Speedometer fraud in Luxembourg: How to protect yourself from manipulation!

Speedometer fraud in Luxembourg: How to protect yourself from manipulation!

In Luxembourg, an estimated 6 percent of vehicle odometers are now tampered with. This emerges from a recent study that brings the manipulation rate in Luxembourg in line with comparable figures in Belgium. However, the value is significantly lower than in countries such as Macedonia, where around 25.61 percent of speedometers are fake. In comparison, Germany has a manipulation rate of 12.5 percent and France 8 percent. The low fraud rate in Luxembourg is particularly favored by the young average age of the vehicle fleet, as most used car buyers buy through dealers with transparent maintenance records, according to lessentiel.lu.

However, the Luxembourg Automobile Club (ACL) points out that private sales significantly increase the risk of mileage fraud. According to Frank Lentz from Fedamo, buyers should exercise caution, especially when it comes to tempting offers on the Internet, and ask critical questions about mileage.

Risks and warnings

Although the tampering rate in Luxembourg is low, some risk of fraud remains, especially when importing vehicles from countries with higher opportunities for fraud. DP Minister Yuriko Backes has emphasized that Luxembourg has fulfilled its legal obligations in the fight against speedometer fraud. Nevertheless, both Fedamo and the Luxembourg government advocate a European solution to combat this phenomenon.

The ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club) supplements the topic with figures from Germany: A study shows that the speedometer of one in three used cars is tampered with. Manipulations increase the selling price of a vehicle by an average of 3,000 euros and cause total annual damage of around 6 billion euros through speedometer manipulation in Germany. Despite the 2017 EU regulation requiring systematic mileage protection, the problem remains as even current models can be easily manipulated.

Tips for avoiding speedometer fraud

To protect yourself from speedometer fraud, the ADAC gives valuable tips:

• Prüfen Sie die Fahrzeughistorie, inklusive Reparaturrechnungen und Inspektionshefte.
• Nehmen Sie Kontakt zu Vorbesitzern auf.
• Verlangen Sie eine schriftliche Angabe der „tatsächlichen Laufleistung“ im Kaufvertrag.
• Führen Sie einen Gebrauchtwagencheck in einem ADAC Prüfzentrum durch.
• Beachten Sie den Pflegezustand und die Betriebsbedingungen der Vorbesitzer.
• Lassen Sie Fehler- und Wartungsintervall-Speicher auslesen.
• Überprüfen Sie das Produktionsdatum von Tacho und Steuergeräten.

In addition, manufacturers such as Audi and Volkswagen have taken technical measures to make speedometer manipulation more difficult by using so-called HSM technology (Hardware Secure Module). Nevertheless, manipulation devices are easily available on the Internet and can be purchased for around 150 euros. Although the sale of such devices is legal, manipulation of mileage remains prohibited by law.

The police have already had success in the fight against speedometer fraud, and consumers can access their vehicle data for free to ensure greater security when purchasing used cars. However, it remains important to be vigilant and inform yourself about the risks of speedometer fraud, as adac.de strongly recommends.