It is an understatement to say that the law puts a lot of emphasis on protecting the odometer because of the very fact that tampering with the odometer or altering the mileage of the vehicle is tantamount to a fraudulent act that is punishable by law.
That said, when it comes to complying with the different requirements of the law in relation to your car’s odometer when you are about to sell the vehicle, the odometer date is something you might end up seeing.
So, what does odometer date mean?
The odometer date can mean a lot of things depending on the context it is used. It can mean something in relation to the odometer disclosure form such as the date at the time of the transfer of the vehicle or it could mean the date at which the odometer was replaced and adjusted back to zero.
When it comes to your odometer, the dates are also necessary as they have different important meanings in relation to the odometer itself and the odometer reading during that certain date.
That’s why you also need to consider odometer dates and record them accordingly so that you could be free of any legal claims resulting from problems with the vehicle and its odometer after you have transferred it.
Does the odometer record date?
The way an odometer works is related to only one aspect when it comes to its functions.
That means that the odometer will only record the vehicle’s mileage or accumulated miles and nothing else aside from that.
So, when your odometer works as you are driving your vehicle, the odometer doesn’t care about dates because there is nothing in the odometer that will allow it to record dates that correspond to certain milestones or when the vehicle was able to hit a certain number of miles.
That means that, regardless of whether it took you 5 years to reach 100,000 miles or it only took you 2 years to do so, the odometer doesn’t really record any of that.
Instead, what the odometer merely records is the number of accumulated miles on your vehicle. Find out if your odometer is displaying miles or kilometers.
That means that, if you want to keep a record of when the odometer was able to reach certain milestones, you need to do that manually by recording it yourself.
As such, if your odometer was able to hit 50,000 miles on its second year, you must be the one to record that yourself because there is nothing in the odometer that will allow it to keep track and record dates that may be important in relation to the vehicle’s mileage.
What does the odometer date mean?
So, now that you know that odometer date isn’t related to whether or not the odometer can record dates, you might be wondering what the odometer date actually means?
Well, for starters, the odometer date is related to a few concepts that are connected to the time you are now ready to transfer your vehicle to another owner.
This means that the odometer date becomes an important thing to consider when it comes to selling your vehicle. In that regard, one of the meanings of the odometer date can be connected to the odometer disclosure form.
This odometer disclosure form is one of the most important requirements under the law when you are now selling your vehicle regardless of whether or not your car is exempt from the odometer reading.
In relation to that, the odometer date in this context is the date of the odometer reading at the time of the transfer.
So, in that regard, the odometer date should be included in the odometer disclosure form along with the actual reading of the odometer.
The two should walk hand in hand as you would later know the reason why it is important to write the odometer date on the odometer disclosure form.
The next important meaning of the odometer date is the date at which the odometer was replaced or repaired.
There will be some cases where the odometer needs to be replaced or repaired such as when it stops functioning. Find out if your odometer is broken or going crazy.
When you have your odometer replaced or repaired, the usual scenario is that the odometer is calibrated or reset back to zero especially in the case of an odometer replacement. However, the fact that the odometer was reset back to zero doesn’t mean that the vehicle’s mileage is also reset to zero. This is where it is important to take note of the odometer date during the time of the replacement or repair of the odometer.
Why is the odometer date important?
At this point, you now have a good idea of what the odometer date means.
But you are probably thinking about why the odometer date is even important. In that regard, let’s look at the importance of the odometer date in relation to their meanings.
When it comes to the odometer date that is recorded in the odometer disclosure form during the time of the vehicle’s transfer, the odometer date is important because of how there needs to be a record of the time of the odometer reading during the transfer.
So, by recording the date when the odometer was read, that becomes the date at which you basically rid yourself of any responsibility in relation to the odometer reading.
Any discrepancies in the odometer right after that date will no longer be your responsibility because you are no longer the owner of the vehicle and that you have already stated in the disclosure form that the odometer reading is true and actual to the best of your knowledge.
In relation to the date of the odometer replacement or repair, the date of the replacement or repair of the odometer needs to be recorded so that the records show that this was the time when the odometer was reset back to zero.
As such, the accumulated miles of the new odometer will only be counted from that date and will be added to the previous odometer reading prior to the date of the repair.
So, by recording the odometer date in that scenario, you will be able to give a proper and accurate total mileage by tacking the previous odometer reading before the odometer was replaced or repaired and reset back to zero.
After all, just because you needed to reset the odometer back to zero it doesn’t mean that the vehicle’s mileage was also reset to zero.
All that said, the odometer date may mean different things but the fact of the matter is that the date is important when it comes to the legalities surrounding your odometer.
The odometer date becomes the proof that you need to ensure that you can rid yourself of any responsibilities and problems related to the odometer in relation to those dates.
Sources
Delaware DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES: Odometer
