An Ontario man has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years of probation after he advertised and sold vehicles with odometers that had been rolled back, and acted as a car dealer with registration, according to an Ontario industry regulator.

In one instance, the man sold a 2008 Toyota with an odometer that read 56,753 kilometers even though it actually had been driven for more than 309,800 kilometers, according to Don Cousens, a manager of investigations at the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council.

OMVIC says the vehicles were purchased from private citizens between 2016 and 2017 and then re-sold on the website Kijiji.

鈥淐onsumers are understandably angry when they buy a car anticipating it will provide reliable service for years, only to discover it may actually be near the end of its useful life,鈥� Cousens said,

鈥淭he sentence demonstrates that the courts take these issues of consumer harm very seriously,鈥� Cousens added.

Szymon Kozlowski of Mississauga, Ont., was found guilty of four counts of committing an unfair business practice and four counts of 鈥渃urbsiding,鈥� which means acting as a dealer without registration as is required by law, OMVIC said.

Devices capable of reprogramming odometers 鈥渁re readily available online for a few hundred dollars,鈥� but there are a few ways to avoid being duped, according to OMVIC.

One way to spot possible rollbacks is to review the Used Vehicle Information Packages on ServiceOntario or CarFax Canada.

Drivers can also have a pre-purchase inspection from a trusted mechanic or technician who can look for unusual wear on the vehicle that suggests it may have been driven more than the dashboard reading suggests.

Telltale signs of a rollback include worn out upholstery, worn suspension components, windshields that look pitted or sandblasted, and worn rubber pads and pedals, according to OMVIC.

OMVIC says that curbsiders may use one or more of the following tactics to trick consumers:

  • the vehicle is not registered to seller, or, has only been registered to the seller for a short period of time
  • the vehicle is priced below market value
  • the seller doesn鈥檛 provide the mandatory Used Vehicle Information Package (UVIP), or provides a UVIP that has been tampered with (e.g. lien or mileage info removed) or with missing pages
  • the seller refuses to allow an inspection by purchaser鈥檚 mechanic
  • the vehicle is not plated and/or insured; therefore, a test-drive is not possible
  • the seller refuses to provide a receipt or proof of purchase