How often it really happens
This needs care, because the most-repeated figure is told wrongly. In order:
The European Parliament resolution of 31 May 2018 is the most serious source we found, and it separates two very different scenarios:
| Type of sale | Cars with a tampered odometer |
|---|---|
| Within one country | 5 % – 12 % |
| Between EU countries | 30 % – 50 % |
Estimated economic damage in the EU: between €5.6 billion and €9.6 billion. The Parliament's 2018 research study puts the average uplift in a tampered car's value at around €3,000.
One contrast that says a lot: in Belgium, where Car-Pass exists (a body the legislator charged with recording readings, and whose document is compulsory in a sale), the European Parliament study puts tampering at 8.6 % before Car-Pass and 0.24 % with Car-Pass running. In absolute terms, from around 60,000 cars a year to a little over a thousand.
But there is a caveat that forces us to quote the same study against our own argument: for imported cars into Belgium the rate was still 10 to 18 %. So the register sinks fraud inside the country, but it does not protect a cross-border purchase in the same way. Which is precisely why the paper trail on a German car matters so much.
What trail it leaves
In Germany the roadworthiness test records the mileage by law
This is the most useful part and the least known. Anlage VIII of the StVZO, point 3.1.5.1.8, requires the German inspection report (the Untersuchungsbericht of the HU) to record "den Stand des Wegstreckenzählers": the odometer reading. In other words, every two years an official written reading is left behind. If a German car's reports do not add up between themselves, it shows.
What the ADAC recommends checking
- That repair invoices, inspection reports and fuel receipts agree with each other.
- The entries in the service book and the oil-change stickers.
- Asking the workshop to read out the car's fault and service memories, where mileages are also stored.
The manufacturer's digital history
Mercedes-Benz has the Digital Service Booklet, a central database where servicing is recorded; independent workshops repairing to the manufacturer's specifications can also make entries, and access is free. We could not read BMW's official page on its Service History, so we make no claim about what fields it stores.
The DGT report
In Spain, the DGT's full report costs €8.67 (the reduced one is free) and includes roadworthiness history, number of owners and a section with "all odometer readings that have been reported to the DGT", each with its date and its origin: a testing station, a voluntary declaration by the owner, or workshop readings. The DGT itself warns that it "accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the readings".
Watch out for this on an imported car: the DGT history starts when the car is registered in Spain. What came before, in Germany, is not there. For that you go to the German inspection reports, the manufacturer's history and the invoices. (That last point is our own inference from how the DGT describes its own report, not something the DGT states expressly.)
What the law says
Germany: a criminal offence since 2005
It is in § 22b of the StVG, the German road traffic act — not the criminal code, though it is often cited that way. It punishes with up to one year in prison or a fine anyone who falsifies an odometer reading, anyone who disables or interferes with a speed limiter, and also anyone who prepares the offence by producing, obtaining, offering or supplying software to do it. That last part is what allows action against whoever sells the device, not just whoever uses it.
Spain: no specific offence
We found no criminal provision equivalent to the German § 22b. If the car is sold by deceiving the buyer it fits fraud (article 248 of the criminal code), but the act of tampering alone is not criminalised in itself. At the roadworthiness test, Royal Decree 920/2017, article 10.8, requires the previous inspections' information to be made available to the inspector to check the mileage and, if tampering is found, to report it to the regional metrology authority.
And in European type approval
The obligation for the car to come protected from the factory is in Regulation (EU) 2017/1151: article 5.3.f requires the manufacturer to describe the measures against odometer tampering, and Annex I, point 2.3.6, requires manufacturers to "effectively deter" reprogramming of the readings in the on-board network, in any powertrain controller and in the remote data transmission unit. Which regulation it sits in matters, because a lot of articles wrongly attribute it to Regulation 2018/858, which contains no such obligation (it only mentions it in passing in a note to its Annex II).
And the paid history services
carVertical, CARFAX and autoDNA sell history reports and all of them claim to cover many databases and many countries. They are private companies, and their coverage figures are their own commercial claims, not verifiable data. The only register with a public mandate is Car-Pass, and it only covers Belgium. We find them useful as one more check; not as the proof.
Frequently asked questions
Is tampering with an odometer a criminal offence in Germany?
Yes. § 22b of the StVG punishes it with up to one year in prison or a fine, in force since August 2005, and it also punishes producing or selling the software to do it.
And in Spain?
There is no specific offence. If the car is sold by deceiving the buyer it can amount to fraud (article 248 of the criminal code). At the roadworthiness test, if it is detected, it is reported to the regional metrology authority.
How do I check the mileage on a German car?
With the German inspection reports, which record the odometer reading by law; with the manufacturer service history; and with the invoices. You can also ask the workshop to read out the fault and service memories.
Is the DGT report any use?
It is useful for readings recorded in Spain. The full report costs €8.67 and includes roadworthiness history, owners and odometer readings, though the DGT does not vouch for their accuracy. On an imported car it does not cover anything before Spanish registration.
Is it true that one in three German cars is tampered with?
It is a 2011 police estimate from a raid in Munich, not a measurement, and it keeps being repeated without being updated. The European Parliament figures from 2018 are 5-12 % for sales within one country and 30-50 % for sales between countries.
Are carVertical or CARFAX reliable?
They are private companies and their coverage figures are their own. They work as an additional check, not as proof. The only register with a public mandate is Car-Pass, and it only covers Belgium.
Sources
- European Parliament — resolution of 31 May 2018 on odometer manipulation
- EPRS — "Odometer manipulation in motor vehicles in the EU" (2018)
- § 22b StVG — the German criminal provision
- DGT — how to read a vehicle report
- Royal Decree 920/2017, article 10.8 — roadworthiness testing and mileage
- Regulation (EU) 2017/1151 — protection at type approval
- ADAC — odometer tampering
Every source was checked on 25 September 2026. Tax rules change: if you are reading this much later, confirm it or ask us.
