Speedometer rollbacks
Speedometer rollbacks
I just spent 2 days in PP looking for a decent automobile. I looked at dozens of cars on and around street 108. Collected VIN's and speedometer readings. Back home in Kampot and ran checks on 8 of them that looked to be in great shape. All came from the US, and every one of them had between 60,000 Miles and 90,000 on the odometer. The VIN check showed them all to be in excess of 150,000 miles. One had 80,000 on the odometer and the VIN check showed it had 315,000 miles in 2008 when it was exported.
On top of that, all the owners claimed their cars to have never been hit. Three out of the 8 were sold as totals at auction with a salvage title.
So, do all these used imports have their speedo rolled back?
I really want and need a reliable car, but cannot bring myself to buy these rollbacks.
Other than buying new, does anyone have a recommendation on how I can find something that is accurately presented?
On top of that, all the owners claimed their cars to have never been hit. Three out of the 8 were sold as totals at auction with a salvage title.
So, do all these used imports have their speedo rolled back?
I really want and need a reliable car, but cannot bring myself to buy these rollbacks.
Other than buying new, does anyone have a recommendation on how I can find something that is accurately presented?
It seems all car imports are either written off or very high mileage.
It's not just here. I'd say the majority of Mercedes E class diesels in the UK have been clocked. It's impossible to tell but if you know the car you'll see wear on the seat mainly.
Find a reputable dealer in PP. AE86 on here is a good source of info. PM him.
It's not just here. I'd say the majority of Mercedes E class diesels in the UK have been clocked. It's impossible to tell but if you know the car you'll see wear on the seat mainly.
Find a reputable dealer in PP. AE86 on here is a good source of info. PM him.
pew, pew, pew, pew!
Yes, they've all been clocked (Odometer) - speedo should be at zero when viewing
Best to get:
(i) the one you're most happy with VIN/history of minor damage
(ii) one that hasn't been owned by a Khmer beforehand - i.e. straight off the boat.
(iii) one a mechanic you trust can repair/maintain
On my second car in 7 years now, both no problem at all - got 5 years out of an RX300 with no major problems, just Mrs. Spigz parking skills & some paint Second car no trouble either.
Best to get:
(i) the one you're most happy with VIN/history of minor damage
(ii) one that hasn't been owned by a Khmer beforehand - i.e. straight off the boat.
(iii) one a mechanic you trust can repair/maintain
On my second car in 7 years now, both no problem at all - got 5 years out of an RX300 with no major problems, just Mrs. Spigz parking skills & some paint Second car no trouble either.
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ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
Every single vehicle here with a digital odometer is going to be "clocked", even if it's a $100k plus Lexus or Range Rover. Last dealer I went to for the hell of it, had a few LX570s and Range Rover Sports for sale, all with 30k - 40k but when I vin checked them, some were over 200-300k and a handful were (as mentioned above), write offs as well.
Dealers in Cambodia are ridiculous when it comes to that kind of thing, so the only way to ensure the vehicle isn't clocked is to buy the wreck off the container itself and have it fixed. Beware though, what you see is what you get, and what you'll get will probably scare you and cost a lot of money as well so that's what led me to import my own cars.
Dealers in Cambodia are ridiculous when it comes to that kind of thing, so the only way to ensure the vehicle isn't clocked is to buy the wreck off the container itself and have it fixed. Beware though, what you see is what you get, and what you'll get will probably scare you and cost a lot of money as well so that's what led me to import my own cars.
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My neighbor imports large trucks ,like dump trucks, they are all unrepairably wrecked and super high milage bought as scrap metal, yet his shop bodges them back togeather and sells them for outragously large amounts.
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Great advice...I tried to find an individual to help me with importing my cars from the US. But the responses were always short and incomplete. Is there anything or anybody that you could recommend to get me started? Or perhaps you handle imports for others for a fee.AE86 wrote:Every single vehicle here with a digital odometer is going to be "clocked", even if it's a $100k plus Lexus or Range Rover. Last dealer I went to for the hell of it, had a few LX570s and Range Rover Sports for sale, all with 30k - 40k but when I vin checked them, some were over 200-300k and a handful were (as mentioned above), write offs as well.
Dealers in Cambodia are ridiculous when it comes to that kind of thing, so the only way to ensure the vehicle isn't clocked is to buy the wreck off the container itself and have it fixed. Beware though, what you see is what you get, and what you'll get will probably scare you and cost a lot of money as well so that's what led me to import my own cars.
