How can I tell if the recorded mileage is genuine

[Nigel stevens]

Evening
I hope I can get a little advice from members ??
I am looking at buying a 2017 T6 with new conversion. Paid deposit but as we all know if it’s too good to be true generally is.
Mileage states 38500 but had a new clutch at 34000 and new cam belt and pump apparently due to an oil leak
It was un taxed for a year. Bit of underside rust, it’s about £7000 under real value.
My concern it it has been clocked how can i tell??

 

[DXX]

In the UK you can start by checking the milage recorded on previous MOTs

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

 

[Dellmassive]

Yeh.

Digital mot history is the first place to start.

 

[Mike23864]

Evening
I hope I can get a little advice from members ??
I am looking at buying a 2017 T6 with new conversion. Paid deposit but as we all know if it’s too good to be true generally is.
Mileage states 38500 but had a new clutch at 34000 and new cam belt and pump apparently due to an oil leak
It was un taxed for a year. Bit of underside rust, it’s about £7000 under real value.
My concern it it has been clocked how can i tell??

I presume as you’ve paid a deposit you’ve been to see it? Have you seen the receipts for the work? Does the steering wheel, stalks etc look tired and worn? Is it from a dealer and is there a warranty?

 

[Nigel stevens]

Thanks Dell
The van had a covid extension I have checked all mots. Is there any other way to check apart from usual wear and tear signs ?
Thanks dell

 

[Nigel stevens]

I presume as you’ve paid a deposit you’ve been to see it? Have you seen the receipts for the work? Does the steering wheel, stalks etc look tired and worn? Is it from a dealer and is there a warranty?

Mike
Thanks for the reply
I had an independent check done. Oil leak and underside rust. I’m just a bit nervous as the price is around £7000 under value maybe a bargain
But never has a van before

 

[MyOtherCarIsA]

£7,000 under what "real" value? Pricing in the used car market is all over the shop at the moment. I just bought a 2016 Caravelle from an independent dealer for pretty much that number less than equivalent vans are advertised at by VW dealers. Difference is, the independent dealer needs to shift 3 cars a week to run a sustainable business, while the more expensive stuff has sat on forecourts for months.

When was the untaxed period and is there a story to go with it? e.g. it went nowhere because it had a clutch issue that the owner planned to fix but never got round to etc.

 

[Nigel stevens]

Hi carl
2017 t6 new conversion On @ £29999 with 38500 anothe t6 same plate on forecourt with well over double the mileage for £7000 more
Car was untaxed for a year but can’t find any info as to where it was and dealer vague about it hence my concerns about possible false mileage ??
Not sure why it had a new clutch @34k.
Seems too good ??

 

[MyOtherCarIsA]

Have you asked the dealer why there's a price disparity between the two vans? Might be that the more expensive one is being sold on consignment and the client set the price, or it's spec'd to the gills, auto, 204bhp, 4 motion, diff locks, kitchen sink... I would just ask the dealer; it's a fair question.

Regarding the clutch change, obviously it depends where the leak was, but definitely possible for an oil leak to contaminate the friction plate, so that side of the story stacks up.

 

[Ricardo T]

Has it been in an accident?

 

[Crazymind]

Mileage blockers unfortunately are reality.
I almost bought a 2016 T6 Caravelle last year with 21k miles on it.
While inspecting it I found a piece of paper with a company name on it. Googled it and I and realised the company runs private shuttle to and from the airport. On their website they still had the photos of the Caravelle I was looking at.
My 2016 Caravelle has got 55k miles and looks a lot better than the 21k miles they were selling. I bet that was a 100k miles van with mileage blocker…
At 55k there is no sign of rust underneath mine. It all depends on use though. 34k miles for a clutch, I have read here a few posts about early clutch failure.
Hard to say if it’s genuine or not. Ideally you look for full service history, something traceable.

 

[Pewt]

Go with your gut instinct.........it's rarely wrong when buying a vehicle.

 

[Pauly]

Diagnostic software like vcds can give you the true mileage logged by the ecu regardless what the dash display says so there is options to double check once you have it

 

[Crazymind]

Pauly are you sure? I have no experience with mileage blockers personally but my understanding is they work blocking the mileage at the wheel so the dash doesn’t get the signal. If this is real Vcds will only confirm the dash mileage?
Last week I have double checked mine and vcds reads 6 miles more than my dash. Don’t know what to think.

 

[Pauly]

I didnt mention mileage blockers, if the vehicle has been clocked in the traditional way or the cluster has been replaced then the ecu will give the true mileage

Mileage blockers sit inside the dash (behind the instrument cluster as thats where they connect) and interrupt the pulses going into the cluster, this stops or slows the odometer counting but not 100% sure if this affects the ecu mileage or not (i suspect not ??)

Main dealers reset the mileage of new vehicles when they PDI, the 6 mile imbalance you are seeing will be the distance it travelled around the factory/car park and on/off the shipping boat etc, this function is only available when vehicle mileage is very low and cannot be done again or if the mileage exceeds a set threshold

 

[Nigel stevens]

Evening
I hope I can get a little advice from members ??
I am looking at buying a 2017 T6 with new conversion. Paid deposit but as we all know if it’s too good to be true generally is.
Mileage states 38500 but had a new clutch at 34000 and new cam belt and pump apparently due to an oil leak
It was un taxed for a year. Bit of underside rust, it’s about £7000 under real value.
My concern it it has been clocked how can i tell??

Have you asked the dealer why there's a price disparity between the two vans? Might be that the more expensive one is being sold on consignment and the client set the price, or it's spec'd to the gills, auto, 204bhp, 4 motion, diff locks, kitchen sink... I would just ask the dealer; it's a fair question.

Regarding the clutch change, obviously it depends where the leak was, but definitely possible for an oil leak to contaminate the friction plate, so that side of the story stacks up.

 

[Nigel stevens]

Morning Carl
Thanks for your reply
Is the amount of rust on the suspension on this van of concern?
Thanks guys

 

[DXX]

Morning Carl
Thanks for your reply
Is the amount of rust on the suspension on this van of concern?
Thanks guys

They are heavy cast lumps and that is just surface rust, nothing to worry about. The threaded stuff is a different matter when it comes to maintenance, good to keep the underside clean if possible.
I haven’t seen many hosing under their cars but it’s a quick way to reduce corrosion especially after the roads have been gritted.
It’s actually good engineering practice to leave large complicated castings outside for at least a year before machining to stress relieve them.

 

[Nigel stevens]

They are heavy cast lumps and that is just surface rust, nothing to worry about. The threaded stuff is a different matter when it comes to maintenance, good to keep the underside clean if possible.
I haven’t seen many hosing under their cars but it’s a quick way to reduce corrosion especially after the roads have been gritted.
It’s actually good engineering practice to leave large complicated castings outside for at least a year before machining to stress relieve them.

Hi guys
Really appreciate all you help, missed some threads last night.
I will get the dealer to look at the Oil and Rust issues if they can address them I will probably go for the van and buy an extended warranty.
What a great site

 

[Mike23864]

Hi guys
Really appreciate all you help, missed some threads last night.
I will get the dealer to look at the Oil and Rust issues if they can address them I will probably go for the van and buy an extended warranty.
What a great site

Have a look at the genuine VW All-in plan. I got 2 MOT’s, 2 services, 2 years warranty and 2 years Roadside Assist for just over £30.00 a month.