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After recognising a trend of increasing odometer tampering used in vehicle acquisitions, the advocacy and policy team at the MTA WA got to work on how this type of fraud could be reduced.
Research on the options currently available to our industry showed a lack of access to reliable, accurate information regarding the odometer records of a vehicle. Although not currently available to vehicle buyers, the Department of Transport's transfer of vehicle ownership systems may help industry to identify odometer "wind-back". Since odometer readings are recorded by the DoT each time a car is sold or inspected, the MTA WA has proposed a new field be created to display the history of recorded odometer readings whenever the vehicle account is looked up in DOT Direct. In the case of odometer tampering, this would mean a prospective buyer of a second-hand vehicle could immediately see that the current mileage is less than the last time it was transferred and report the tampering to the police.
We know that any suggested change to the status quo will have its challenges. The MTA WA team is therefore working hard with the DoT to have a solution implemented ASAP and will keep members informed of progress.
