I went to pick up my "new" old car today. I was going to buy a 1993 Ford Escort wagon since I enjoy doing some yard sales during the warmer months in the East. The car was $1500.00 and had 68,000 miles, which is really good for something 15 years old. The cars condition was really nice and would have been perfect for my needs and my little 8 mile drive back and forth to work. On the drive home, after buying the car, I noticed the clock was wrong so I asked the wife to check the owners manual to see instructions to change the time since it varies from car to car. She gave me the information and saw that the owner who sold it to the dealership had a log of all the work performed on the car. Oil change every 3000-4000 miles, tires, belts, etc. Everything seemed to be in order then with 33,076 miles on it the entry that sent my stomache into knots. NEW Speedometer? Then an oil change at 2971 miles. The car had a new speedometer with an odometer set at 0 so the car actually had 98,000++ miles on it. I immediately called the car dealer and he said he was totally unaware of the events??? He offered me all my $$ back or a few hundred dollars if I kept the car since tax, tags, tittle etc had already been done. I chose all my $$ back. The dealer was cool, but the owner was ###### saying too bad I bought the car, but the dealer didn't want his named tarnished after 14 years in the business. The notary service was not too happy to see me either and I was granted a full refund of service due to an illegal sale. So I have $$ to spend on Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, and Bronko Nagurski cards.
SORRY for the long stort, but what a day. I wonder how many dealers do this or turn back the odometers on used cars??
I still want a wagon for my yard sales.
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