Mileage Disrepancy

[Jimmy77]

Hello all, 

I purchased a 2019 IS300h F Sport with a very low recorded mileage (around 2,200 miles) a few weeks ago from a mainstream dealer. The last MOT from 7 months ago also indicates a recorded mileage a few hundred miles less than that, and everything on the car seems to be in very good condition with very little wear. 

The issue I have however is when I put the VIN details into the Lexus customer portal it brings up the service history of a car that, prior to the only MOT its had, has a mileage in excess of 75,000 miles. When I try with just the registration it doesn't bring up anything and says unknown details. 

Is there a way to reconfirm the mileage somehow? Or has anyone else had anything similar with discrepancies showing on the customer portal service records?

Thanks,

Jimmy

[Harrier Man]

This probably doesn't help much in your case as a 2019 car will have had just one mot but you can check the mot history and mileage details on the DVLA website at: check-mot.service.gov.uk

[Jimmy77]

Thanks, the MOT history and mileage details on the DVLA show no failures or advisories, and a mileage of 2,100 miles. Its just the information on the Lexus customer portal which seems to show something completely different. I contacted the generic customer service email and their response was:

We would believe the service history data uploaded is correct as these entries are provided from the servicing Lexus Centres.

I would advise you to contact the Lexus Centres who serviced your car to confirm the mileages are correct.

If deemed to be incorrect, the Lexus Centres or yourself can contact us to have the data corrected.

I have sent a request to the last listed Lexus Centre to confirm what records they hold for the registration. Hopefully they will have an answer. 

[Mikey B]

Mine also is only recognised on the portal by VIN but it had a plate change (was on a private plate before) - to be honest I would expect anything logged against the VIN to be more accurate.  Did you do any kind of HPI type check as that will throw up if the plate was changed at some point

[Jimmy77]

I did an HPI check and everything checks out fine, no recorded plate changes for the vehicle 

[Bluemarlin]

I suppose it's possible that the servicing dealer got carried away with putting zeros in when doing the service, but a Lexus dealer should be able to read the mileage from the ECU.

Of course it's also possible that the car's been clocked, but I'd have thought anyone doing that would enter a more realistic mileage than 2,200 for a 4 year old car.

For peace of mind I'd get it checked with a Lexus dealer.

[Robertdt]

Hi Jimmy,

                    Check the tyres, if the low mileage is genuine you SHOULD have 4 bridgestone Turanza tyres with in excess of 8-10mm of tread. I have a 2019 F-sport also with 5.5-6mm of tread on each tyre and my car has done 19k odd miles. Also you should be able to tell from the interior as with 2200 miles only it should look and smell like a brand new car, mine still does. A car with 75k miles will absolutely not have escaped any general wear and tear (check driver seat bolster).

Regards,

                 Rob

[Javed]

Hi Jimmy, its bit of a long shot, but you could try searching the previous owner, on social media etc or a contact No on any paperwork with the car.

[Jimmy77]

Hi guys, thanks for the info and advice, there's a Lexus service & parts place literally 1 minute drive from my workplace, so will give them a call to see if they can do an ECU check next week when I'm back at the office. The tyres are different (rears are Michelin and fronts are Dunlop) yet the interior and exterior barely show any signs of wear and tear, and still has that fresh smell. I'll update on here once I've had the ECU checked. 

Cheers,

Jimmy

[matt8]

1 hour ago, Jimmy77 said:

rears are Michelin and fronts are Dunlop

Seems very fishy for a low mileage like this. As Robert above noted, they ought to be what the factory fitted unless they got punctured.

[Mr Vlad]

Use Car Vertical. Yes it costs but it shows mileage from day one of the cars life. Data from wherever the car got serviced. 

[Thackeray]

Are all the VIN stickers present on the car's bodywork?

There should be one on every metal panel. For example, they should be on the inner rim of the boot lid, bonnet, every door edge, the side body panels. If they're present, do they show the correct number? If any are missing this suggests bodywork repairs, which would not be surprising on a 75,000 mile car.

Does the service history show any repairs or changes of tyres? If it's really 75,000 miles you would expect around three changes of tyres.

 

[Thackeray]

10 hours ago, Bluemarlin said:

I suppose it's possible that the servicing dealer got carried away with putting zeros in when doing the service, but a Lexus dealer should be able to read the mileage from the ECU.

If it's been serviced on schedule over the course of 75,000 miles - every 10,000 or 12,500 miles - it should have had at least six services. If the mileage is recorded for each of these services it might help to build up a picture of what has happened to the car. It's unlikely that the mileage would have been recorded wrongly on every service.

[b4u2]

Talking about this topic, i was/am looking at a honda that has very low mileage but one of the mot's is wrong and apparently due to a genuine error but very hard to know 100%. I spoke to DVSA and they said to verify and get changed they need evidence.

