carfax it.

 

 

The report should show mileage, service and registration dates you can use to determine if the mileage is legit.

 

I just bought a 2013 Fit myself. 30000km. There were a couple others on the market here too with similar mileage on them. Mine was a trade in, older couple looking for an upgrade into a B-Class Mercedes. Some people just don't need to drive very much, that makes the Fit, or other compacts appealing. A cheap low maintenance car that is ready to go. I just sold my SUV to a couple that have been without a car until now, they live downtown and work downtown. They only need a car for the occasional getaway.

So a low mileage car may be just that, a low mileage car! Thats why you have carfax. In Ontario we are required to by a sellers package from the ministry that gives a history of the car.

 

What you are talking about, rolling back an odometer is illegal.

So the answer is Yes, manufacturers build their system to make this as difficult or impossible as possible.

And Yes, Criminals, people wanting to misrepresent, work to defeat these measures.

If you are "concerned", yep syncing up with mileage and events shown on a Carfax should relieve those concerns.
Usually the mileage at any given maintenance event is given. If there was a major roll back, it would show.

But you can follow your gut feeling. Why would you be so distrustful of the seller? If I was legitimately concerned that the mileage was somehow rolled back? I wouldn't buy from the seller PERIOD.

 

Do the owners seem like they'd drive a lot? Maybe they work far away? Or the opposite- do they have two or more cars?

You can also get an idea of the mileage by looking at the wear on the carpets and pedals, and seats.

Do they have maintenance records? Have they ever brought the car to a dealer?

Sometimes a decent mechanic can estimate mileage by looking over the car.

 

My 2009 only has 45k miles. So, no, it's not too unusual or hard to believe.. depending upon when they bought it, that could be between 6000-7500 or so miles a year, which is more than I drive in my car.

 

my 2009 has 300k miles...look for the extra zero

 

These are all great questions to investigate and great advice on what to pay special attention when looking over the car. The wear on the interior of the car will be clear signs of city driving.

The 30K miles could all be city miles, which are many times worse for everything in a car than highway miles. If that car was subjected only to short city trips, then the engine, transmission & suspension components could be worn out to the extent of a 150-200 K all highway car.

Also if they only drove in the city, but still followed the maintenance minder for oil changes, or neglected oil changes, there's always the engine sludge potential... so remove the oil filler cap and look at the inside part for any sludge.

 

Bought my '13 with about 16,600 on the odometer. Doesn't seem too far fetched to me!

 

At 30k most everything on the car should still be original. Are the tires original (halfway worn) or have they been replaced? Ditto for the battery, although it's probably at the end of its useful life. Front brake pads should still have lots of lots of material left.

Put it on a lift or crawl underneath. Look at all the nooks and crannies under the engine and under the body. Everything should look evenly clean and all "dirt" should look pretty much the same everywhere. No heavy accumulation of dirt or grease. No signs of a quick cleanup.

 

Lots of things are illegal, people still do them. Drugs, killings, bank robbery and believe it or not odometer rollback.

Carfax is a joke. If you're in an area that doesn't have inspection, emissions testing, a car that's never been serviced at a dealer it's possible to have a car with a rolled back odometer and not show on Carfax. I used to work in the auto body industry I've seen it done.

 

A rollback on a car as cheap as a fit seems farfetched.

 

I drove my last car about 25,000 miles over eight years. It was mostly just my short weekday commute -- 2 miles each way. I understand people say driving only short trips is bad for the car. While that discussion is over my head, low-mileage could conceal that kind of driving history.

 

In addition to my wife's Fit, I also own a 2014 Scion FR-S with 26,000 miles. I drove around 10,000 miles the first year and then retired. Only a few thousand miles a year since then. 30k miles isn't unreasonable, just make sure the condition matches the odo.