How to tell if car been clocked?

[D3855]

Hi could I tell if a car I am buying has been clocked back? Hpi history check came back no alerts but have a feeling that it has had a few k taken off it. Anyway of finding out? Like can Audi plug it in and check ecu?

[V!per]

Audi should be able to discover that with ease - unless the technician is SH.T and doesn't know what he is doing.
Millage is coded in in more than one component in the car so it's not just instrument cluster where you change the mileage displayed. there are other places to look for this.

[Surrey Sam]

You can interrogate those control units using VCDS as well, from memory.

[Covkiller]

Why do you think it's been clocked.

[R4llye]

If you're not convinced the car/history is genuine, why are you still considering to purchase it?

If you have questions that aren't answered to your satisfaction walk away - there'll always be another one.

[Ian_C]

Hi could I tell if a car I am buying has been clocked back? Hpi history check came back no alerts but have a feeling that it has had a few k taken off it. Anyway of finding out? Like can Audi plug it in and check ecu?

Yes. You can scan with vagcom and it will tell you the ecu kilometers/mileage, which hopefully will be the same as the dashboard is saying...

If you're not convinced the car/history is genuine, why are you still considering to purchase it?

If you have questions that aren't answered to your satisfaction walk away - there'll always be another one.

When we bought our previous family A3 from Audi @ 2.5 years old with 15 or 16k on the clock, serviced at 2 years old, one of the bits of paper on the Audi sales persons desk said 'next service due at 40/45k' (cannot remember the number, but it was more than 20,000 more than the current mileage, ie more than the maximum audi variable service interval). The car was immaculate, the back seats looked like they had never been sat in, when I test drove it, there were no rear mats and the rear carpet looked untouched, it still smelt new, the only mark was where a mircrophone had been glued to the A pillar interior trim. However, I seem to recall some (or all) of the tyres had also been replaced (tyres were all the same make and model, but datestamps were newer than the car registration date) and the mileage on the car April 2008 was only marginally higher than the service Sept 2007. It just made me think. When we got it home (with rear mats included as part of the deal!) I thought there was no harm in plugging in vagcom and checking, just for peace of mind.

I was 99% sure the car was straight, but I would always have that niggle in my mind about that piece of paper if I hadn't looked myself!