A car arrives at Copart UK with 38,000 miles on the dash. The 2024 MOT recorded 67,000 and the 2023 MOT recorded 64,000. Either the cluster has been tampered with, it has been swapped for one from another car, or the seller hopes nobody checks.
Why salvage cars are exposed
The road to a salvage auction is short on accountability. An insurer wrote the car off, it may have changed hands once or twice in recovery, and it lands at auction. Nothing requires the dashboard reading to match the record.
Sometimes the gap is innocent, such as a replacement cluster from a breaker with fewer miles than the donor car. Sometimes it is deliberate. For a buyer the cause is irrelevant: the car is worth its real mileage, not the displayed one.
What the MOT record holds
DVSA has recorded MOT tests since 2005. For each one you can see the date, the result, the mileage at the test, any failure items and any advisories. You can look it up free by registration on gov.uk.
Three patterns, most suspicious last
1. The listing is lower than the record
Copart says 38,000. The latest MOT says 67,000. This is the textbook clock. The innocent explanation is a replacement cluster fitted since the test. Either way, price the car at the higher figure.
2. Mileage goes backwards between tests
The 2022 test recorded 80,000 and the 2023 test recorded 75,000. Mileage only goes up. If the record itself steps backwards, someone tampered with the car between those tests, and DVSA captured it. This is the cleanest signal you can get, and it has no innocent explanation.
3. The annual rate is implausible
40,000 at the 2020 test and 45,000 at the 2024 test is 5,000 miles in four years on a car that looks like a daily driver. A car off the road for a long repair or a garage queen can do that, but on a salvage lot it is worth a hard question. A softer signal than going backwards, though still a signal.
The manual check
- Note the odometer reading on the listing.
- Enter the registration into the gov.uk MOT history check.
- Compare the latest MOT mileage with the listing.
- Scroll back through every test and confirm the trend only rises.
- If anything is off, discount your max bid for the higher mileage.
What CarMargin does
On every lot with a visible registration, CarMargin pulls the MOT history and overlays it on the listed odometer. If any of the three patterns shows, it is flagged with the test date and the gap in miles, and the verdict takes the discrepancy into account. Ask the chat “what does the MOT record say about mileage?” and it walks you through it.
When you cannot check
Some lots have no visible registration. Some are under three years old and have no MOT yet. Some carry an Exempt odometer brand, meaning the car is old enough that mileage is not tracked. Treat the displayed mileage as unverified in all three cases. The TMU (true mileage unknown) and Not actual brands tell you Copart itself cannot stand behind the reading. Adjust your bid.