The government wants to do more against fraud with odometer readings for cars and motorcycles. A bill on this has been passed by the Council of Ministers and should – after approval by the House of Representatives – take effect in the middle of next year.
The proposal, submitted by the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, must tighten up a number of things to combat such fraud. Currently, the registration of meter readings for relatively major maintenance, MOT inspections and sales is the most important means. That should play an even greater role from now on. If the proposal is accepted, the RDW must be informed of the odometer reading of a car or motorcycle during every repair or maintenance.
Now that threshold is still at a garage visit that costs € 150 or more. By registering odometer readings at every garage visit, the main aim is to prevent young cars from becoming the victim of odometer fraud. They are inspected less often than older cars and go to the garage for expensive maintenance much less often. The period in which many kilometers can be made and then turned back is therefore quite long. The chance of this happening, too.
Cheating devices
Not only does odometer reading registration need to be tightened up considerably, but people also want to be more active in preventing fraudulent systems in circulation. There are ways to let cars register mileage more slowly than is actually the case, so that an odometer reading incorrectly indicates a lower reading. There should be a total ban on the import, sale and possession of such devices. Apparently this is not yet the case.
Huge expense
The ministry reports that odometer fraud causes enormous costs for consumers every year. This is of course mainly due to unjustly high purchase prices of cars that have been tampered with. Once such a car is bought, maintenance is often more expensive than expected. After all, overdue maintenance is lurking and then a major repair may suddenly be required. According to the ministry, odometer fraud in the Netherlands accounts for a financial loss of € 110 million annually.
As mentioned, the House of Representatives must now consider these legislative changes. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management reports that the cabinet is aiming for implementation from 1 July 2021.