CASE sees rise in complaints over pre-owned cars; mileage tampering among issues flagged
Industry players say squeezed margins and the difficulty of selling high-mileage cars can tempt unscrupulous dealers to manipulate odometers.
Pre-owned car buyers have complained about repeated breakdowns, dealers not honouring warranties, and misleading claims about the condition of cars. (Image: CNA)
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SINGAPORE: Complaints involving pre-owned cars rose in the first eight months of this year, with buyers reporting problems such as repeated breakdowns and suspected mileage tampering.
The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received 163 complaints from January to August, up from 116 over the same period last year, according to figures provided to CNA.
Of these, 22 involved alleged mileage tampering, compared with 17 in the corresponding period last year.
WHY MILEAGE MATTERS
To get a closer look at how used cars are bought and resold, CNA accompanied a car dealer – who asked to be identified only as M – to a closed-door inspection where dealers examine vehicles before bidding for them in an online auction.
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Some of these cars are trade-ins from customers who buy new vehicles from authorised distributors.
At the inspection, dealers check the condition of the cars’ interiors, what is under the bonnet and their mileage – a key consideration as lower-mileage vehicles tend to attract more attention and sell faster.
One car that CNA saw had a recorded mileage of about 125,000km.
About three days after the auction, what appeared to be the same car was advertised on a popular car website with a mileage of 88,000km – roughly 37,000km lower.
The online listing carried the same Additional Registration Fee (ARF) and registration date as the car seen at the auction.
M said he had encountered similar discrepancies in the past and flagged them to the online platform carrying the advertisements.
According to him, the platform removed the mileage information from the listings and said it would monitor them.
CNA has contacted the platform for more information but has not received a response so far.
M said dealers may sometimes be able to compare the mileage with earlier servicing records from an authorised distributor.
“So they can call in and perhaps arrange for a next service as well as to enquire about when the vehicle was last serviced,” said M.
But if several years have passed since the car was last serviced there, its subsequent mileage may become harder to verify.
“This will be the point where the dealer is incentivised and able to tamper with the vehicle’s mileage,” said M.
A false mileage reading could also obscure possible problems with the car.
“For example, we have our timing belts, our timing chains, as well as our spark plugs and our plug coils, other stuff such as our transmission fluid and our differential fluid … if we do not change them at regular intervals, it might result in unexpected breakdowns,” said M.
Failing to maintain these components could result in a “huge nightmare and headache” for buyers who think they found a “gem of a vehicle”, he added.
When problems emerge, warranties offered by such dealers may not provide the protection buyers expect. Some exclude wear-and-tear parts, potentially leading to disputes.
The Singapore Vehicle Traders Association (SVTA) said it was aware of unscrupulous dealers tampering with mileage and strongly discouraged the practice.
It added that its new executive committee plans to discuss the issue internally and remind members to operate with transparency and integrity.
ONLINE PLATFORMS CHANGING USED-CAR MARKET
Dealers told CNA that margins in the used-car trade have shrunk as the rise of online platforms makes it easier for buyers and sellers to compare prices.
They said profits have fallen to around S$1,000 to S$3,000 (US$780-US$2,350) per car, from as much as $10,000 to S$20,000 previously.
Mr Martin Yeo, director of MY Autohaus, said online listings have made prices increasingly transparent for car sellers.
“Everyone wants a high price for their vehicle, and with the prices being so transparent, everyone wants to match the market price,” said Mr Yeo.
“But the thing about a dealership is that we can’t buy a car at a market price because if we buy at the market price, then we can’t sell for a profit. After all, dealerships are profit making.”
Mr Eric Chua, honorary secretary of SVTA, said dealers are having to sell more vehicles to compensate for the lower margins.
“We just got to work doubly hard to make the same money. But I think that’s the way it is in the market, and that’s how the market has evolved.”
For dealers, every day a car remains unsold also means another day their money remains tied up.
Mr Yeo said that, from his experience, high-mileage cars generally attract few enquiries and are slow to move.
“Some dealers buy the car in and they cannot sell for like three, four months because of high mileage, so these black sheep will be tempted to actually adjust the mileage to make it more marketable and easier to go.”
He cautioned consumers to pay attention to what dealers promise them, and to scrutinise warranty terms and exclusions.
WHEN PROBLEMS ARISE
Consumers who discover defects after buying a used car may have recourse under the Lemon Law, which covers second-hand goods.
But resolving a dispute can become complicated when a dealer contests responsibility or stops responding.
This can be particularly difficult with suspected mileage tampering when a vehicle may have changed hands several times, said Mr Roy Paul Mukkam, associate director at A.W. Law.
“The vehicle may be … second hand, third hand, fourth hand. So who tampered with it actually? That is the issue we face,” said Mr Roy.
Some buyers turn to lawyers after dealers fail to act, even while the car is still under warranty.
“It’s always very similar – the engine stalls, it’s a faulty vehicle. I have to get a tow truck to come, and then I approach (the dealer) and say, ‘Look, the engine is faulty, can you fix it?’ They don’t answer. They don’t do anything.”
A lawyer can send a letter of demand, giving a dealer an opportunity to resolve the dispute without going to court.
But Mr Roy said the dealers in the cases he has handled did not respond to such letters.
“I will have to advise my clients – look, if they are not scared enough from a law firm’s letter of demand, means they just don’t care. They will do something to evade liability – sell the company, sell their assets, all that, they will disappear.”
Dealerships can also change their names.
Of the car dealers registered from 2020 to 2025, 174 had changed their names by May this year, according to ACRA data.
A company changing its name does not in itself indicate wrongdoing, but it can become an issue if buyers are not able to identify the legal entity that sold them the car.
If the company shuts down altogether, pursuing a claim can become more difficult.
Mr Roy said sometimes taking legal action also does not make financial sense if the legal fees cost more than the claim.
He recommends approaching CASE first before a dispute reaches such a stage.
SEEKING HELP FROM CASE
Mr Linus Ng, a member of CASE’s central committee and chairperson of the consumer education committee, said mediators look at how the needs of consumers can be addressed.
“It need not be a total refund … sometimes it can be servicing, more services being rendered, or a change of the car, or a change of the components, for example,” said Mr Ng.
CaseTrust-accredited dealers are contractually bound to take part in mediation if a dispute cannot otherwise be resolved.
Consumers who bought from dealers that are not CaseTrust-accredited can still approach CASE and seek mediation, but the dealer is not obliged to participate.
WHAT STEPS CAN BUYERS TAKE
For buyers hoping to avoid getting into such a situation in the first place, industry players cautioned against judging a used car by its mileage alone.
A higher-mileage vehicle that has been well maintained could be in better condition than a lower-mileage one that has not.
Buyers should also consider having the vehicle independently inspected before purchasing it and ideally choose a mechanic of their own.
CASE also recommends using its Standard and Functional Evaluation (SAFE) checklist when buying a pre-owned car.
The checklist records information provided by the dealer, including the car’s mileage and whether it has been in an accident affecting the structure of the chassis.
The dealer signs off on the information, giving the buyer a written record of what was represented to them should a dispute arise later.
Source: CNA/oc(mp)
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