Is clocking still possible?

[Gryffindor]

Just looked at my Nov 2003 M59's MOT history, and noticed something very odd - the annual mileage:

MOT date  Mileage
28-Nov-06   16,845
29-Nov-07   22,140
28-Nov-08   26,894
19-Nov-09   30,627
11-Nov-10   33,377
14-Nov-11   35,545
14-Nov-12   37,054
30-Nov-13   37,599
18-Nov-14   37,889
15-Dec-15   37,978
25-Nov-17   37,985
22-Nov-18   48,103
19-Nov-19   55,772
[Nov 20]      [61,100 odd]

So in the course of 6 years (2012-2017) it did less than 1000 miles, and in 2 years (2016/2017) it only did 7 miles!

There is no record of an MOT in 2016 either, so I guess it must have been parked up for a year or more.

Is it possible to 'fix' an odo so that it clocks up more slowly than it should do?

Is it also possible to access tax history as well, to see if there was a SORN around 2016?

[Sol]

Odd but could be it was laid up mate. These are often bought by old boys who only potter to the shops on a saturday. All of the years are low, 2 or 3k per year even when it was new. 18-19 is the most it has ever seen.

It would be difficult to bodge the actual behaviour of the speedo but it can be disconnected to stop it clocking up miles - here is what I think - yours is wheelchair converted yeah? Often they are taken on a mobility lease with a hefty penalty for going over the agreed mileage, so punters pull the speedo cable off and just drive to the traffic conditions or use the rev counter once they learn what RPM / gear combo means which speed. They can always drop to a crawl passing a speed cam.

That way, they don't get hit with a penalty on return, and it maybe got taken in and resold without anyone noticing at the leasing company then the next owner thought ah well low mileage, i'll leave it like that and it will be worth a lot more....

I had a relative who had a MOB car and that's what he and his cronies did.

[Thisisnotaspoon]

What does the V5 show about ownership? If it was one owner <'17 that might make sense if they were old and stopped driving, that's basically been driven to the MOT and back.

Check the glove box for wurthers originals, and the parcel shelf for boxes of tissues then Google the owner's name and check the obituaries.

If on the other hand it came with a beaded seat over and when you google their name it comes up with a taxi company then it's been clocked!

[Gryffindor]

No beaded seat covers, thankfully! It came with a free sat nav holder - which had been Araldited onto the windscreen! I left it alone, and thankfully last winter it fell off all by itself.

I was told it only had one owner; the log book agrees; but the bills with the MOT certs are to two people, one in Northolt, London and the other (more recently) in Martock, where I collected it from.

It is sort of converted - wheelchair hoist bolted to the boot floor, and a revolving front passenger seat for those with little mobility; going by stickers on them, both installed by a mobility shop (rather than Gowrings etc), so I can't say whether it was supplied as a MAV or a standard new car was converted after purchase - I suspect the latter. Not modified on the V5 and would be easy to return to stock condition, plus I'd get some useful fused permanent 12v supplies to play with!

The reg begins with LS which is the Borehamwood area, about 10 miles from Northolt so I suspect it was bought from a main dealer rather than an MAV specialist. If the main dealers about then (2003) were as they are today, I could even guess at Robins & Day in Edgware.

The last proper MAV I had, had the reg RF which is Reading, and it had been supplied as a MAV by Gowrings of Reading, nowhere near where its first owner was based.

Also aren't official MAVs leased, or at least replaced after a few years? Your observations Zion on mileage penalties would support this, as would the masses of low mileage offerings online. But my car wasn't (officially) sold on for well over a decade.

My feeling is that the original owner eventually just stopped using it - maybe it was a second car intended for taking an unofficially disabled relative out (my mum is one as well - she had to pay for her own mob scooter) who eventually passed away, then the car sat for a bit, and then another extended family member took it on 'unofficially', adding the higher recent mileages to it.

One tell-tale that it had sat was, despite it being meticulously cleaned for sale, there was moss in various deep crevices (window rubbers etc).

[saskak]

Apart from Zion's removal of the speedo cable suggestion, it's not that easy to tweak the mileage. There is little to no problem to lower the mileage in the instrument cluster, but the BSI also keeps a tally (there is the US election, had to use this word) on the mileage as well. Say you lowered the instrument cluster or replaced with one that is lower mileage, whichever shows lower mileage that will get overwritten to the higher mileage of the other.

Changing the instrument cluster mileage is easy, but the BSI is a bit more difficult, but not entirely impossible. The usual signs of mileage (pedals, seat belts, etc.) should indicate the actual mileage, although mine is 103,000 but the pedals look really good, but seat belts need half an hour to go back, if at all.

[Thisisnotaspoon]

One tell-tale that it had sat was, despite it being meticulously cleaned for sale, there was moss in various deep crevices (window rubbers etc).

My last car was really bad for that. And I once submitted a mileage claim as a fraction of the distance to the moon!

I think it's just because our driveway faces north west so for 6 months of the year doesn't get sun until well into the afternoon.

It also had an annoying feature whereby there wasn't a wiper seal on the outside of the windows so lowering them and raising them wouldn't clear them which probably didn't help!

[Gryffindor]

Well, as for the BSI keeping a tally, I think it's a fraud and I'll be speaking to the High Court about it! We can't have miles added to the clock after the ignition is turned off!

And as for moss, it appears everywhere you don't want it, but never where you do. I've been hoping for a nice green syrup with a baize-like finish for ages, but so far I remain as shiny as a snooker ball.

Speaking of condition, in an earlier thread I posted photos of the pcb track inside my wiper stalk and inside another one snapped from a Youtube vid. I did notice then that the track in mine looked far less worn in comparison - maybe it doesn't rain much in the UK. On the other hand, according to the hand-written list of work done (supposedly - no proof) by my car's previous owner, it's needed a lot of attn for such a low mileage car:

• 2008: pads and discs
  
• 2009: heater matrix (£503)
  
• 2011: water pump
  
• 2013: cam belt, water pump, and clutch service kit (£862). This was one month after it passed an MOT with the advisory 'noise from engine/gearbox'.
  

Oooer!

Then nothing since except for servicing.

Even more oooer!

[Gryffindor]

It also had an annoying feature whereby there wasn't a wiper seal on the outside of the windows so lowering them and raising them wouldn't clear them which probably didn't help!

Try planting some spuds in them - they'd come up a treat.

Oh sorry - this is the Berlingo forum, not the 2CV forum. I forgot for a mo.

[Mike]

maybe it doesn't rain much in the UK.

It rains plenty in this part of the UK. It does sound a bit strange what's been going on with your Berlingo.

[saskak]

Well, as for the BSI keeping a tally, I think it's a fraud and I'll be speaking to the High Court about it! We can't have miles added to the clock after the ignition is turned off!

Hahaha, cannot have that.

The belt seems a bit early in terms of mileage and years unless it snapped, but it could be that 1.4 are every 8 years.