DIY CAR CLOCKER

JAMES Bond-style devices which slash the digital mileage readings on cars are cheating Britain's motorists out of pounds 200million a year.

Road safety watchdogs are calling for a ban to stop unscrupulous drivers using the gadgets to "clock" a car's mileage without a trace.

Experts say operators who use or sell the digital correction boxes are exploiting a legal loophole. They get away with it because clocking a car is not a criminal offence on its own - it's only when the vehicle is subsequently sold by its owner with the false mileage reading that an offence is committed.

According to trading standards data, the practice is costing unsuspecting buyers up to pounds 200million a year.

Before putting their vehicles on the market, dishonest owners book them into garages for "mileage correction" and then pass off the vehicles as "like new". Unscrupulous traders can get a device of their own and use it to reduce the recorded mileage on cars they buy at auctions before selling them on at a big profit.

One device, known as the Dashfixer, is sold legally for pounds 3,000 a time in trade magazines and on the internet.

Operators plug a supplied lead into a diagnostic socket under the bonnet to hack into the mileometer.

One Glasgow-based firm which sells the device has denied that its customers use the machine for illegal purposes. Janice Smith, manager of Ashkirk Services, said: "We don't have customers who use it illegally. They use it to repair dashboards. If anyone even mentions something illegal, they do not get a box.

"They are bought by garages mostly because they are doing repairs, but they are bought by private owners too.

"They are not just for digital mileage - a lot more things go wrong with digital electronics than with mechanical. I assume there are people doing this out there but we certainly don't, and I wouldn't want to be associated with any of those people."

The company's website adds: "DashFixer sells these products for lawful use only. It is the buyer's responsibility to seek legal advice about buyer's specific intended usage and about buyer's compliance with any law."

Richard Freeman of the AA said: "The sale of these devices exploit a loophole in the law which needs to be plugged now.

"It's costing the honest British motorist a fortune because a lot of them pay vastly over the odds when they are tricked into buying cars which they are told have a few thousand miles on the clock - when they have secretly have much more.

"The unfortunate thing is these operators are getting away with it because it's legal. There is no offence of clocking a car, but there is only one reason why you would want to.

"These devices need to be banned from open sale."

One expert at the AA added: "If people are clocking cars they usually alter the mileage by a fair bit, perhaps 80,000 miles. This can add around pounds 1,000 to the price of the typical family car."

Now there's hope that an electronic MOT system can beat the cheats. A project now in the official pipeline would involve mileage readings on every car being checked every year on a database at the DVLA in Swansea.

QUENTIN WILLSON'S CHEATS

SECOND-HAND buyers should check a car's mileage matches its age and condition, says the AA.

Most drivers cover 10,000 to 12,000 miles a year and chips on the bonnet and the bumper are all signs a car has covered a lot of miles.

A shiny steering wheel also shows a vehicle has been well used, but rogue dealers may have replaced it. Worn gear knobs or pedals may also have been changed.

Watch out for new parts which look out of place. Collapsed seats are expensive to substitute and are a good guide, as are worn carpets under mats. If in doubt, get expert independent advice.

QUENTIN WILLSON: Pages 62&63

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