Risk Of Odometer Fraud In Older E46 Bmw's

[jisang1]

Hey all,

I'm thinking of getting a 2000 328i, and was wondering if in the 1999-2000 generation BMW's there is a risk of odomoeter fraud. If yes, what things can I look out for to prevent myself from getting a bad deal?

In general, can a BMW odometer be easily rolled back? I was told that some unethical people just replace the entire gauges set from a BMW with low miles.

Thanks,

[peterkulesza]

high. caveat emptor. interrogate prior owner, check carfax. this often gives locations of where the car been serviced.

[Dirty_Tool]

It is not very easy to roll back mileage on a BMW. The mileage is stored in 2 places, the instrument cluster and also the lamp control module. Because of the redundant storage if someone simply replaces the cluster then a fault is stored and also a manipulation dot is displayed in the cluster. (small red dot next to the mileage display.) Of course it is not impossible to do , but it takes special coding equipment so only a higher end criminal would invest the money in equipment. Its not as if any Joe Blow can easily roll back mileage without any trouble. That said, as Peter said, Carfax is a great tool as well as looking for the maniulation Dot and of course using common sense.
Good Luck,

DT