It benefits unscrupulous operators, frequently from other states, who conspire to defraud you. It is illegal for anyone to tamper with an odometer or to sell a vehicle knowing that the odometer has been tampered with. Rising new car prices have increased the demand for low mileage, late model used cars. One major source of late model used cars is from leasing companies, especially since individual owners are keeping their cars longer and not trading them in. Studies by the US Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have found that more than half of the new cars sold by leasing companies later end up on car lots with reset odometers.
Vehicles formerly owned by leasing companies are often late model vehicles with high mileage.
That makes them tempting targets for odometer tampering specialists who turn them into late model, low mileage gems. Being aware of the problem, and knowing what to look for when buying a car is your best safeguard against odometer fraud. Remember, odometers aren't tamper proof. With the right simple, inexpensive tools, a crafty odometer spinner can erase several thousand miles from a vehicle's odometer within minutes. The date the tire was manufactured can be determined by coded numbers found on the tire.