RAC comment on Glass's look at car clocking - practice needs to be "stamped out once and for all"

RAC Cars spokesman Pete Williams said: “While there are fewer cars on the road these days that feature mechanical, rather than digital milometers, it is a sad fact that the practice of clocking has never really gone away – and this insight suggests it could in fact be on the rise.

“People are taking out Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) finance and stating that they don’t plan to do as many miles as they actually end up doing, and then getting the milometer manually corrected – by committing to driving fewer miles in a finance agreement, the monthly PCP payments can fall.

“But despite the increasingly popularity of PCP, the bigger issue here concerns the private used car market. When you consider that mileage is one of the main factors that contribute to the value of a second-hand car, some unscrupulous sellers are clocking cars to keep the resale value artificially high. Given it’s unlikely the buyer can know if a car has been clocked or not, it is sound advice to get a full history check on the vehicle and ensure it is regularly serviced.

“Action needs to be taken on companies actively offering clocking services so this practice is stamped out once and for all.”