Many people will one day either buy or sell a car via a private sale at some point in their lives. A lot people realise that it is recommended to fill-in an auto bill of sale form when buying a car, it is also just as important to protect yourself when you are selling your car privately.

Odometer fraud is defined as the practice of turning back the odometer so that the car appears like it has travelled less miles than it truly has. This is done to obtain a better price for the automobile on resale. Records show that almost 500 000 vehicles are sold each year in the United Sates with fake odometer readings.

A situation often repeated is as follows. A car is sold via a private sale and an auto bill of sale form is not used. The new owner rolls back the odometer and then re-sells the vehicle for more money than they purchased it for. Some time later the deception is discovered and all previous owners of the vehicle are investigated to determine at what point the crime occurred.

The easiest way to record the mileage at the time of sale is to use an auto bill of sale form. Without one, the original owner, even though they may know what the odometer reading was at the time of sale, will have a hard time showing this without any evidence.

It is suggested that anyone selling an automobile privately should utilise a auto bill of sale form with the following details. It must have the names of both the buyer and the seller. It must have the year, make and model of the vehicle being sold. It must state the selling price. It needs to state the odometer reading and the VIN. Finally it needs to be signed and dated by both the buyer and seller.

So to avoid any problems and to protect yourself from being investigated for in odometer fraud, always use a bill of sale form when you plan to sell your car privately.