Should I tell buyers my car's mileage is higher?

Hi there - I have a query regarding selling my car. A year ago I bought a 2002 Ford Focus from my brother, as he couldn't afford to keep two cars on the road. It was in great running order; however the instrument panel was not working, so the speedometer, odometer all the gauges etc wouldn't work. My brother sourced a second hand instrument cluster and had it fitted, and everything worked perfect EXCEPT, the mileage had gone from approx 90,000 to 70,000, as that was the mileage on the second hand cluster. My problem is now I want to sell on the Focus, and I don't know how to approach the mileage issue with potential buyers. Obviously it wasn't my intention to clock the car, it just turned out that way - any suggestions?

Morgan Casey (Dublin)

Apr 2013 Filed under: mileage

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Expert answer

Hi Morgan,

We asked Cartell.ie to comment on this, as they're deeply involved in clocking legislation etc. Here's what they said:

"This is an interesting scenario. There are two issues here: 1 - On a legal level, in proposed legislation that Cartell drafted, seeking to criminalise vehicle clocking, we sought to accommodate this type of scenario in the drafting of the provisions. We certainly appreciate that a genuine attempt to represent fairly the mileage of the vehicle, where the original odometer of a vehicle no longer functions, should be accommodated by future legislation in this area. 2 - Practically, we feel this vehicle should be advertised with the true mileage, not the figure showing on the odometer. The seller can then clarify the issue of mileage where there is a query from a prospective purchaser. At Cartell we are happy to enter the correct mileage into the National Mileage Register for the vehicle, if the owner wishes to pass this along to us."

Hope that helps

Shane O' Donoghue - Complete Car Adviser
@Shane_O_D