A Few Seconds To Fraud - Car Talk - Nairaland
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| A Few Seconds To Fraud by Emperoh(m): 4:20pm On Dec 01, 2012 |
My knowledge ofcars was just put to the test. But thank God, I came out with flying colors. The reverse effect if I had failed would have been regrets, self-pity and a complete reduction in self-worth before a close friend and ally. A friend’s mother needed a car and needed one badly and as soon as possible. Now, this goes against my rule in car search; haste. Secondly, I feel more comfortable importing cars for personal friends unless it is a unit I have or a close associate has in which a certain level of trust would have been all that I will need to seal a deal. In this case, I had neither time nor trust to rely on. So sauntered we did – my friend and I – into the streets of Lagos, careening from one car lot to the other in search of a 2003 or 2004 Toyota Highlander Limited edition within our budget; very slim I must say taking into cognizance the associated expenses after purchase. Lots of nice looking cars but way above what we could afford; the affordable ones were crashed and NOT properly fixed or just not neat enough, presentable enough. I went online and scoured as well and the same results stared me in the face. Client was adamant in scaling down his preference and not willing to up his budget. Eventually, we narrowed down to two options and were meant to fine tune a deal, pay and drive off. And then he buzzes my mobile and suggested we go to Berger auto market. I dread Berger but I wanted to really see if the stories we hear are not stereotypes. Hence, my sense of precaution gave way to adventure. We had options. A lot of very neat cars clean enough to pass off as brand new. We sieved through our options, eliminating accident cars, expensive one and eventually, our lot fell on one. But we had an issue; it defeated my knowledge of cars but not totally; the Chassis number said 2002, seller claimed it was 2003, the manufacturer’s door sticker said 2003. Normally, the 10th digit on the chassis number should read “3” identifying it as 2003 but it had “2”. Then the door sticker had, ‘04/03” with the same VIN number. How did they do this? Well, my guy was ok with the car; in fact he was in love with and didn’t mind the year issue. On to the next issue; where did it come in from, Lagos or Cotonou? For all I know, the car was smuggled in and “genuine” papers procured to foreclose any argument from that angle. Since I had no evidence, it was a risk I was willing to take since I can navigate my way around it if a problem eventually comes up. I looked at the mileage and it seemed ok; 90k plus. Still relative fresh/low engine wise. So we agreed on a price to pay the next day. Now this is where the problem started; we came in Thursday morning as planned, pulled the unit out for a test drive. What we planned was that since the bank we are to use was a distance away, we would drive there. At least to have a feel of engine, transmission and the minor things that will come up. I saw some sign but they were minor. I left my guy with the dealer’s boy at the bank, and went back to their stand at Berger to fit the accessories we didn’t find. But this was after we had bought fuel for the car. We stationed the car in a manner that will give us easy departure when we are done. As I sat inside, something didn’t just feel right. I started scouring for something, anything to confirm an unplaced suspicion. I didn’t know what to look out for but just anything. I opened the glove compartment and went through the documents. Intermittently, the guy called to seek my assurance that all was well before he pays. But my ‘yes’ was not reassuring enough. Somehow, reluctantly, he walked into the bank and submitted the transfer form. I kept searching and then, bingo, I saw it! I glanced at the odometer and saw 90786 miles and I looked at the document and couldn’t believe my eyes! Odometer rollback!!! I put a call across to the guy and as God will have it, the transaction was almost done!! And I screamed, “Stall on it and come over here immediately!” Before I could cut the call, I could hear him telling the cash officer, almost shouting to him to stall the transfer. It happened that as I scoured the documents in the glove compartment, I saw the result of an emission test done for two years in Pennsylvania where the car was last used, neatly folded in a yellow envelop and tucked inside the big wallet carrying the owner’s manual and service directory. It would take a meticulous person to find it. As at 11th February 2011, the mileage stood at 182k miles. The one done this year 23rd February 2012 recorded the mileage as 198798 miles. Where did 108k miles go to? Instructively, this wasn’t the first mileage rollback I saw within that same lot. Some looked out-rightly ridiculous that the moment you saw it, you needn’t a soothsayer to tell you. The seller kept denying his involvement in the rollback. I could see pellets of sweat beads rolling down his face despite the chilling AC. Whoever did it, meant one thing, I wasn’t sanctioning