BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 11:30
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - zuluboy

Hi all,

I purchased a 2012 BMX X3 from a BMW dealer in sep 2016 ago and all is good so far.. But yesterday I went to check when the MOT was due and noticed that the milage doesnt add up..

  • According to VOSA the MOT milage in Aug 2015 was 75k and in Sep 2016 it was recorded as 58k., speaking to them they also tell me that the historical milage cannot be ammended.
  • The service book indicates milage consistent with the 58k
  • The car was bought on as a BMW Approved car
  • A vehicle milage check certificate (Experian) was provided (which specifically states they check DNVLA) , this was done in July 2016 (before the Sept MOT but they would have been given the current milage).
  • Not historical MOT Certificates were provided

My concern is that this car will be very difficult to sell if someone checks the mot history.

Im thinking this would fall under either consumer rights act (car not as described?) or someone mentioned unfair trading as the info is misleading..

So the question is , what impact does this have on the value of the car? Can I reject the car completely (minus a fair wear+tear?) or do I need to accept some sort of damages? if so how much damages?

Totally didnt expect this from BMW....

thanks

Angelo

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 13:01
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - daveyjp

There's MOT testers with fat fingers who can't use keyboards.

There's MOT testers who write down the wrong figure from the odometer and enter this into the database.

Some odometers can be switched between miles and km and the tester doesn't check

Some odometers can be set to trip and the MOT tester doesn't realise.

If the other data re servicing etc stacks up don't be too concerned.

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 13:03
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - RobJP

If the service history and all other supporting documents indicate that the 58k is correct, then it follows that the 75k was probably a mis-key when the MOT was carried out. "Fat fingers" happens to us all.

In which case, you've not suffered any material loss, as you yourself say, the other documentation supports that, so you can point to it.

As to rejection, no you can't. You're past the point in law at which you could (6 months). You'd need to quantify the losses to support a claim against the dealership, and to do so you'd probably go off something like CAP figures. But, once again, if the dealership can point to the service record as providing more accuracy, then you've no losses at all.

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 13:45
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - SLO76
Not an uncommon problem, one I've encountered numerous times in the past with trade cars. Sadly the tester has input the wrong mileage and while this can be corrected by the testing station for up to 7 days post test and by the DVSA while said Mot is valid it sadly cannot be corrected after another Mot has been issued on the car which is where you are here.

The gov Mot history check service only came into being in 2016 so Experian likely didn't have access to it at the time and many still don't use it. Most simply letter previous owners to get a signed declaration stating the mileage is correct. Essentially useless as it relies on their honesty.

The dealer isn't at fault, they fulfilled their obligation by carrying out a check and by selling you what I assume was a good car and the mileage check firm will have carried out the check according to the parameters set out on their website or any paperwork you received so I doubt any claim for compensation would stick.

It's only really relevant if you intend on selling it privately anyway as dealers again won't look at the Mot history so you'll be none the worse off come trade in time.

What I would do however is contact the Mot station who made the error and ask them to print off a note stating they made a mistake inputting the mileage in case you do want to flog it privately. Otherwise there's really nothing you can do unless there's something in the Experian check terms stating they will compensate if a discrepancy shows up later on.
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Thu 15 Jun 2017 14:35
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - zuluboy

thanks all,

Ive logged a complaint with BMW and lets see where that goes.. It might be fat fingers, but the experian check was done in 2016 so it should have been flagged right ? The experian documents do say they check the milage from the driver and dvla so a discrepency would have been shown..

Oh well lets see what they say,

Edited by zuluboy on 15/06/2017 at 14:38

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 16:33
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - Brit_in_Germany

75,000 km is about 47,000 miles. The odometer could have been set to km ( or it could have been clocked to a distance consistent witn this).

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Thu 15 Jun 2017 20:31
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - SLO76
I take it you complained directly to BMW UK themselves and not just the dealer? Often a dealer will try to fob you off but the manufacturer or the importer will tend to work a bit harder to please.
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Fri 16 Jun 2017 13:04
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - pd

They might have changed recently but neither Experian or HPI check MOT mileages when doing a mileage check.

When they say "DVLA" they mean the mileages sellers/buyers may or may not have entered on the V5 when the car changes hands - not MOT mileages.

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Fri 16 Jun 2017 13:10
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - Simon
Everyone seems very quick to blame the MOT tester, there is no evidence to say that he entered an incorrect mileage, the car could quite easily have been 'clocked'.
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Fri 16 Jun 2017 13:48
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - RobJP
Everyone seems very quick to blame the MOT tester, there is no evidence to say that he entered an incorrect mileage, the car could quite easily have been 'clocked'.

Yes, it could have been. But as the OP says in the first post, 'the service book indicates mileage consistent with the 58k" - which is the lower figure.

So the evidence indicates that the 75k was a mis-type. There is, conversely, no seeming evidence for the car being clocked.

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Thu 17 Aug 2017 20:54
BMW X3 - MOT History indicates incorrect milage - zuluboy

hey all,

thought Id update this thread with the outcome of what happened here. After posting here this issue I raised it with BMW, they investigated and are convinced its MOT FAT fingers. They spend a little whilte digging around , looking at their internal service history logs , key reads and then worked out that the MOT tester had put in the milage as KM and not Miles.

The previous owner had the winter pack fitted to this car, and when I received it I noticed it had some ski resorts in the sat nav... so.. perhaps he had the car in "Km" mode but the MOT tester didnt realise?? who knows.. regardless they've provided me with a while bunch of documentation and a nice letter (email) confirming the milage hasnt been tampered with..

As a gesture they also paid for a minor service I had when collecting the documents..

Im impressed..

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