Dealer put wrong mileage on finance agreement – advice?

the_doubter · 28-04-2026 01:20PM #1

Hi everyone, looking for some advice regarding a car finance issue in Ireland because I’ve discovered something very concerning.

I recently bought a 2017 Citroen C3 1.2 PureTech from a dealership through Finance Ireland hire purchase finance.

After reviewing the paperwork carefully, I realised the finance agreement states the car had ONLY 50,000 km at the time of sale.

However:

The dashboard already showed around 120,000 miles (~193,000 km) when I collected the car (I have photos from the same day).
I recovered the dealership’s original DoneDeal ad and it listed the car at around 120k mileage as well.
I then bought a MyVehicle history report which shows the car already had 99,000 km back in January 2020

On top of that, a mechanic has now told me the car appears to:

consume oil
lose coolant
and may have clutch wear issues.

The main thing worrying me is that the official finance contract submitted to Finance Ireland clearly says “50,000 km”.

I’m not claiming I didn’t see the dashboard mileage at the time, but I only realised recently that the finance agreement itself contained a completely different and materially incorrect mileage figure.

My questions are:

Has anyone dealt with a similar situation in Ireland?
Can a dealership simply claim this was an “administrative error”?
Does the fact the incorrect mileage appears in the finance agreement itself make this more serious?
Would you contact the dealer first, Finance Ireland directly, CCPC, or a solicitor?
What outcome would realistically be expected here (refund, replacement car, compensation, etc.)?

I have:

the signed finance agreement
photos of the dashboard
the original ad
the vehicle history report

Any advice or similar experiences would really help. Thanks.

coylemj · 28-04-2026 05:24PM

After reviewing the paperwork carefully, I realised the finance agreement states the car had ONLY 50,000 km at the time of sale.

The time to review the paperwork 'carefully' was before you signed it.

One nefarious motive for understating the mileage in the finance agreement would be so that they can claim you exceeded the allowed mileage if you came back with a claim under the warranty. But, if you have a photo of the odometer at the time of the purchase and the original dealer ad. showing the true mileage, then you should be covered.

But it's also possible that the finance company has an upper limit on the mileage for any used car they will finance. The dealer may simply have understated the mileage to get around that rule and did not do so to weaken any consumer protection you have arising out of the sale.

cml387 · 28-04-2026 05:30PM

The finance company have no role in deciding if the car was mechanically sound, so if you think the incorrect milage entry allows you off the hook you are mistaken.

Also, it might have been wise to bring a mechanic to look at the car before you purchased it.

beachhead · 28-04-2026 05:39PM

Get the paperwork corrected.50k and 120k is a serious difference.Finance company or not

elperello · 28-04-2026 05:41PM

You also have the mileage on the NCT disc.

In the first instance go back to the dealer and give him the opportunity to put matters right.

Sonic the Shaghog · 28-04-2026 05:43PM

Nevermind just the mileage, what about the engine and coolant issues? How long ago did you buy it? Have you checked into what your rights are here given it's a dealer

coylemj · 28-04-2026 05:47PM

The dealer may have felt that finance could be difficult to arrange on an eight year old car with 120K miles on the clock. So he sweetened the package by making out that the car had comparatively low mileage.

It's possible that the dealer was doing the OP a favour by putting the lower number in the finance agreement.

Worth bearing in mind before going back to the dealer with guns blazing.