How to make your car travel through time

Anyone can send a car back in time, not just Doc Brown. All you need is a screwdriver, some technical knowledge, lack of morals and a desire to con people out of cash.

Okay, it’s slightly more complicated than that. And we aren’t really going back in time, but I didn’t lie about the conning. If you want to wind a car’s milometer back so it shows a lower mileage, it really isn’t that hard, and suddenly the car becomes worth a lot more money. The main problem here is it’s well, illegal.

This process is known as clocking, something that dodgy second hand car salesmen dapple in from time to time. They find the mechanism that moves the numbers on the dashboard and turn them backwards so it appears as if the car has done less miles than in reality. Recently released figures show that around 600,000 cars in the UK have inaccurate milometers.

Now, there may be a few people reading this who don’t necessarily see a problem with this, so let me explain. As a car grows older and does more miles, its value goes down. Of course, this means that a car that has done a large amount of miles compared to its age (More than 10,000 a year, for example) will be worth less than the same car if it had only done 1,000 miles a year. Also, when a car hits around 100,000 miles it can decrease in value rapidly, so the best way to make a few grand that you might lose out on otherwise? Get that clock wound back.

Garages that do this to you aren’t just scamming you on the forecourt either: If they wind the clock back, the car is going to miss important service intervals and could end up costing you a fortune in mechanic’s bills. So, what can you do to avoid this? First off, a HPI check should be on your list of priorities. It costs, that much is true, but it’s worth it for a complete history of the car, meaning that anything wrong with the car should be pointed out to you in clear terms and you can steer clear.

Also, price comparison websites such asmoneysupermarket have a vehicle valuation tool. This lets you known what your car is really worth. As quite often garages sell cars well over their real value – it’s how they make their money.

Your best friend in this case is common sense. If a car is over ten years old and the mileage is less than 60,000 miles consider that a warning to a dodgy dealer. Also be on the lookout for ex-company cars that say they have less than 7,000 miles a year.

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