State warns used-car buyers

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

One victim recently had moved here from Colorado with her husband and thought the level of trust was higher in Hawai'i. Another, a 70-year-old Manoa man who sells insurance, believes he should have known better. Both said they would never again buy a used vehicle from a private individual.

State attorneys are urging people to be alert when buying a car from an individual for telltale signs that an odometer may have been rolled back illegally, and to be wary of deals that appear too good to be true.

After receiving a complaint in early 2002, the attorney general's office has been pursuing the problem vigorously and is investigating at least 20 people in connection with odometer fraud. Deputy Attorney General Rick Damerville said as many as 60 people may be connected with odometer fraud.

State prosecutors have filed two criminal cases. A Honolulu couple has pleaded no contest, and a 54-year-old man has been sentenced to probation on odometer fraud charges.

William Pierpont, chief of the state's Measurement Standards Branch, said reports of possible odometer fraud to his office leaped from four in fiscal 2002 to 18 last fiscal year.

The federal Department of Transportation estimates that more than 450,000 vehicles with rolled-back odometers were passed off to American consumers in 2002.

Special Agent Greg Gonsalves, an investigator for the attorney general's office, said it is not difficult to turn back or even replace an odometer. Damerville said there are even devices that will alter the numbers on digital odometers, which are more prevalent than analog ones on newer models.

"And then they wash the title by registering the car several times before it gets to the final buyer, so that the numbers disappear from the titles," Gonsalves said.

No particular make or model of cars is preferred by odometer fraud perpetrators, he said, though they are typically the most popular vehicles and those most known for reliability.

Altering an odometer is a misdemeanor offense that carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. But Damerville said his office had been charging suspects who made more than $300 in profit with second-degree theft, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Ernest C. Hill and Dian H. Creeden this month each pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree identity theft, two counts of second-degree theft, one count of second-degree attempted theft and three counts of odometer misrepresentation. They will be sentenced in Circuit Court in December.

State investigators said the two rolled back the odometers on two 1993 Toyota Previa vans and a 1996 Toyota Corolla and sold them for substantially more than they were worth.

Their pleas came after the September sentencing of Claude Talan, who pleaded no contest to two counts of second-degree theft and one count of odometer fraud. Talan was given five years probation and ordered to pay $22,450 to six individuals he defrauded.

Damerville said Talan, 54, was frank under questioning. "He'd never been in trouble with the law before, and basically candidly told us that he got involved because he saw so many other people doing it and making money doing it," Damerville said.

The newcomer from Colorado, one of Talan's victims, said she did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation. The Honolulu resident said she discovered the odometer tampering by chance when she took her 1990 Nissan Maxima to the same service center where it had been taken before.

She was stunned to learn her car had been serviced last at 147,000 miles, as she had bought it from Talan the day before with an odometer reading of about 70,000 miles, for $4,500.

In all, the woman figures she and her husband have spent more than $2,000 in repairs, including an air flow sensor, struts and a new radio. "It has been like a money pit for us," she said.

The couple thought they had done everything by the book, she said, including paying $9.95 to an Internet company that specializes in generating vehicle history reports for any car or truck with a vehicle inspection number. The report for the Maxima failed to disclose any problems with the car.

She said she regretted agreeing to paying Talan in cash and not asking him for identification. "You're here in Hawai'i, you try to take people at their face value," she said.

She was able to recoup $5,000 in restitution from Talan as a result of his plea agreement.

The insurance salesman, who asked that he not be identified for fear it would embarrass his company, said he was floored when he read in March that Talan had been charged with odometer tampering.

He said he had been trying for months to find Talan after buying a 1994 Toyota Camry from him for $7,000. Not only did the car show mechanical problems a month after the fall 2002 purchase, but Talan had failed to hand over manuals, as promised.

The odometer reading showed 45,000 miles, and the man thought he was getting a good deal.

State investigators told him the Camry had more than 100,000 miles on it.

The man estimates he has spent at least $2,000 in repairs, including changing a thermostat, installing new engine mounts and rewiring the car after experiencing electrical problems.

In hindsight, he said, he should have asked a mechanic friend to give it a once-over before buying it.

"I felt stupid," he said.

The good news is that he also recouped $5,000 in restitution from Talan as a result of the plea agreement.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at 525-8070 or at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.