Free Odometer Check Available On The Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles Website

    FAIRFAX, Va.--May 14, 2001--Used car buyers and owners have the opportunity to check whether or not their vehicle has ever been subject to odometer fraud.
    The Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles is offering a link from its Web site to the site of Carfax (www.carfax.com), a company that offers vehicle history reports. Carfax will run the report free of charge. All that is needed to run the report is the 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN), found on the dashboard and title document of every vehicle in the United States.
    Kevin Konopacki, WisDOT's Odometer Fraud Unit Director, cited a study done by CNW Research which indicated that of 854,273 used cars and trucks sold in Wisconsin last year, 76,030 had the potential for rolled back odometers. The estimated cost to those vehicle owners is $304,121,188 or $4,000 per vehicle.
    Nationally, close to 10% of the used cars sold have this hidden problem. This project with Carfax, the first of will allow Wisconsin consumers to check the odometer history of the vehicle they currently own or want to buy. If their vehicle shows a potential odometer discrepancy, they should contact the WisDOT Odometer Fraud Unit for assistance at 608/264-8458.
    "WisDOT strives to be proactive with regard to the issue of odometer tampering and all areas of consumer protection. We see this project as an opportunity for the Wisconsin car buyer to discover a potential odometer problem before they purchase a vehicle" notes Division of Motor Vehicle administrator, Roger Cross. He notes, "Wisconsin is proud to be the first state in the country to work with Carfax in offering this important consumer protection program".
    Consumers may access this free service by going to www.dot.state.wi.us and clicking on `free odometer check" or go directly to the odometer check site at www.carfax.com/free .

    NOTE: This document can be viewed on the Internet at: http://www.dot.state.wi.us/opa/news.html.