Thousands of cars sold in Illinois have fake odometer readings

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — If you buy a used vehicle and it almost immediately starts to have problems, you may be the victim of fraud through an odometer rollback. It’s a crime which could take thousands of dollars out of your pocket.

CARFAX told WAND News more than 2.14 million cars on the road may have had their odometer rolled back in 2024, up more than 18% since 2021, and up more than 82,000 vehicles since 2023.

It can take just seconds for an odometer to be rolled back with equipment easily found on the internet and for just a few hundred dollars or less. A rolled back odometer can cost consumers an average of $4,000 in value, CARFAX found, not to mention additional costs in unexpected repairs and potential safety risks.

Illinois is among the leaders in the nation in odometer rollbacks. The state ranks number 5 nationwide with an estimated annual rollback of 79,200 miles. That’s up from the number 6 position in 2021.

The Decatur, Springfield, Champaign area have a suspected 4,600 vehicles with odometers which have been rolled back Em Nguyen of CARFAX told WAND News.

Jimmy Hendon of Atlanta, Georgia purchased a Chevy 4x4 truck. He later discovered the truck he purchased had about 180,000 miles rather than the 108,000 miles he thought he purchased.

“The mileage was so far off from the accurate mileage that is was crazy,” Hendon stated.

On January 16, 2025 Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias warned fraudulent sales from out-of-state businesses licensed as wholesale dealers illegally falsify the mileage shown on a vehicle’s title and odometer to defraud car buyers.

Giannoulias’ warning comes after an Illinois car buyer thought they purchased a used vehicle with 80,000 miles, only to find out the seller rolled the odometer back from over 200,000 miles and deliberately failed to disclose major mechanical problems with the car.