Virginia saw the biggest spike at nearly 11.7%, followed by Arizona, up 8.0%, and Florida, up 6.4%
Centreville, Va.—Odometer fraud remains a widespread and serious issue for used car buyers across the country, CARFAX data shows. More than 2.14 million cars on the road may have had their odometer rolled back this year, up more than 18% since 2021, and up more than 82,000 vehicles from just last year.
“Odometer rollbacks can occur when an unscrupulous owner or seller of a car alters the miles that display on a car’s gauge cluster,” said Faisal Hasan, Vice President of Data and Public Policy at CARFAX. “This might be done as a way to avoid mileage charges in a vehicle lease or to dramatically increase the value of a car. Today’s technology makes rolling an odometer back easier than ever.”
It can take a bad actor just seconds to roll back an odometer, causing unsuspecting buyers to lose an average of $4,000 in value, CARFAX found, not to mention the additional costs of unexpected repairs and potential safety risks.
Nine of the Top 10 states with the most vehicles with rolled back odometers saw an increase this year. Virginia saw the biggest spike, at nearly 11.7%, followed by Arizona, up 8.0%, and Florida, up 6.4%.
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