Wisconsin woman suspects odometer fraud after seeing Contact 6 report

BRISTOL, Wis. - A Bristol woman says her newly purchased car has been nothing but trouble. After seeing a report on FOX6 News, she made a startling discovery. She says it would explain a lot of her car’s problems.

If Dina Piazza could go back in time, she’d never buy her 2007 GMC Acadia.  

"Right now, it’ll probably drive home, but along the way, who knows what will happen?" Piazza told Contact 6. 

Piazza says she bought the car from her mechanic in May for $6,000.

"(The price) seemed fair," said Piazza. "I like the design. The size of it. It seemed to drive good."

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Piazza says the car soon revealed many problems not outwardly visible. There were issues with its battery, various sensors, fuel injectors and more. Piazza says she quickly spent $4,000 on repairs, tows and rental cars.

"It seems, like, out of four mechanics, nobody could fix it," said Piazza.

She says the car’s odometer and speedometer don’t work properly. A long drive is out of the question. 

"You never know what (the car is) going to do," said Piazza.

Deep in auto repair bills in late December, Piazza happened to watch FOX6 News. She saw a Contact 6 report about odometer fraud.

"I saw your story and I started to wonder," Piazza told Contact 6 reporter Jenna Sachs. "I decided to get the Carfax."

Carfax estimates there are 28,000 vehicles in Wisconsin with rolled-back odometers. It says half of those are in the Milwaukee area.

Piazza already knew that her car’s emissions test in May detected a possible ‘mileage inconsistency.’ As the salon owner read the Carfax further, she saw that in May of 2020 her car had 209,000 miles listed.

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When Piazza took Contact 6 on a short drive on January 30, 2024, the mileage was short of 115,000 miles.

"When I bought it, it had 103,000," said Piazza.

Piazza has filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation. She’s in contact with an odometer and title fraud investigator.

"He said it was turned back to 97,000 (miles) in January of 2021," Piazza recalled him telling her.

The DOT told Contact 6 it "can’t comment on open investigations."

When Piazza bought her car, she didn’t realize an odometer could be rolled back. She didn’t ask for the vehicle history report because she trusted her mechanic.

Even now, she says there weren’t a lot of visible red flags that her vehicle may have traveled further than its odometer indicated.

Paula Krauska owns Eddie’s Service in Saukville. He suggests before buying a used car, the customer asks to see the title, gets a vehicle history report like a Carfax or goes for a free emissions test.

"I suggest any time you purchase a vehicle, you take it to a mechanic to get it looked at," said Krauska. "If you see indications that parts are from a junkyard or something like that, something isn’t right."

Consumers can check whether the wear-and-tear on the vehicle matches its mileage. Krauska advises looking at the brake pedal and seeing whether its corner is worn down. It’s something you won’t see in a car with a low mileage.

"People switch from gas to brake, gas to brake. They wear out that lower right corner," said Krauska.

Piazza is waiting to learn more from the DOT investigator.

In addition to her repair bills, Piazza is also paying off a small loan she took out to buy the car.