California drivers may want to look twice at their dashboards. Carfax says odometer fraud is on the rise nationally, with an estimated 2.45 million cars on US roads showing mileage that's been rolled back—a 14% jump over last year. KTLA reports California accounts for nearly 22% of those vehicles, or about 532,200 cars, far more than second-place Texas (333,900) and Florida (109,000).
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than 450,000 cars are sold each year with falsified odometer readings. For buyers, the financial hit can be significant: Carfax says consumers lose an average of $3,300 in value when they unknowingly purchase a car with altered mileage, not counting potentially higher repair bills tied to a vehicle's true wear and tear. The inflated mileage gap can also ripple into loan terms and insurance costs. Carfax notes it can help somewhat: Vehicle mileage histories can be cross-checked by entering the VIN or license plate at carfax.com/odometer. Here are the top 10 states for rolled-back odometers as reported by Carfax:
- California: 532,200
- Texas: 333,900
- Florida: 109,000
- New York: 104,000
- Illinois: 92,500
- Pennsylvania: 77,400
- Georgia: 76,700
- Virginia: 74,000
- Arizona: 69,000
- North Carolina: 59,000
As for how the schemes can take shape, CBS News in September reported on two Maryland brothers who were sentenced to prison for defrauding car buyers out of $1.2 million, per prosecutors. Between 2016 and 2019 they altered vehicles' mileages by an average 124,000 miles, "resulting in consumers grossly overpaying for used vehicles near or past their expected lifespans," per a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rep.
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