You might think clocking is a scam that fizzled out in the late nineties when car makers dumped analogue mileage clocks for digital instrument clusters.

But mileage tampering is rearing its ugly head once again, with new tactics allowing unscrupulous individuals to mask the true condition of a car before trying to sell it on to unaware motorists.

Around one in 50 second-hand motors on sale today has had its mileage tampered with to artificially inflate the perceived value, a report suggested last year.

Now, new data provided by vehicle history checking service CarVertical reveals the 10 models with the highest instances of clocking captured in reports ran on motors in 2024.

And the most clocked car isn't a large premium luxury offroader or a high-performance supercar; instead, it's one of Britain's most popular family models, of which 42,500 were purchased new in the UK last year alone.

Experts estimate that victims who unwittingly purchase a clocked used motor pay on average around £4,860 above its true value - and there's very little legal support that will see them get their money back.

This once 'old school' scam, now modernised with the use of hi-tech systems and services provided by shameless businesses that guarantee it can't be detected, is said to be costing UK drivers a staggering £780million every year. 

The Nissan Qashqai is the UK’s most clocked car with 3.4 per cent of all models checked in 2024 showing signs of odometer fraud, according to CarVertical.

Sold across three generations dating back to 2007, there's over three quarters of a million of these motors on Britain's roads today.

Last year, Qashqai lost its crown of Britain's favourite new SUV, which it had held every year since it first went on sale some 18 years ago. However, with 42,418 registrations in 2024, it was still the nation's third most popular new car behind the Ford Puma crossover and Kia Sportage SUV.

The data does not specify individual generations of each nameplate, meaning the 3.4 per cent is spread across all generations of Qashqai.

That's the same for the rest of the top 10, which includes the BMW 5 Series in second with a 3.3 per cent clocked rate.

Land Rover's Defender is third overall with a 3.3 per cent count of mileage tampering across all models checked, which is likely to predominantly be the previous-generation Defenders, which were arguably far easier to manipulate.

In fact, it is Defenders that are said to have the most mileage rolled back by fraudsters, with CarVertical finding an average of 76,580 miles removed from the odometers of these cars. 

The popular Volkswagen Caddy van - the nation's ninth most-commonly clocked in 2024 at a rate of 2.3 per cent - typically has the highest mileage removed by clockers with scam artists hiding an average of 104,732 from potential commercial vehicle users.

Also making the list of ten most clocked cars that buyers should check when considering buying one includes the Audi A6 (2.9 per cent clocked), Vauxhall Astra (2.9 per cent), Vauxhall Corsa (2.6 per cent), VW Passat (2.4 per cent), Audi S3 (2.4 per cent) and Nissan Juke (2.2 per cent).

Mileage fraud has made an unwelcome return in recent years for a number of reasons.

The first is the popularity of finance and leasing deals to acquire new and used cars, which include mileage limits.

This has triggered a rise in demand for clocking devices to avoid financial penalties at the end of a car's contract period.

HPI - a rival vehicle history checking provider - says this has 'directly led to an increase in mileage tampering and online firms selling mileage blockers'.

And technologies to alter digital odometers, such as mileage blockers, are developing quickly and becoming increasingly easy to acquire online.

Advertised as being 'undetectable', mileage blockers once installed in a vehicle prevent its ECU registering miles driven, essentially pausing the odometer during use. Therefore, simply checking the MOT history of a car will no longer suffice to detect if a vehicle has been tampered with.

The ease of accessing these mileage adjustment services without reprimand is also another factor, as they often avoid any liability by simply stating that the mileage-altering device is meant only for off-road use, while tuning, or during dyno testing.

Unfortunately, clocking goes widely unpunished due to a loophole in the legal system.

Under UK law, the act of altering the mileage on a car is not illegal.

However, it is illegal to sell that car without disclosing any known mileage discrepancies to the buyer.

After analysing approximately 200,000 vehicle reports carried out on behalf of second-hand car buyers, CarVertical last year reported that 2.1 per cent had evidence of clocking.

With over 7.6 million used motors changing hands in the UK in 2024, according to the SMMT, the data suggest 160,500 of these likely have adjusted mileage.

CarVertical estimates that a clocked car on average reduced the true value of that model by 29 per cent.

According to Auto Trader's latest Retail Price Index for January, the average second-hand motors costs £16,774. Based on this figure, used car buyers are set to lose out on £4,865 if they fall victim to clocking. 

As such, Britons could be losing out to the tune of £780.8million from this motoring scam. 

Matas Buzelis, carVertical’s head of communications, said: 'Proving odometer fraud remains a significant challenge, which unfortunately leaves many scammers feeling untouchable. 

'With the UK used car market still vulnerable to mileage manipulation, it’s crucial for buyers to always check a vehicle’s history before making a purchase.

'Often, even the current owner may not be aware of any tampering that occurred before they acquired the car. 

'This can lead to an unpleasant surprise for both parties when the fraud is discovered during a future sale. It highlights how important it is to be proactive in verifying a car’s true condition.'