Has my car been clocked?

Often, imports do not carry the same level of history that UK-spec cars do and as such are at risk of being "clocked".

There are the usual cursory checks you can carry out to ensure this has not been the case; such as checking that the wear of seats, interior trim, footpedals and that the general condition of the vehicle is consistent with the mileage shown. Also, the numbers on the Odometer should align correctly and without any signs of any tampering.

Another good check is to see if there are any stickers which show the recorded distance when the cam belt was changed. If this doesn't seem to tie in with the current odometer reading then alarm bells should start to ring. If it looks like a sticker has been removed, be even more suspicious.

So, can you discover the true reading? Usually the answer is YES!

Go to the web site of BIMTA and there you can register and fill in an on-line form to request an enquiry - even for imported vehicles! Once verified (and when verifying Japanese imports they work with the Japanese Export  Vehicle Information Centre) a validation sticker is attached to the windscreen. They give a  money-back guarantee if the reading proves to be inaccurate

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