As many as 2.5 million clocked cars and vans on the road

Citroen Dispatch, Renault Scenic and Peugeot Expert are most likely to have mileage discrepancies

There are as many as 2.5 million clocked cars and vans on the road, research suggests, with the Citroen Dispatch more likely to be clocked than any other vehicle.

Of the seven million cars subjected to a mileage check as part of a new study, 443,061 were found to have mileage discrepancies - this works out as 6.32 per cent. As of September 2019, there were 38.9 million cars on British roads, which means 2,458,480 of them have incorrect mileages recorded based on an extrapolation of these figures .

Some 414,059 vehicles - 5.91 per cent - were found to have had lower mileages recorded in subsequent MoT tests. These instances could have occured due to deliberate clocking, or they could have a more innocent explanation, such as the tester accidentally making a keying error when recording a vehicle's mileage.

Some 50,249 of vehicles - 0.71 per cent - failed the check because some of their entries were in miles, whereas others were in kilometres. Meanwhile, 21,347 - 0.30 per cent - had both lowered mileages and mixes of miles and kilometres. This means as many as 2,408,231 vehicles on British roads could have been clocked at some point.

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The research, conducted by Rapid Car Check, found the Citroen Dispatch was the vehicle most likely to be clocked - 2,448 of the 8,188 checked were found to have mileage discrepancies, working out at 29.89 per cent.

Second was a car - the Renault Scenic - with a discrepancy rate of 29.61 per cent. This was followed by another van - the Peugeot Expert - with 28.63 per cent.

Previous analysis from Rapid Car Check backs up the latest findings, with between 2.3 and 2.5 million clocked cars thought to have been present on British roads.

It is illegal to sell a car without disclosing known mileage discrepancies, but it is not illegal to adjust a vehicle’s odometer mileage. The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, has previously called for a ban on DIY ‘mileage correction’ tools, which can be bought online from about £100. 

Cllr Simon Blackburn, chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, described clocking as “a rising major fraud, which not only rips off motorists, but can have dangerous implications”.

He advised buyers of used cars to “make thorough checks to ensure that the vehicle is showing its true mileage and that its service history and MOT certificate are accurate”.

Blackburn added that clocking is “tarnishing the reputation of honest used car dealers and sellers”, warning that “councils won’t hesitate to bring any car dealer or private seller to justice who shows a blatant disregard for safety and consumer rights”.

Top 10 most commonly clocked vehicles

Make & Model	Total Failed	Total Checked	Fail Rate
Citroen Dispatch	2,448	8,188	28.89%
Renault Scenic	5,840	19,717	29.61%
Peugeot Expert	2,397	8,371	29.61%
Renault Grand Scenic	3,134	11,209	27.95%
Ford Transit	16,116	145,209	11.09%
Vauxhall Combo	2,403	21,756	11.04%
BMW X5	2,167	20,510	10.56%
Peugeot 206	3,839	37,442	10.25%
Vauxhall Vectra	4,704	45,973	10.23%
Citroen Xsara	2,254	22,284	10.11%

Car clocking: prosecutions out of step with incidents

Local councils have brought just 140 prosecutions for car clocking in the last five years, a series of Freedom of Information requests has revealed.

Local councils have responsibility for policing the problem, but one in five has failed to bring a single prosecution since 2012, while one in three has investigated less than one a year. Of the 140 prosecutions brought just 117 resulted in a conviction, with around 1,300 cars being involved in the cases.