The Audi A6 was the most clocked used car in 2024, according to new research from vehicle history platform carVertical, which found that 8.4% of all A6s checked through its system had altered mileages.
The findings, based on thousands of checks across multiple markets, show that German brands are most frequently targeted by mileage fraud, with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (8.3%), Volkswagen Touareg (8.2%), BMW 5 Series (7.7%) and Volkswagen Passat (7.7%) rounding out the top five.
Jonas Buziliauskas, data expert at carVertical, said the A6’s popularity and premium image made it a target: “The Audi A6 is a car that holds its value well and is popular across markets. That makes it especially attractive for odometer fraud, which inflates resale value at the expense of the buyer.”
The research also highlights regional variations. In the UK, the most clocked model was the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, with 4.7% of checks showing mileage discrepancies. In Romania, the Toyota Prius topped the list at 19.7%, while in Italy the BMW 5 Series led with 8.5%.
The worst individual case recorded was a Mercedes-Benz V-Class in Spain with a rollback of 261,495km.
carVertical said clocked cars often lose half their actual mileage on paper. For instance, the average mileage rollback on an E-Class was 130,680km, while the BMW 5 Series and Volkswagen Touareg both averaged nearly 100,000km of hidden mileage.
The Citroën C4 was found to be the least clocked car in the study, with only 4.5% of models affected. The Ford Mondeo, Skoda Octavia, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60 also had relatively low rates of mileage fraud.
carVertical said commercial vehicles and ride-share favourites were particularly vulnerable to tampering due to high daily usage and high resale potential.
The company is urging used buyers to verify vehicles using history checks, mileage data and physical inspections. “Nobody can be completely safe from fraudsters,” the company said, “but performing a check and test drive significantly reduces the risk of buying a clocked vehicle.”
