Odometer tampering is "very widespread," according to the peak body for the automotive sales and service industry, which has issued a fresh warning to second-hand car buyers.

The warning comes after a used-car salesman was fined $25,000 and had his licence suspended for five years for winding back a total of 648,000 kilometres on the odometers of seven vehicles, inflating their value by $64,000.

The legal counsel for the Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the prosecuting agency, told the court during sentencing that the practice was common.

According to the OFT, it has conducted 105 odometer-fraud investigations since 2022, leading to 12 prosecutions, nine of which have been successful, and three that are still before the courts.

In one of the most serious cases, two men are ac

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