Replacing the odometer and mileage of the car. How to legally replace an old or damaged odometer in a car?
Content
From the first day of 2020, the provision came into force that replacing it with a new one must be registered and checked at the inspection station. This should be checked by a diagnostician. Only then will the replacement of the meter be legal and you will not have to worry about the consequences of the Criminal Code. What else is worth knowing? Read!
What does the law say about odometer replacement? When is sharing a crime?
For guidance on when and how the meter can be replaced, please refer to the suggestions in Art. 81a SDA. It was introduced in early 2020. What do the new directives of the legislator say?
This article of the SDA states that the replacement of an old element with a new one cannot be carried out under any other circumstances, except for:
- odometer readings are incorrect - the meter measures incorrectly and the readings are incorrect. This also applies to converting US gauges to European gauges if the indicator shows data in a different form;
- it is necessary to replace parts whose work is directly related to the operation of the meter. A new working meter must match the type of vehicle.
Why is an unauthorized new meter dangerous?
It should be noted that Art. 81a of the Road Traffic Act does not provide for any derogation. For this reason, a person who decides to replace the original odometer with a new one under other circumstances will have to count on the punishment provided for by the Criminal Code.
Illegal meter replacement and its consequences
The consequences are specified in Art. 306a of the Criminal Code. According to him, any alteration of the odometer or interference with the reliability of its measurement is illegal. The owner of the vehicle, who decides to turn off the odometer reading, faces imprisonment for a period of 3 months to 5 years.
In the case of a minor offense, the perpetrator is subject to:
- excellent;
- punishment in the form of restriction of freedom or imprisonment for up to 2 years.
It is worth noting that the consequences also apply to people who have accepted and executed an order for an illegal replacement of the odometer in a car.
Legal replacement of the odometer - how to do it?
In order for the odometer change in the car to be legal, you must visit the UPC. The provisions governing conversions, introduced from January 1, 2020, oblige the owner of the vehicle to report to the inspection point. An application for replacing the odometer in a car must be submitted within 14 days from the date of replacing the old element with a new one.
- Before visiting the UPC, you will need to prepare a vehicle registration document, as well as a payment card or cash to pay the fee.
- The fee itself, which is the income of the entrepreneur managing the SKP, can be a maximum of 10 euros.
- In addition, a registration fee of PLN 1 must be paid.
- The regular price of the service is usually PLN 51.
Documents required for the legal replacement of the odometer in the car
In order for the whole procedure to take place legally, it will also be necessary to submit the relevant documents. The current form can be found on the website of the Polish Chamber of Technical Inspection Stations in the “forms” tab. It should contain information about:
- brand, type, model and year of manufacture of the vehicle;
- VIN number, chassis or frame of the car;
- registration number (or other data identifying the car).
The information provided in the document must be supplemented by the reason for replacing the odometer in the car. It is also necessary to enter data on the place of filing of the declaration and statements of awareness of criminal liability related to the filing of documents.
Our country is dominated by used cars. In many cases, there are reasonable doubts about the reliability of information about the mileage of the car. With regulations requiring the obligation to report an odometer change in a car, this problem should become less onerous.