^^I'd recommend PM'ing James Bong of Seacam Logistics. Nice guy and he'll help you out.
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Every car's odometer has been rolled back.
As others have pointed out, buy the best vehicle you see in the flesh. Mileage and service history are non entities in Cambodia.
I would add, check the condition of the oil via the dipstick, as it is a simple but effective way to know what sort of owner you're dealing with. The problem is, often vehicles are well presented aesthetically, and they have taken a high pressure hose to the engine bay.
But never forget, aesthetics aside, Khmers are anti maintenance - I saw some 'oil' in a early 2000s Camry block that has so sludgy, you could have balled it up and thrown it at someone.
As others have pointed out, buy the best vehicle you see in the flesh. Mileage and service history are non entities in Cambodia.
I would add, check the condition of the oil via the dipstick, as it is a simple but effective way to know what sort of owner you're dealing with. The problem is, often vehicles are well presented aesthetically, and they have taken a high pressure hose to the engine bay.
But never forget, aesthetics aside, Khmers are anti maintenance - I saw some 'oil' in a early 2000s Camry block that has so sludgy, you could have balled it up and thrown it at someone.
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From experience I wouldn't care much about odometer rollback for any car purchase value around 10k.
My hilux, a Camry, an rx300 and my wife's actual Corolla have all been purchased locally, all mechanical issues were repaired for a few dollars before being resold for a very little loss.
However if you are after anything more exotic or high value, find and import yourself from USA.
My hilux, a Camry, an rx300 and my wife's actual Corolla have all been purchased locally, all mechanical issues were repaired for a few dollars before being resold for a very little loss.
However if you are after anything more exotic or high value, find and import yourself from USA.
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Thanks AKira, i did recently reply a PM to Ron, i don't log in much so did not see it before.
I try to avoid doing cars for individuals these days, due to problems in the past. A company/business ok we can arrange it as its much smoother and easier and no complaints about the costs, they roll it into the price when the sell on the cars.
Unless its for one of the Okhnas i try to avoid doing one off jobs for personal cars.
Some time ago we did a one off personal car job for an expat and they lied about the engine size and also had other items inside the car which they neglected to mention. Basically turned into a massive mess with Customs when it got inspected and resulted in fines and additional costs to the expat and made us look bad. The expat didn't want to pay extra, couldnt understand why he got fined for lying about the engine size and the additional items inside the car and also was short on cash, so the whole thing was a mess.
Really try to avoid those one off jobs now and concentrate on regular commercial biz.
I try to avoid doing cars for individuals these days, due to problems in the past. A company/business ok we can arrange it as its much smoother and easier and no complaints about the costs, they roll it into the price when the sell on the cars.
Unless its for one of the Okhnas i try to avoid doing one off jobs for personal cars.
Some time ago we did a one off personal car job for an expat and they lied about the engine size and also had other items inside the car which they neglected to mention. Basically turned into a massive mess with Customs when it got inspected and resulted in fines and additional costs to the expat and made us look bad. The expat didn't want to pay extra, couldnt understand why he got fined for lying about the engine size and the additional items inside the car and also was short on cash, so the whole thing was a mess.
Really try to avoid those one off jobs now and concentrate on regular commercial biz.
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Hey Ron,
Can you do a VIN check on my vehicle... would love to know the history (or maybe not....)
Can you do a VIN check on my vehicle... would love to know the history (or maybe not....)
Bond: "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned."
Q: "That's putting it mildly, 007!"
Q: "That's putting it mildly, 007!"
A simple visual check I did in the UK when buying cars (and bikes) was to look at the tyres. If they all match and were a good brand (Michelin, Goodyear, Dunlop etc) it's a good sign, especially on high-end cars which for those brands are OEM.
If they had cheap Chinese ditch finders or mismatched tyres, or a bald or damaged spare (assuming it's full size), I'd often walk away unless it was reduculously cheap. Often servicing was skipped or car was clocked.
I'm pretty sure the same applies anywhere else in the world.
If they had cheap Chinese ditch finders or mismatched tyres, or a bald or damaged spare (assuming it's full size), I'd often walk away unless it was reduculously cheap. Often servicing was skipped or car was clocked.
I'm pretty sure the same applies anywhere else in the world.
pew, pew, pew, pew!
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In the late 80's and early 90's I worked at an Acura dealership.As a Master Mechanic. Honda was the first { in 1986 } with high end cars and then Toyota and Nissan did the same with Lexus { a computer generated name,for which they got sued,and won } and Infiniti. Mazda thought about it but no one liked the 929.Even though it was a good car it looked like a refrigerator.Which became its nick name.
