Hello All,

I just bought a 1970's F250 (sight unseen). It's in the process of getting moved here to Massachusetts. Got the Title in the mail. Ad listed the mileage around 50K. Title has the mileage at 130K (and listed as actual mileage).

My concern is the administrative process relative to registering the truck. Massachusetts does not give the option for EXEMPT status on an odometer - which is weird since it's a federal law.

I don't want to guess on someone else's mileage use...since I have zero idea on what that would ACTUALLY be. So....

1) If the last owner's certificate of title says 130K actual mileage
2.) And the odometer says 50K...

How would people handle this? The original title has an option for EXEMPT but it's unchecked. Massachusetts odometer options are: ACTUAL, EXCEEDED MECHANICAL MAX, or ODOMETER DISCREPANCY.

Is it a "big deal" to go with Odometer Discrepancy? If I want to stay within the law, is this my only option? I'd say yes since I don't see anything about "EXEMPT" on any of my Mass Titles.

Thanks! John

 

Sounds like its got 150k now.

If this is your first vintage vehicle they are a little different than newer vehicles odometer wise.

Only 5 numbers on the vintage odometer. Once gets to 99999.9 miles it rolls over to 00000.0 and begins again.

Title 130k odometer says 50k sounds to me like its got 20k on it since last title transfer.

Hope this helps.

 

Since the odometer only goes up to 99,999.9 and the previous owner said it’s had 130k on it I would probably say “EXCEEDED MILEAGE” or whatever they want to call it. It’s almost a definite the truck has “rolled over” the odometer.

The odometers on these trucks aren’t super useful for showing total over all use. But they are accurate for service or navigation. Usually when buying or selling a truck with a 6 digit odometer I ask how many times that owner thinks it has “rolled over”. The owner of my truck has told me he knows it rolled before he had it and that it rolled when he had it. I’ve almost got it rolled again.

 

I don't get why my state doesn't have the EXEMPT option. Sounds like it would make this a whole lot cleaner. I will have to dig some more on this. Hopefully someone based in Massachusetts can chime in on it. Thanks for your responses gents.

 

2nd the odometer rollover. If rolled over at 100,000. Title at 130,000, then odometer would read 50,000 after 20,000 miles of driving. If that is all on the original engine, I would say there is a difference between a truck being sold with 50,000 miles vs. 130,000 miles. If the engine has been rebuild, then it might a different story. That is between you and the seller. Given the options you listed, sounds like EXCEEDED MECHANICAL MAX is what you are looking to check, but I am not an expert in Massachusetts title law.

 

I am uncertain of MA DMV policy. I normally state what I read which in your case is say 50,000. It should not be up to a buyer to look into a crystal ball and know what the actual miles are on the vehicle. What if when the 130k claim was made on title it was actually 230k? Or what if the speedometer/odometer was replaced at some point in the past. With no hundreds digit you are "assuming" everything else stated in past is correct and I don't like to do that. So state what you see as "ACTUAL" and you are telling the truth.

Having said that..... I'd call a DMV representative and ask them before submitting to avoid problems as MA is probably more bureaucratic than even PA. In PA we have notaries and I will often make a quick call before making a decision on things like this as they know what works and what doesn't. Good luck!

 

My '77 had 35,xxx when I bought it, the truck had every appearance of just 35,xxx on it. I knew an elderly man had had it since new, then he fell ill for a few years, truck sat parked in his yard, and then he passed on. A town Police Officer who dabbled in flipping vehicles had bought it at an estate auction, cleaned it up, painted it, and then I saw it and bought it at a car lot he was involved with (though I did not really know him or the car lot, was just visiting family in laws when spotted). He later called me "after the sale" (he wasn't at the sale, his car lot partner dealt with me), tried to tell me that he just found out mileage was really 135,xxx, he was "offering" to buy it back to make it right he said. He wanted to give me some less $$$ than I paid too. When he failed at that, he added a claim that it had been hit and the right rear driven up to the cab. He was FOS I figured ... It might have been dinged, but all original metal was / is all still there.

One day not long after that call a young fella and his wife approached me in a parking lot, he said he knew the truck, it had been his for a few days he said, but then the fella he bought it from told him the miles were wrong, told him it was wrecked too, and he bought it back for near what the price was ... amazing coincidences in life. I didn't tell him that the guy was a local in the town nearest his home, maybe I should have?

I worked the next county east from the one they lived in, so not like I saw the officer on a regular basis, but it did bother me. I had met the officer before though, while field training. I guess the officer thought he saw three or more ways to make $$$ on one vehicle? Last I heard through the grapevine, he got fired from local PD there and had since moved on west over into to West Va. ... running a car lot.

Anyways ... truck odometer rolled over to 100,000 in the early 2000s ... it shows just 6,xxx now. IF I were to sell it, I'd put the displayed 6,xxx on a title assignment mileage line and check that "mileage exceeds mechanical max" box ...but I would disclose the real mileage in any conversation if asked. If I was trading it, I wouldn't get to tell it, but that's why the title has the box, to let a prospective buyer know likely it is more.

 

While we're on the subject of odometers this is just a heads-up, point of interest.
If you come across an odometer that has a red tenths digit instead of black, that mean at some point in the vehicles history the speedometer was replaced with a new one. That's how Ford prevented someone with "questionable" values from being able to quickly and cheaply roll maybe tens of thousands of miles off of a truck by visiting the parts department.


I found this out when I was restoring my instrument cluster and replaced the speedometer with a NOS unit.
Of course the typically "values challenged" individual would visit a wrecking yard not the parts department.