Junkyard reports #1: the story of one Volkswagen Caravelle and its 640,000 km rollback

We all want to buy a used car in top-notch condition. One that will serve you without any issues for years to come. However, the used car market is full of vehicles with shady histories and broken expectations.

At carVertical, we have a saying: “Every car hides a story.” And this is the story of a car checked by our users in Romania. Meet the 2012 Volkswagen Caravelle – a spacious minivan that doubles as a road trip companion and work horse for the service industry.

A short dossier

Suspect: Volkswagen Caravelle

Year of production: 2012

Last known “real” mileage: 814,426 km

Mileage after manipulation: 174,399 km

Country of residence: Romania

A secret of making a car look “younger”

The Volkswagen Caravelle. Not the actual hero of the story, though.

From the moment it left the dealership, our Caravelle didn’t slow down. In just 2 years, it had already covered 89,000 kilometers – and that was only the beginning. As the years passed, it just kept going.

The van spent most of its time driving in Austria. However, in 2023, it was registered in France, and the next year, it arrived at its final destination – Romania.

While still in Austria, in 2022, the Caravelle reached an eye-watering 814,426 km on the odometer, which is roughly 20 times around the globe. Astonishing numbers for a vehicle – it would make any car manufacturer proud.

Sadly, this is exactly when the magic begins. By the time the Caravelle is registered in Romania, the odometer shows just 174,399 km. That means over 640,000 km have simply vanished – wiped clean, gone without a trace. And no, this isn’t some exaggerated marketing stunt. It’s a real car with a real report.

After the mileage was manipulated, the car had already driven a few thousand kilometers more, and, according to its history report, is now approaching 180,000 km.

Is this a one-time discovery? Definitely, not. We regularly encounter cars with their mileage altered across Europe. Sometimes it’s just a minor manipulation of 20,000 km, but often the figures are much higher – going well into hundreds of thousands of rolled back kilometers.

Imagine that you’re looking for a spacious van and encounter one you like with relatively low mileage – only over 174,000 km. You shake hands with the seller, and soon you’re the new owner of a car that, in a few years, will clock 1 million kilometers.

Is getting a clocked car really a bad idea?

As you can probably guess, the higher the car’s mileage, the lower its price. Some time ago, we conducted research, which revealed that buyers overpay 21% on average for a vehicle with manipulated mileage.

This problem is widespread among imported cars. You may be surprised to learn that there’s no unified car registry in Europe, which would allow you to track a vehicle’s history throughout its lifespan, especially when it moves from country to country.

What happens now is that countries don’t exchange vehicle data. Therefore, when a car is imported into another jurisdiction, its mileage is often manipulated. Not to mention hidden damages and other red flags that may cause concern.

We can only imagine how worn some components of a car, which has driven more than 800,000 km, could be. This purchase will no doubt cost the new owner a significant amount of money in repairs. Occasional breakdowns shouldn’t come as a surprise either.

Avoiding clocked Caravelles and other cars with shady histories

Would you buy this Caravelle with over 640,000 clocked kilometers? We’d be surprised if you do. We can only imagine what other horror stories this car may hide.

To learn the history of a car across borders and avoid falling prey to scammers, you need to do one simple thing – perform a VIN check. This will not only reveal mileage discrepancies but also provide damage records, ownership changes, technical specifications, and other information crucial when buying a used vehicle.

A history report is also a great tool for negotiating a better price. Sometimes a car may be okayish but worth less than the asking price. With a report at hand, you can expect to lower that price and avoid overpaying.

Also, don’t forget the final step – bring the car to an authorized service center for an inspection, where professionals will connect diagnostic tools, read any fault codes, and assess the condition of the mechanical components.