Interpretation ID: aiam2061
205 S. Liberty Street
Albion
IN 46701;
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Kienzler: This is in response to your letter of September 8, 1975, concernin apparent alteration of the odometer on the 1971 Pontiac Ventura II you traded in to Mosher Motor Sales.; The Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act (Pub. L. 92-513 prohibits disconnection, resetting, or alteration of a vehicle odometer with intent to change the number of miles indicated thereon. It also requires the execution of a written disclosure of a vehicle's mileage at the time ownership of a vehicle is transferred. A false statement on the disclosure form, knowingly made by the transferor, is considered a violation of the Act.; Violation of any of these requirements, committed with the intent t defraud, makes available to the buyer a civil remedy in the amount of $1,500 or treble damages, whichever is greater. To obtain this remedy the Act provides that a private civil action be instituted in State or Federal court.; The situation you describe in your letter indicates that there hav been at least two violations of the Act by the dealer to whom you traded you car. If the person who purchased the vehicle from him becomes aware of the violations they will be able to sue according to the procedure described above. The only danger that exists for you relates to the absence of an odometer disclosure statement executed by you at the time you gave up possession of the car. If an eventual owner of the car discovers that the mileage has been altered he may sue everyone who ever owned the vehicle.; I would therefore suggest that you now execute an odometer disclosur statement indicating what the mileage was on the car at the time you turned it over to Mosher. I have enclosed the odometer disclosure regulation promulgated pursuant to the Act which contains a sample disclosure form. You may want to state somewhere on the document the reasons for your not having provided the statement at the time you sold your car. You can then send the document to the dealer by certified mail and retain your receipt as evidence that he received it. You may also find it a good idea to retain a copy of the odometer disclosure you complete.; Mosher Motor Sales is in violation of the law if it does not provid you with an odometer disclosure statement for the vehicle you purchased. A letter will be sent from this office informing the dealership of its noncompliance. You should demand that you be given a statement that conforms to the one required by law since it will serve as protection for you should that vehicle's mileage every (sic) be questioned.; Based upon the information you have provided it appears that Moshe Motor Sales may be violating the Federal odometer law. If you question the accuracy of the mileage currently indicated on the odometer of the car you purchased from them there are several means by which you may be able to establish that there has been an alteration. First, you may be able to obtain copies of prior odometer disclosure statements that certify the mileage on the vehicle at various points in the past. If these statements are unavailable, you may want to question prior owners of the vehicle as to what they recall the mileage being when they gave up possession. Your State Department of Motor Vehicles should be able to tell you how to trace back the chain of title. Some States record the mileage on vehicles at the time they are inspected and others enter mileage directly on the title document which is often filed with the State. These would be possible leads to finding out whether the mileage is accurate. Finally, an experienced mechanic may be able to determine if an odometer has been disconnected or altered.; The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has no authorit under the Cost Savings Act to conduct investigations to determine if there has been a violation of the odometer provisions. For this reason, we must rely on private individuals such as yourselves to notify us of violations. We will alert Mosher to the fact that we have received a compliant concerning them and inform them of the penalties for noncompliance.; Thank you very much for your letter. Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Acting Chief Counsel