Angry second-hand car owners are demanding answers after finding out they purchased vehicles that had tens of thousands of kilometres wiped off the clock.

Times of Malta has been inundated with complaints from car owners, who have discovered their odometers were rigged. 

The police are investigating two car dealers – Rokku and Tal-Qasab – allegedly involved in the racket to tamper with the mileage of second-hand Japanese cars.

After the scam was revealed by MaltaToday on Sunday, Times of Malta published a guide to help people verify the true mileage of their imported cars.

Over the past two days, a significant number of frustrated and angry customers confirmed they were sold a car purporting to have a mileage of around 20,000 kilometres when, in fact, it had much more on the clock.

The most fortunate victims, mostly owners of Mazda and Toyota cars, noticed an approximate 20,000-kilometre difference. The worst-affected realised their mileage gauge was off by as many as 100,000 kilometres.

Most of the car owners noticed the fake mileage was usually a removal or reduction of the first digit on the real mileage.

So, for example, 93,105 kilometres was reduced to 23,105 and, in one case, 120,000 kilometres was brought down to a mere 20,000.

Complaints flood in

The absolute majority of the customers who contacted Times of Malta said they had bought their car from Tal-Qasab Auto Dealer.

“I chose to buy my used car from this dealer specifically because of the value for money on the low mileage,” Jean Claude Chetcuti said.

He happily drove his car out of the dealer’s showroom with a mileage gauge reading 19,000 kilometres but on Monday discovered the vehicle had left Japan with 39,000 kilometres on the clock.

Sylvana Calafato bought her Toyota in January last year thinking it only had 32,000 kilometres only to discover this week that 80,000 kilometres had been shaved off.

“I would have never bought it had I known it had such a high mileage,” she said, adding that she is now worried that problems could arise from wear and tear.

“I have been buying and driving used Japanese cars from other car dealers for 20 years and I never had any problems. I hope the authorities take action,” she said.

Glen Scicluna bought his car after noticing that other dealers were charging the same price for the same model with a higher mileage. He drove out of the showroom thinking he had bagged a bargain.

Now, he realised his car with 33,000 kilometres on the clock had actually travelled 73,000 kilometres.

“The car looked almost as good as a new one."- Kim Cutajar, victim of mileage scam

Another owner even went to see the car at the showroom with his mechanic, who also was unaware of the scam and advised him to buy it.

Nathaniel Massa, who reported a 70,000-kilometre difference on his car, said he feels angry for not being able to detect the scam, adding that he is usually extremely cautious.

“The car looked almost as good as a new one,” said Kim Cutajar, who discovered a 40,000-kilometre difference on the car she purchased last November.

“I would also like to know how compensation will be quantified. Will we be given the difference in an amount at the time of purchase? Because cars cost more today.”

The owners all said their vehicles are working well but the scam changes everything. Not only did they pay for a car much less valuable than they thought but they will probably have to invest in a new one earlier than planned.

Some fear they will be unable to afford a new car or find anyone willing to buy it from them with such high mileage.

Both car dealers deny any wrongdoing and their lawyer, Franco Debono, said they do not wish to comment at this stage.

Rokku auto dealer, the second car dealership facing fraud claims. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

There was, however, one car owner who confirmed he was not scammed.

John Muscat said that, after checking through the same guide, he found his car left Japan with 27,000 kilometres, exactly as was registered in his log book. 

“I do not know the owner and had never met him before and he was a gentleman with me,” he told Times of Malta.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Consumer Protection Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli pledged a "zero tolerance" approach to any scams impacting consumers. 

Malta's clocking problem

Data from Carly, a provider for a car diagnostics application, analysed one million data records from the year 2020 and found that Malta is among the highest meddlers of car mileage counters.

It said that 44 per cent of all used cars currently in Malta have significantly higher mileage than they indicate, surpassing Bulgaria, where “fraud is huge”.

By way of comparison, counter fraud in Germany and the Netherlands is between five and 10 per cent.

The police and the Used Vehicles Importers Association (UVIA) are both urging owners who discover they were scammed to file a report.

“Should any foul play be suspected individuals should report to the authorities, namely Transport Malta, MCCAA (Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority) and the police,” Albert Fenech, from the association, said.

“Please be informed that UVIA will be meeting all its members individually, to ensure that the association’s reputation remains untarnished.”

Questions on the matter sent to the Transport Ministry, Transport Malta and the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority have so far remained unanswered.