on a 2000 model, does the mileage get saved to the computer or is that just on the cluster. how can i tell if somebody switched the cluster to show lower mileage to sell it.
Yea there is a little chip on the back of the cluster visable through an opening in the white plastic. A good indication that the chip was swapped would be that the plastic piece that seals the chip into the cluster (its a brownish-off white color) is busted. So if its not broken and you know the cluster is not the one that came with the car, you can probably bet that mileage is for another stang!
I don't know if there is any other way to tell if the entire unit was simply swapped with a cluster from another car. You might be able to find a bar code/number on the back of the cluster. Look for stripping in the screws also, since there are only a few reasons to take the cluster off in the first place, and they are a pain to unscrew sometimes.
Other than that, if you think there is an odometer problem, steer clear. Thats a huge problem that you don't even want to have to deal with!
I bought a Mustang that had the odometer rolled back. It shows 110,000 on the odometer. I bought it when it said 76,000 on the odo. It was advertised in the paper with 74,000. When the original owner sold it to the guy I bought it from, it had 179,000 on it. I'm guessing that the car has at least 215,000 miles on it... (110,000 + (179,000 - 74,000) = 215,000). What a rip it was, but we sued him for a little less than $5,000 and I bought the car for $6,500. That $5,000 could pay for a brand new PI engine!! That is, if he ever pays. He's got a 10-year judgement on his credit right now. We will renew when that judgement is up, and over and over again. It might be worth it some day.
i looked at carfax and everything is fine the mileage is right. i was just curious to find out that this 7 year old car has only 40,000 original miles and it has a few problems that you would think a car would have later with more miles.