Mileage went down between MOTs: mistake or clocking?

Where the readings come from

At every MOT the tester reads the mileage from the dashboard and types it into the test record. Most cars are tested once a year from three years old, so the record usually holds one reading a year. Anyone can look it up free with the registration.

Because a person types the number, mistakes happen. DVSA has a process for correcting them, which matters later.

Signs of a typing mistake

• One reading is out of line and the next is back on track. If the car shows 41,000, then 4,800, then 59,000, the middle figure lost a digit.
• The digits are nearly right. Two swapped digits, one missing or one extra are the classic slips.
• The odd reading is about 1.6 times too high or too low. That is the gap between miles and kilometres, and it happens with imports and with dashboards that can switch units.
• A second test a day or two later shows a sensible figure. The garage spotted the slip and reissued the certificate.

Signs the reading was changed

• The mileage stays low. After the drop, every later reading climbs from the new, lower figure instead of returning to the old line.
• The drop comes just before or after the car changed hands.
• The car's use doesn't add up. It was doing 15,000 miles a year, and after the drop it does 3,000.
• The wear doesn't match. A shiny steering wheel, worn pedal rubbers and a sagging driver's seat on a car showing 30,000 miles.

There is one honest reason for a lasting drop: the instrument cluster was replaced after a fault, and the new one started from zero or from a different figure. If that happened there should be an invoice showing the mileage at the time.

Can the record be corrected?

Yes, and that is useful to you. If the test was within the last 28 days, the test centre can usually put it right. After that, the keeper reports the mistake to DVSA with proof of the true mileage, such as a service invoice dated within a day of the test. DVSA won't accept an MOT certificate or a photo of the dashboard as proof.

So a seller who says it's only a typo has a way to show it. If the wrong reading is years old and nobody has corrected it, ask why not.

Why it matters

Mileage sets a large part of a car's price, and it decides when expensive servicing falls due. A car that has really done 110,000 miles and shows 60,000 is priced wrongly and may be overdue work the seller says isn't needed yet. Selling a car with a mileage the seller knows is false, without saying so, is an offence.

The free Hindsight check charts every MOT reading and gives a view on whether a drop looks more like a slip or a change. The Full report adds readings from service records, past adverts and salvage auctions, which often show when the figure changed.