Interpretation ID: nht74-4.11

DATE: 07/03/74

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Richard B. Dyson; NHTSA

TO: Linch-Jones Inc.

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in response to your letter of June 4, 1974, inquiring as to the validity of your odometer disclosure statement.

The odometer disclosure requirements prescribed at 49 CFR Part 580 specify that a seller must provide his purchaser with a written statement that declares the mileage indicated on the vehicle odometer at the time of the transfer. If that mileage is known by the transferor to differ from the number of miles actually traveled by the vehicle, this must also be included in the disclosure statement in the form specified in the regulations.

The statement suggested in your letter inserts the word "may" into the aspect of the disclosure statement pertaining to mileage registration that is inaccurate for reasons other than calibration error. Although the statement as you have phrased it is not a direct violation of the Act, it is in conflict with the intended purpose of the disclosure statement to inform the purchaser of a vehicle as to the accuracy of the mileage registered on the odometer. In order to accomplish this purpose it has been determined that where the seller of a vehicle has good reason to believe that the mileage registered on the odometer differs from the vehicle's true mileage he must so inform the buyer in positive terms. This insures a conscious effort to determine the accuracy of the vehicle's odometer will bemade by the seller and prevents him from transferring ownership of a vehicle in a manner that could mislead the buyer.

In the situation where the transferor is uncertain whether the mileage is accurate, he must determine whether there is a credible basis for an assumption that the mileage is either correct or incorrect. If he has good reason to believe that the mileage is inaccurate, even though he is not positive, he should check the statement saying that the mileage indicated on the odometer is incorrect.

We urge you to phrase your odometer disclosure statement in the manner prescribed in the odometer regulation.

The full odometer statement enclosed in your letter appears correct. However, I should point out that the transferor's signature and the date of the statement must appear on the form in order for it to be complete.

For your information I am enclosing a copy of the odometer regulation which includes the odometer disclosure statement form.

ENCLS.

June 4, 1974

National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration, D.O.T.

Chief Counsel:

I request an interpretation as to the validity of our statement (as below).

I state that the actual mileage may differ from odometer reading for reasons other than odometer calibration error and that the actual mileage is unknown.

I also enclose a copy of my odometer mileage statement in total, which is incorporated in the bill of sale, to further add to the clarification of this matter.

Respectfully yours

William E. Linch, President

Linch-Jones, Inc.

CAR INVOICE

GERMAN AUTO BROKER

LINCH-JONES INCORPORATED

131 Honeysuckle Lane

Smyrna, Georgia 30080

SOLD TO

ADDRESS

DATE

Make

Body Type

Year

Model

Vehicle Identification No.

Sold "as is."

PRICE OF CAR

EXTRAS:

OPTIONAL EQUIP. & ACCES.

LICENSE TAG SALES TAX

TOTAL

Odometer Mileage Statement

Federal regulations require you to state the odometer mileage upon transfer of ownership. An inaccurate statement may make you liable for damages to your transferee, pursuant to Section 409 (a) of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972, Public Law 92-513.

I. , state that the odometer mileage indicated on the vehicle described below is miles.

I further state that the actual mileage may differ from the odometer reading for reasons other than odometer calibration error and that the actual mileage is unknown.