation of the motorist’s portal “. There are also common sense rules and signs that could suggest a tampering with the odometer, even if it is not a recipe for recognizing a possible fraud or fraud. Last year alone, the Autotorino group that deals with second-hand vehicles withdrew more than 29,000 vehicles, all equally subjected to the same control protocol.

New and old cars: a watershed

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There is a clear temporal distinction also for this activity: “The cars produced before 2011 were susceptible to manual tampering, with most of the analog instrument panels”, specifies Palestra. “Starting from 2011, the progressive digitization has required electronic modifications which have consequently altered the market for skometers”. In particular, the products for the past five years are equipped with numerous control units that require more complex preparation to be pentrated. “In some European countries, external accessories have been developed that are able to communicate with the car systems, overwriting the recorded data and replacing them with lower mileage values”. “This practice – specific Palestra – is rather expensive and is therefore applied almost exclusively on products that can return a strong economic advantage; we are therefore talking about segments of medium / high level cars “. The scams that afflict this category of cars, however, are not linked “to the inefficiency of the product itself – clarifies Palestra – but rather to their higher market value and the quantity of cars available”. “Many of these are used by rentals and for corporate fleets before being sold, being then withdrawn in large quantities and, in the face of high demand, more prone to scam”.

The most exposed private

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If the assistance of a network of dealers such as Autotorino can offer a guarantee of reliability and greater control over the product (also thanks to the relationship with the parent companies), the private subject is more exposed to scams and scams. “The situation is very uncertain – explains Alfredo Bellucci, an expert in the sector – and the only protection of the private customer is one’s distrust”. “In fact, there are no clear signs that can lead one to suppose at first sight that it is a car with a tampered odometer, if not a too favorable relationship between the year of production, kilometers traveled and purchase prices”. An all too obvious promotion would therefore reveal an incorrect selling practice. According to Bellucci, a solution could come from digitization: “The strong electronic and IT component makes it possible to record every data of the vehicle’s life, but the problem concerns the consultation of the same”. “The law on the protection of privacy does not allow third parties to come into possession of such information – specifies Bellucci – and to consult the car archive kept by the parent company, a specific authorization is required as it is protected by copyright”. If all these data were made public, according to Bellucci “one could compare the vehicle’s mileage with the history of maintenance and overhaul interventions, giving a decisive boost to the practice of skimming”.