Irish motorists looking for a bargain in the second hand import market are being warned that car clocking is on the rise in the UK, and this time it’s the owners that are doing it!

The practice is occurring where drivers exceed the contracted number of miles on fixed mileage leases, such as a PCP, and want to avoid an excess mileage penalty charge on returning the car, which can run into hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

Drivers are increasingly turning to mileage adjustment companies who use specialist equipment to artificially reduce the number of miles showing on the odometer. Because most of the vehicles involved have been supplied new and are less than three years old, there is no MOT certificate and often only one service stamp, so the paper trail doesn’t reveal that the mileage has been altered.

It would seem that many consumers underestimated or understated their annual mileage at the point of signing their PCP deal and have subsequently realised the impact of the mileage penalty clauses. As a direct result there has been the temptation to realign the mileage to suit the contract and therefore avoid the financial penalties, which in some cases are highly punitive.

In Ireland the interference with the odometer of a motor vehicle has been criminalised pursuant to the Road Traffic Act 2014, s.14. The section does afford a defence where: “at the time of the alleged offence the person was acting in good faith in order to test, repair or replace the odometer of the mechanically propelled vehicle.” (s.14(4))