After I left the dealership I worked on customers cars that I would pick up and repair then take back to their home or office.The wholesalers that I met over the years would pay me to go to the big auctions and inspect high end cars,mostly Germain,but a few others.Nothing cheap because theres no profit.Especially since almost all of the cars were going to dealerships.So they had to be right! If I even thought for a second it had been hit the deal was off.Sometimes it was a small time dealer who lucked out and got a one off deal and other times it was Manheim Auction with 5000 cars run through in one day.Twenty lanes going at all times.All cars driven by Mennonites that would not speak to you and look right through you.They also operated the cafeteria.
We figured the owners were bringing in over three million a day just on title transfers.That was twenty years ago.
The tricks and scams these guys could pull was unreal.But if they were ever caught they couldn't sell there again.The cars I was inspecting were sold to dealers that had their mechanics check them out.So they had to be right or I didn't get any work.
I lost count of the cars I inspected over the years.
But with the tools they have to work with,I must say the Khmer impress me.It comes down to one thing;time.They have plenty of it.They can spend all day on a dent the size of your hand.And match paint like a machine.Just don't expect them to replace the tail light bulbs.They use a lot of gas you know! We don't need no stinking brake lights!And over spray on everything.
But when you peel the carpet back,when you pull the floor mats up,when you take the spare tire out,or open the hood,things get ugly quick.And no one wants to let you put it up on the rack.Welding two { or more } uni-bodies together is a big no-no.There was a street behind Lucky Lucky Bikes that had rows of RX300s that were two different colors where they had taken a good front clip and the back and welded them together.For trucks and SUVs with Body on Frame not the end of the world.But uni-bodies,no way.They have no structural integrity.
Insist on seeing the car when the engine is cold.Have them start it while you watch the exhaust. Drive it as soon as its started to check for rough shifting or slipping.Take it to a big parking lot where you can do big circles in reverse checking for bad CV joints.Use every button,every knob,every window lift,every light,turn signal,and the AC of course.I could go on all night. Long story short,run from any car that they wont let you put up on the rake.
After I left the dealership I worked on customers cars that I would pick up and repair then take back to their home or office.The wholesalers that I met over the years would pay me to go to the big auctions and inspect high end cars,mostly Germain,but a few others.Nothing cheap because theres no profit.Especially since almost all of the cars were going to dealerships.So they had to be right! If I even thought for a second it had been hit the deal was off.Sometimes it was a small time dealer who lucked out and got a one off deal and other times it was Manheim Auction with 5000 cars run through in one day.Twenty lanes going at all times.All cars driven by Mennonites that would not speak to you and look right through you.They also operated the cafeteria.
We figured the owners were bringing in over three million a day just on title transfers.That was twenty years ago.
The tricks and scams these guys could pull was unreal.But if they were ever caught they couldn't sell there again.The cars I was inspecting were sold to dealers that had their mechanics check them out.So they had to be right or I didn't get any work.
I lost count of the cars I inspected over the years.
But with the tools they have to work with,I must say the Khmer impress me.It comes down to one thing;time.They have plenty of it.They can spend all day on a dent the size of your hand.And match paint like a machine.Just don't expect them to replace the tail light bulbs.They use a lot of gas you know! We don't need no stinking brake lights!And over spray on everything.
But when you peel the carpet back,when you pull the floor mats up,when you take the spare tire out,or open the hood,things get ugly quick.And no one wants to let you put it up on the rack.Welding two { or more } uni-bodies together is a big no-no.There was a street behind Lucky Lucky Bikes that had rows of RX300s that were two different colors where they had taken a good front clip and the back and welded them together.For trucks and SUVs with Body on Frame not the end of the world.But uni-bodies,no way.They have no structural integrity.
Insist on seeing the car when the engine is cold.Have them start it while you watch the exhaust. Drive it as soon as its started to check for rough shifting or slipping.Take it to a big parking lot where you can do big circles in reverse checking for bad CV joints.Use every button,every knob,every window lift,every light,turn signal,and the AC of course.I could go on all night. Long story short,run from any car that they wont let you put up on the rake.
Sure ... send it to me and I'll email the report. PM me along with email address. For some reason, I cannot get PM's to clear the out box.James Bong wrote:Hey Ron,
Can you do a VIN check on my vehicle... would love to know the history (or maybe not....)