How do Grand Rapids motorists know if an odometer is telling the truth?

Well, back in '86, Congress passed the Truth-in-Mileage Act to protect Michigan consumers against mileage fraud. It says a Michigan seller must certify the mileage reported is the Actual Mileage.

To have your odometer checked in Grand Rapids Michigan , stop by Tuffy Grand Rapids:

Tuffy Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49548 616.452.4425

If it isn't, the seller must say why; like maybe the odometer is past its mechanical limits. Some older odometers only go to 99,999 miles and then start over at 0. Or, the odometer has been tampered with, broken or replaced.

If the seller tells you the mileage isn’t accurate, there’s not much chance of putting a good number to it; And there’s the unscrupulous seller who claims the reading is true, but it’s not so. What can Grand Rapids motorists do?

First, you can go to www.CarFax.com, where for a small fee, they’ll give you a comprehensive vehicle history search on your SUV, showing local Grand Rapids, Michigan ownership history, accident reports, total-loss events, manufacturer buybacks, Lemon reports and warranty status.

Grand Rapids motorists can get a mileage history by checking with the local Michigan DMV (or wherever you happen to be) and other verified sources looking for inconsistencies in the mileage reported when the car’s bought and sold. If there are signs odometer rollback, now you’ll now.

If so, proceed with caution. Or, negotiate a lower price. Or just walk away. There’s always another.