A Sri Lankan living in New Zealand has been sentenced after a court found that a used vehicle was sold with a tampered odometer, misleading a buyer about the car’s actual mileage.
According to New Zealand authorities, the case involved Carporium, operated by Sachis Holdings Ltd, which sold a Toyota RAV4 for NZ$24,000 in February 2024.
The issue came to light more than a year later during a scheduled service, when technicians discovered that the vehicle’s odometer reading did not match its recorded service history.
Investigators found that the vehicle had recorded 150,031 kilometres when it was purchased at an Auckland car auction, but showed 119,244 kilometres when it was later sold to the customer — a reduction of more than 30,000 kilometres.
Following an investigation by New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), charges were filed under the Motor Vehicle Sales Act for odometer tampering and related offences.
Before sentencing, Carporium agreed to buy back the vehicle for the original purchase price of NZ$24,000. The court also ordered the company’s director to pay NZ$1,000 in emotional harm reparation, while Carporium was fined NZ$5,000.
MBIE said the prosecution was the first successful case of its kind and warned that odometer tampering would not be tolerated, as it can mislead consumers about a vehicle’s value, condition and maintenance needs. (Newswire)