Hey folks,

I need some advice. Dealers are close, and I must clear my mind before calling on Monday next week.

I bought an F-Type S 2015 with 70,000 km on the odometer. Now, a year later, I'm at 100,000 km. I need an engine rebuilt, and much wear shows that the odometer might have been trafficked. I asked three specialists (JLR service and two specialised shops), and all think the odometer has been modified and the car has 160,000 km +++. JLR said they never saw an F-type needing an engine rebuild at that mileage, and other wear shows that it's probably a lot more used than it is.

My problem is that there's no way to get proof by reading the ECU. Usually, you'll look at the ECU to find a forgotten file displaying the original mileage. JLR told me that all the files must be modified for the dash to display the new mileage.

Luckily, the dealer rushed the preparation and forgot to reinitialise the infotainment system. I have the past owner's entire phonebook and complete navigation data. Do you think JLR can extract the navigation history and see if it matches the odometer? I know for a fact that the navigation system always knows where you are. Do you think it stores somewhere the total distance red by the navigation system?

 

The infotainment system won't begin to retain as much history as you need. I'm not sure what Carfax has/looks like in Canada, but here it would be a source to report mileage at various repairs/inspection/registration points. A second thought would be to check with dealers in your area (or where it came from) to see what they have for repair history/mileage. Third option would be to contact the previous owner and ask. Of course if HE'S the one who ran it back, he's not likely to be helpful. But, if a rollback was done by a shady car dealer, you might have some luck. (And, if he wasn't the original owner, it might predate him and he could even be unaware.) Last thought would be to check with your equivalent of the Dept of Motor Vehicles. They're not likely to be forthcoming, but if you tell them you're investigating a possible mileage rollback, they might at least tell you if their records align, or not.