[Mikey B]

7 hours ago, Jimmy77 said:

 The tyres are different (rears are Michelin and fronts are Dunlop)

Not a good sign - I'm getting 30K out of a set of tyres so its a bit odd to have changed both front and rears, and presumably not together to be different brands.

Just looking at the on line history for mine and it tells you where it was serviced - Just call them and ask

[Jimmy77]

I have spoken to the service centre where the work is recorded as taking place, and they have confirmed the reg/vin details. It's booked in for an ECU mileage check next week, so then I should have the answer. 

[Thackeray]

Just wondering what the outcome was for this story.

Was the mileage 2,200? Or was it what you were hoping it wouldn't be and actually turned out to be 75,000?

[08ISF]

This sounds suspiciously like a Merc I bought many years ago. 3 years old , 30,000 miles, service history book and MOT backed this up. After about 6 weeks I was becoming suspicious, it didn't feel like a 30K mile car and there were other things  that didn't quite add up, so I contacted the previous owner, a leasing co,  and asked for their records. These showed about 110,000 miles on it! Needless to say the dealer had to give me my money back. The trouble with cars these days, particularly the upmarket makes, they are so tough , if they've been hacked up and down motorways  all day long,it doesn't really  show .

The MOT, as far as I know, is the only reliable independent mileage verification and that doesn't kick in until 3 years (soon to be 4) so there is lots of opportunity  to take a 3 year old and clock it.

Try and get the service records from Lexus and/or the previous owner and if it turns out to be a clocker , back it to the dealer. They  would be very stupid to resist. as clocking is a criminal offense.

[Linas.P]

On 1/24/2023 at 9:11 PM, Jimmy77 said:

few weeks ago from a mainstream dealer.

If it is dealer then there should be no problems getting your money back. Obviously before that it is important to to figure out what is the real mileage on the car, but as far as tyres goes something is very wrong. 

There is no way car has different tyres after just 2200 miles, (they don't come with 9-10mm of thread as suggested above), I believe brand new Turanzas are something ~7.3mm, but still after 2200 miles the tyres should look virtually new, literally to the point where you should still be able to see the painted lines from the factory. The tread life of these tyres are at least 20k miles. Now it is kind of hard to believe somebody would put 75000 miles on car and would try to pass it on as 2200 miles car, perhaps 30k miles car with set of new tyres - that is probable, but 2200 miles just kind of sounds ridiculous. 

I know there is one mainstream dealer which is known for this sort of thing, but even they would do something in realms of reality i.e. maybe clocking last MOT, or clocking 50% if it is before first mot... but not 95% like here.

For example I have mileage discrepancy on my car and I knew it before buying it, but in my case it is clear it was typo by MOT centre... car went 34K> 43K> 92k> 58k on MOT, which quite clearly probably should have been 52k and the service couple of months after that shows 54k. I am still kind of annoyed at the previous owners that they didn't notify DVLA about mistake, but at least it is possible to trace it back and it just doesn't make sense that car suddenly did 49k miles in one year despite doing just 43k in prior 5 years.

[scudney]

Hello James some of us are waiting to know the outcome of your visit to the service centre

[Mr_Groundhog]

Yeah @Jimmy77 what happened in the end?

[Jimmy77]

Hi chaps, sorry for not updating sooner!

So yes, the service centre confirmed that the service history was correct and that the mileage was 75k+. They couldn't actually confirm the exact mileage from the ECU, however there were some historical data capture points with mileage (such as the 12v Battery replacement) which match up with the service history. They suspected it could be a replacement speedo, however they couldn't confirm that without taking the whole dashboard apart. They gave me detailed print outs of the service history and the hybrid health check certificates. 

I've been in contact with the dealer to understand what my options are. I have more than enough evidence to just get a full refund, however I'm considering just taking a partial refund based on the higher mileage. The car itself is in great condition, which the service centre technician also commented, so I'm reluctant to have to hand it back. That said though, if I do take a partial refund it will need to be a significant one. As of now I'm still waiting to hear back from them, although they have acknowledged and accepted they have farked up on this. 

[PRT68]

That looks to me as if they intended to clock the car to 22,000 miles, not 2,200!

If they'd done it to 22,000 I doubt if any suspicion would have arisen, as that would seem about right for the age.

I'd want a full refund personally. 

Or, as a partial refund, I'd be looking for the retail difference between the 2,200 and 75,000 miles. 

Your next problem will be when you reach 100,000 miles. Most people will think it's scrap then, and offers will be very low. 

 

[Bounce75]

I personally would want quite a sizeable refund given the difference in mileage no matter how nice the car is, that is a lot of extra miles.

[Duggie B]

Name and shame said dealer ???