Seen many people driving around in reverse?

Anything is possible with government computers probably just an error that becomes real like PAYE, lol

any information from government surely must be deemed unreliable.

there are firms out there that offer a re clocking service , apparently, so one of my car industry clients tells me.

It is called something else but appears to do just that.

what could you do if you did find out your mileage is wrong ? I doubt if any one would be interested. all you would do would be to reduce your resale value by being honest ?

I think ignorance is bliss, at least you could tell the truth when you come to sell the car if you don't know.

This is very interesting and definitely an additional check I would do before next change of car especially along with the usual hpi checks etc. Do the companies that make a living from summarising cars history hpi/insurance write offs include this now as part of their checks? Useful also as some clients can be a bit vague about annual business mileage - at least I can tell if they are exaggerating now!

Given that the scene outside my window is one of snow and ice, I figured the title was a reference to that. I've seen plenty of people who shouldn't be out driving in this weather doing an inadvertent "reverse" back down hills.

Someone with more car knowledge may be able to verify this, but my understanding of the mileage counter is that it at best stops counting if you drive in reverse. Therefore you could possibly keep a low mileage by going everywhere in reverse but not wind back the clock. Sounds like a cock-up in the MOT records to me.

the joys on an automatic

Someone with more car knowledge may be able to verify this, but my understanding of the mileage counter is that it at best stops counting if you drive in reverse.  

Posted by stepurhan on Fri, 03/12/2010 - 15:44

Just for information - they keep counting whichever direction the car is driven in - this is actually a legal requirement on all cars made for some years now.

So driving in reverse wont help reduce recorded mileage.

Figured it would have to be something like that. My recollection of cars not winding backwards in reverse came from a scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off which might not be considered the most reliable source of mechanical information. It was made back in 1986 though so that could have been accurate then.

before ml regs came in I stopped acting for a client because he told me that he had the clock turned back before every service. The reason being was that he leased the car and paid less rental because of the lower mileage.

He infomed me that it was a "firm" that carried out this service.

For this reason I always advise against buying an ex lease car.

Figured it would have to be something like that. My recollection of cars not winding backwards in reverse came from a scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off which might not be considered the most reliable source of mechanical information. It was made back in 1986 though so that could have been accurate then.

Posted by stepurhan on Sat, 04/12/2010 - 10:00

More importantly - it was made in America, and their cars are somewhat different. They never have mastered the art of making cars go round corners, and the latest Mustang has leaf spring suspension - something I last saw here on a Mk2 Ford Cortina circa around 1970.

I'm a confirmed "petrol head" and if it's got 2 wheels or 4 and an engine then I've probably raced it. The "peak" as far as 4 wheels are concerned was way back when Charlie Clowes was involved in backing the newly formed Arrows Formula One team and I got to test drive one of the prototype F1 cars. In a straight line it was brilliant but had an unnerving tendancy to go very light at around 190-200 into a head wind and was definitely on the verge of flipping (like the Mercedes CLR did at LeMans in 2008).  

Would i drive anything designed & made in America ?  Not on your life. The nearest I got was an AC Cobra (American mechanicals but British chassis) and that car is described as a "man killer" and rightly so. It's incredibly quick for its age, but the handling is totally unpredictable. 

If you want two wheels - buy Japanese, especially the Yamaha R1 - I love my bike even though I dont get to ride it too often now. 

If you want 4 wheels - buy German - The Audi R8 is fabulous, and for day to day you simply cant beat a VW Gti.

If you want to drive something engineered to 1960's standards, poorly built, and guaranteed to break down every week - buy American. 

On Monday morning I left Stornoway on the seven o'clock ferry. I left Ullapool at 10:00 and arrived in Liverpool at 5:00 the next morning (normally an eight hour drive).

Apparently there were over two thousand cars stuck in Scotland's central belt but we made it through - not least because at one point when I couldn't get up a steep snowy / icy slope going forward, I turned the car round and made it in reverse !

You just can't keep a CIMA accountant down ! (In my days winter driving was part of the Foundation B stage of the exams).