Clocking Check and Mileage Discrepancies: Is the Odometer Telling the Truth?

In the used car market, a simple reduction of mileage by 30,000 miles can add hundreds or even thousands of pounds to a car’s price tag. This illegal practice, known as car clocking, is a serious criminal fraud that costs British consumers millions every year.

Every time you see a suspiciously low mileage on a used car advertisement, your first thought must be, “Is this car hiding something?”

The key to protecting your safety and your money is a robust clocking check that analyses the car’s entire recorded history for any mileage discrepancies. Buying a clocked car means paying high prices for a vehicle that is due expensive maintenance immediately (e.g., cambelts, major services) and has suffered far more wear and tear than advertised.

The Fraudulent Pattern: Why Free Checks Fail

Mileage fraud is exposed when the current reading on the odometer does not match the historical records held by official agencies. However, relying solely on publicly available MOT mileage data is a major vulnerability.

The fraud relies on exploiting the gaps in the system:

Pre MOT Clocking: The easiest time to clock a car is in the first three years, before its first MOT, where no public mileage record exists.
Private Dealer Records: Mileage is recorded during services and trade ins, but this crucial data is not public. A free check will never see this.

To catch the real fraudsters, you need a check that goes deeper than the basic DVSA history. You need a dedicated mileage discrepancies report from Rapid Car Check that consolidates private dealer, auction, and finance house data with the official MOT records.

The Consequence: Legal Risk and Safety

The act of selling a clocked car without disclosure is a clear violation of UK consumer protection laws. National Trading Standards regularly investigates and prosecutes fraudulent sellers.

View Car Clocking Fraud Sentencing Information from National Trading Standards

The severe legal risk highlights that this is not a minor deception. It is a calculated crime that you could unknowingly become complicit in if you subsequently sell the car without knowing it was clocked.

What to Look for in Mileage Discrepancies

When analysing your mileage data, the classic red flag is a rollback. This is where a mileage figure recorded in one year is significantly lower than the figure recorded in the previous year.

Discrepancy Type	Fraud Risk	Buyer’s Action
Mileage Rollback	High. Mileage recorded at an official test is higher than the reading on the dashboard today. This is conclusive proof of clocking.	Walk away and report the seller.
Gaps in Service	Medium. Long periods between service entries or MOTs without significant mileage increases suggest the car was used but the records were intentionally suppressed.	Demand detailed physical invoices and cross reference them.
Wear vs. Mileage	Visual Clue. A car showing low mileage (e.g., 40,000 miles) but with heavily worn pedals, a shiny steering wheel, and sagging driver’s seat bolster is highly suspicious.	Treat this as a strong indicator that the mileage is false.

Export to Sheets

The Solution: Consolidating the Data

Only a premium clocking check can protect you against all these fraud types. Rapid Car Check consolidates all available data points—MOT history, dealer logs, and commercial fleet records—to provide a definitive ‘pass’ or ‘alert’ on mileage discrepancies. Don’t waste time looking at free, partial data; use the definitive tool.

Click here to run a complete Clocking and Mileage Check now

Final Word: Safety and Financial Risk

A clocking check is not just about money; it is about safety. A car that has been clocked from 120,000 miles down to 60,000 miles is operating with components (timing belt, suspension parts, brakes) that are overdue for replacement, putting you and your passengers at serious risk.

Do not accept a vehicle with any mileage discrepancies. The financial and safety risks are simply too high. Use your car check to get the factual history and ensure the odometer is telling the truth.