Public Defender: Apurva Mishra is on a clocking crusade

THIS man claims to have found a way to prove that a car’s odometer has been wound back.

THIS man claims time could be up for those who allegedly “clock” cars.

Apurva Mishra says he may have found a way to prove that a vehicle’s odometer has been wound back.

Mr Mishra paid Sydney’s Prestige Auto Centre $30,000 in July last year for a ­high-performance Lancer that had been imported from Japan.

The car’s dash said it had done just 34,000km.

But Mr Mishra will allege in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) the vehicle had travelled more than 100,000km.

Prestige Auto Centre says it did not make any such ­alterations and the odometer reading in the car sold was identical to the reading at the time it purchased the car.

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Like hundreds of consumers who fear they’ve been ­deceived, Mr Mishra bought (via Facebook) paperwork which purports to show the odometer reading at the time of deregistration in Japan.

Some consumers use these documents to complain to the dealer but many dealers question their authenticity.

Some consumers turn to NSW Fair Trading, which is cracking down on odometer tampering and has had some victories in court.

But Fair Trading could not achieve a resolution between Prestige Auto and Mr Mishra.

Mr Mishra is taking his ­allegations to NCAT because he claims to have found a way to show the paperwork purchased via Facebook is the real deal. Mr Mishra has identified a process set down by the New Zealand government for checking the authenticity of documentation from Japan.

“I think this makes (the) case very strong,” he said.

Prestige Auto Centre owner Dmitriy Akhmetov said the company would vigorously defend the allegations: “As far as we are concerned we haven’t done anything wrong by the customer.”

Mr Akhmetov, who did not personally sell the car, said the odometer reading on the car matched paperwork received by Prestige Auto: “Nobody has found anything wrong with the vehicle.”

Meanwhile, concerns are being raised with the Australian government.

In February Kristian Appelt, of Iron Chef Imports, told a Productivity Commission hearing: “As it currently stands ... there’s no double checking or cross processing from the department (of infrastructure) to show that if the car comes in with a lower reading than what is showing the last time the vehicle was registered (in Japan), then that vehicle should not be complied.”

Mr Mishra also wants cross-checking introduced