the deal. It meant our search hadn’t ended and the frustration showed on my friend’s face. But no matter what, we aren’t settling for that one. We left and settled for another option we saw at Tincan/National with a higher mileage but at least with a status that was transparent enough for me to see through. In all, I realized people still fall for these tricks. Berger is particular noted for three fraudulent lies; passing off a smuggled car as ‘Tincan Cleared”, reselling of stolen cars and finally, odometer roll back. In fact you will encounter the last one in almost all cars there. Yet, people still flock in to buy and fall for these tricks. Accident cars are industry wide hence I can’t really see it as a fault. Just disclose to the buyer. The issue of odometer rollback is one that is really pathetic and painful to me. You will end up misleading a buyer who will miss the periodic manufacturer’s maintenance schedule for the car. Take for instance; if the life span of a timing belt on a 2003 Honda Accord is 200k miles. The car come into Nigeria at 198k and the seller rolls it back to 90k. Guess what will happen at “120k”? It might snap in motion since the real belt will have now covered 220k miles; 20k past its lifespan. I guess you know what that means for the engine? It will go toast! This same issue is applicable to all auto components and accessories. All I am asking potential car shoppers to do is to shine their eyes and use information like this as their weapon when shopping for a new car. This is not only prevalent in Berger, though it is rampant there, it is everywhere now. So shine your eyes! 2 Likes |
| Re: A Few Seconds To Fraud by tampa1871: 7:27pm On Dec 01, 2012 |
It's still a mystery to me how possible it is to roll DIGITAL odometer back, in business, transparency should be the hallmark, and people will appreciate you for it. Thank God that you discovered this be4 payment was made, otherwise,you would have been sold a lemon. |
| Re: A Few Seconds To Fraud by aieromon(m): 9:21pm On Dec 02, 2012 |
You got saved by the ignorance of the seller to crosscheck all documents in the car. Quick question,why didn't you order a VIN report since you had enough time to do so before sealing the deal? |
| Re: A Few Seconds To Fraud by Emperoh(m): 11:12pm On Dec 02, 2012 |
aieromon: Quick question,why didn't you order a VIN report since you had enough time to do so before sealing the deal? Client wasn't willing to pay for it. He nearly paid a more expensive price not for just that momentary luck aieromon: You got saved by the ignorance of the seller to crosscheck all documents in the car. I tell you, you said the truth, cos i guess he must have removed every trace of anything as such. there were so many others i caught by a simple check on the windscreen just above the drivers head. You will most definitely see the sticker of the last service station in USA with recorded mileage. Before i left them, i overheard one of them blaming the guy for not doing a clean job by clearing of traces or anything. |
| Re: A Few Seconds To Fraud by bravolad(m): 2:52pm On Dec 06, 2012 |
What a pathetic story. You were lucky to have escaped. It portends evil for our society & show how desperate Nigerians are just to make money. I wouldn't believe that the dealer has no hand in the odometer roll-back. A simple disclosure from the outset would have vindicated him. But again, you see a deep sense of deception & lack of conscience in the practice. After all, he will not be perturbed by whatever happens to the vehicle after the purchase. There has been several arguments here on nairaland about odometer roll- back being practiced in the US, which attracts a severe sanction. The question therefore, is; must we copy bad practice as a developing nation? However, if you purchased the vehicle & only to find out afterwards, the blame on you will linger for so long. It amazes me, in this modern time & technology that someone like you could go ahead to negotiate the price of a vehicle without a VIN check that would take less than 2 to 3 hours to get the report. This is not to say that a vin check could possibly reveal the entire history of the car but could show the recent mileage before the vehicle was shipped to Nigeria. As a dealer & of course someone who is knowledgeable in automobile, part of your conditions for a car purchase either to a close friend or family member will be to run a vin check. With less than a thousand Naira you could achieve the same effect with autocheckng. For those unaware of such practice, your post is an eye opener. |
| Re: A Few Seconds To Fraud by mastro: 4:37pm On Dec 06, 2012 |
tampa1871: It's still a mystery to me how possible it is to roll DIGITAL odometer back, in business, transparency should be the hallmark, and people will appreciate you for it. Thank God that you discovered this be4 payment was made, otherwise,you would have been sold a lemon. As I've posted before, the cost is pennies http://www.obdobd2.com/tacho-pro-u2008-plus-unlock-tacho-universal-dash-programming-tool_p264.html $250 |
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