How to spot a clocked car: 7 mileage-fraud red flags

Digital dashboards made clocking easier, not harder — a wind-back tool costs less than a tank of fuel. The good news: the MOT history records mileage at every test, so a backwards jump is hard to hide.

The seven red flags

1. MOT mileage that decreases between tests, or barely moves for years.
2. Wear that does not match the miles — shiny pedals, worn steering wheel, sagging seat on a "low-mileage" car.
3. A suspiciously fresh-looking interior on an older car.
4. Service history gaps right where the mileage jumps.
5. A seller who is vague about the car’s history or rushes the sale.
6. New-looking tyres and brakes that imply more miles than claimed.
7. A price that is too good for the stated mileage.

Let the data do the work

You do not have to eyeball it. A check reads the full MOT mileage timeline and flags any anomaly automatically — Verdari scores it as a risk signal on the report.