Reset odometer to zero?

[Solamar]

* I bought my car in pieces with no drive train.
* Speedometer had been changed, I have no history of actual miles driven.
* Car is pre Carfax history.
* I'm just finishing a fairly complete refurb with replacement drive train

I plan to have the speedo rebuilt, should I have the odom set to zero? Would seem that zero would be a more honest/meaningful number than any other guess, right? If I were to ever sell it the miles would always be TMU, so does the number even matter?

I know it's generally frowned on, but in this situation Zero might be the best option. If not, what would you set the odo to?

[GH85Carrera]

Might as well. Most speedo shops will set it to what you want.

Of course the drive train may be at zero miles, but the suspension and brakes and the interior all will have the wear and tear of 41 years.

[Catorce]

I usually zero out full custom builds. No one really believes that a 40+ year old car has zero miles anyways. Plus I am building them for me, not to flip or deceive people into thinking they are ultra low mile cars.

[tommyz24]

I don't see the harm in that if you're keeping the car

[Noah930]

Given the fact that you have no idea what the true mileage is anyway, you might as well set it to zero. Does the new motor have any miles on it? Maybe set the odo to that, if it does.

The car is pre-smog, right? So no matter what you set it to, it'll never get entered into any state/DMV database, correct?

[dannobee]

I can GUARANTEE you that CA DMV has a record of smog checks, and the mileage when they were performed, on a 78 if it’s been in CA for an length of time. You might even be able to check online. Start there first. Legally, there’s supposed to be a sticker placed inside the drivers door area with the mileage and date when the odometer was replaced.

[Solamar]

Originally Posted by dannobee

I can GUARANTEE you that CA DMV has a record of smog checks, and the mileage when they were performed, on a 78 if it’s been in CA for an length of time. You might even be able to check online. Start there first. Legally, there’s supposed to be a sticker placed inside the drivers door area with the mileage and date when the odometer was replaced.

The car came from out of state and prior to my ownership has never been registered in CA (at least CA DMV has no records of it).

I would take it with pride if I could document 250k miles on the chassis. But I cant. At least with zero I have a clean starting point.

Suppose I could set the odo to 100K, but that almost feels like cheating.

[Solamar]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Given the fact that you have no idea what the true mileage is anyway, you might as well set it to zero. Does the new motor have any miles on it? Maybe set the odo to that, if it does.

The car is pre-smog, right? So no matter what you set it to, it'll never get entered into any state/DMV database, correct?

Unfortunately not pre-smog. I either have to put in a CA specific '78 3.0L (930/06) and get a smog check, or a newer engine and go through the smog referee program.

[porsche930dude]

Id set it to zero for sure.

[Noah930]

Oof. When you wrote pre-Carfax, I assumed it would be pre-smog as well. You'd want the current mileage to kinda fit what the DMV has on file, no? But if the car has no CA history and you have no other references, then reset at zero.

[Rodney Nelson]

The only thing you can do is set it to Zero. You can't choose some random number that would be definitely wrong. And of course just simply document it in your records.

[smadsen]

Set it to zero. Tuck an index card behind the dash explaining what was done and when. Full disclosure, in writing on a bill of sale, to any buyer.

We all know some 250,000 mile cars are in far better condition and an 85,000 mile car. Anyone looking to buy a 40 year old car and makes a decision based on "mileage" is too dumb to own one of these cars.