One of my favorite stories about mileage is the one where the owner was sure that a 1957 car had 2,500 miles on it, original. I asked him how that could be and he explained that the car had been raced when it was new and had subsequently been disassembled and remained that way for many years until it was restored. The car had gone through a messy divorce and ended up with a house trailer dealer.
The car was a beautifully restored example. While inspecting the car I located a label with the name of the restorer. I gave him a call. Yes he did remember the car, he had restored several vehicles for the same owner. The owner had one instruction that was unusual, all the cars he did had to have the odometer set to 1956. This was the year he got his driving license.
Many actions can lead to errors in mileage showing on the odometer. Many people drive while the drive cable is broken. Occasionally you will see a vehicle where the service dealer affixes a label to the left “B” post indicating an odometer change (I see this on Rolls-Royce cars in particular). This really is the rule, but it is rarely followed. Often odometers are set to zero when the car is restored, or the engine is rebuilt. One of the most well known odometer tampering cases was of the major dealer in Toronto who wanted to improve its used car values, amazingly they did not lose their franchise. I once had a case where my RR client accused me of using his car for my personal transport. He reported me to the Ontario Consumer Protection dept. who sent an investigator to interview us. It turned out that the mechanic who had the car before I did had mistakenly transposed numbers on his work order which appeared to make it look like I had put all sorts of mileage on the car while it was in my care.
LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons
Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.
