HPI warns against increase in car clocking

Date: 4/5/2012

Around a million people in the UK could be driving cars that have been clocked, data from HPI suggests.

The organisation's National Mileage Register (NMR) has just exceeded 150 million mileage readings, meaning it is tracking more cars out on the roads.

A total of one in every 20 cars checked by the group had a discrepant mileage - a figure that has increased by ten per cent over the past five years.

Although clocking cars is not an illegal practice, selling them without stating their real mileage is against the law.

Consumer Director at HPI Kristian Welch said: "A low mileage can add hundreds or even thousands of pounds to the perceived value of a vehicle, so buyers have a lot to lose."

HPI has been checking the histories of used cars since 1938 and the service records the mileages of a vehicle during its first three years of use - before it has its first MOT - as well as a standard check against the NMR to try and crackdown on clockers.

Posted by Mary Treen