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Advertisement Paid promotional article by Akabo Media Ltd. Not affiliated with any government agency. Disclosure

Pre-purchase readings for used cars in Australia

Read the car, not the listing.

NotNicoleXo takes three paint readings across fourteen panels, cross-checks the odometer against the modules that keep their own count, and sweeps the registers that hold a vehicle's history — before a deposit leaves your account.

Android app · No sign-in needed · Priced in Australian dollars

Ask for a reading See what gets measured
A rear quarter panel being sanded back by hand in a workshop bay
  • Panel 01118 µmIn range
  • Panel 04214 µmRepainted
  • Panel 07119 µmIn range
  • Panel 11168 µmBlended
  • Panel 02122 µmIn range

Sponsored Article — This page is paid promotional content created by Akabo Media Ltd. The story of Marlee Ferguson and Dane Whitcombe is illustrative. All product claims are the sponsor's own statements. This is not an independent news article.

Fourteen panels, three readings each

Paint is the cheapest thing to hide and the easiest thing to measure. A gauge rests on the panel, takes a reading in a second, and the number either sits inside the range the factory sprayed or it does not. Body filler, a resprayed door and a repaired quarter all read thicker than the day the car was built.

Guard, left118 µmIn range
Bonnet122 µmIn range
Guard, right214 µmRepainted
Door, front left96 µmIn range
Roof119 µmIn range
Door, front right121 µmIn range
Door, rear left214 µmRepainted
Boot lid124 µmIn range
Door, rear right127 µmIn range
Quarter, left168 µmBlended
Tailgate130 µmIn range
Quarter, right109 µmIn range
Sill, left104 µmIn range
Sill, right116 µmIn range
90–140 µm — inside the factory range 140–200 µm — blended into a neighbouring panel Above 200 µm — repainted over filler or a repair

The map above is the worked example used throughout this page: eleven panels read inside range, one blended, two repainted. Nothing on the outside of that car says so.

What the listing says. What the reading says.

A listing is written by the seller. A reading is taken off the car. The gap between the two is where money changes hands for the wrong reason.

In the listing

  • Drives like new, everything works.
  • Never had paintwork.
  • Full service history.
  • Clean history — checked, all clear.
  • Passed its safety certificate.

In the reading

  • Brake pedal rubber worn through — consistent with a bigger total than the screen shows.
  • Two panels above 200 µm, one blended, months apart in age.
  • Stamps stop in 2019. The only entry after that is a cluster replacement.
  • Clean on every register — and no register in the country holds an odometer.
  • A safety certificate checks what works today, not what a door hides.

Verdict: the car was buyable, at a different price, with a different story attached to the odometer.

The ute that had two odometers

Marlee Ferguson had been looking for a dual-cab ute for four months. The one she wanted was on a yard west of Toowoomba: a 2017 model, one owner on the paperwork, 96,400 km on the screen, AU$31,500 on the tag. The seller said the kilometres were country kilometres and the logbook backed it up.

The paint read clean. Three readings across fourteen panels came back inside the range the factory sprays, with two exceptions that were years apart in age — not the pattern of a single impact repair.

Then the modules were asked. The cluster showed 96,412 km. The transmission controller, which keeps its own count and is rarely reset, showed 187,300 km. The last stamp in the service book was dated 2019 at 92,880 km.

The yard had an explanation ready: the instrument cluster had been replaced in 2021 under warranty, and the number “carries over from the old one”. The invoice in the glovebox listed an exchange cluster at $0.00 and no odometer correction entry. The tyres on the ute were dated 2019 and worn in a way that matched the larger number. The pedal rubber was through to the metal.

A cluster is a display. The modules underneath keep their own count.

No deposit was paid. The ute stayed on the yard, and the same 96,400 km stayed on the tag.

An instrument cluster lit up on a bench, its odometer digits in view
One screen, two counts: what the cluster shows and what the modules hold are separate records.

The same car, three counts

  • Cluster, as displayed96,412 km
  • Transmission controller187,300 km
  • Service book, last stamp92,880 km · 2019

Exchange cluster invoice, 2021: $0.00. No odometer correction recorded anywhere in the file.

What a register sweep can and cannot tell you

Some of a car's history is registered, and some of it never was. Knowing which is which saves a buyer from trusting a clean report for the wrong thing.

  • Personal Property Securities RegisterMoney still owing on the car, a stolen flag, a written-off flag.Swept
  • NEVDIS written-off recordsWritten-off entries held across the states and territories.Swept
  • Registration and safety certificateWhether the car is registered now, and what a safety certificate does and does not cover.Swept
  • Manufacturer recallsCampaigns still open against the car's identification number.Swept
  • OdometerNothing. No Australian register keeps the odometer of a used car, which is why the modules are asked instead.Not recorded
  • Service and repair paperworkWhat the file says, and the date it stops being useful.Read
A row of used cars parked on a dealership lot under open sky
A yard is a good place to look at a car. It is not a place to measure one.

Three steps, and one of them is a visit

  1. 01

    Send the listing

    The advertisement, the location and a time that suits. Two minutes of typing, no payment details.

  2. 02

    The car gets read

    Fourteen panels at three readings each, the module counts, panel gaps, bolt marks and the paperwork in the glovebox.

  3. 03

    The report comes back

    Every reading, every conflict and every register result in one written set of numbers you can take back to the seller.

14panels read
42paint readings
6sources crossed
1written report

Ask for a reading

Tell us which car and where it is parked. We come back with a time and a price.

The form above is a request form for a sponsored service. It sits apart from the sponsored editorial on this page and it takes no payment details.

Sponsored content · No card required · Opt-out link included

What happens next

  • Your request is passed to the service, not stored on this page.
  • A time is arranged for the reading, with or without you present.
  • The report is written the same day the car is read.

Before you ask for a reading

Is this the service itself?
No. This page is a sponsored article published by Akabo Media Ltd. The readings are taken by NotNicoleXo, whose own site carries the service terms.
Does a reading replace a mechanic's inspection?
No. A reading measures paint and data. It does not put the car on a hoist or pull a wheel. The two answer different questions and a serious buyer may want both.
How are the paint readings taken?
A gauge is placed flat on the panel and takes a reading in a second. Three readings per panel are recorded, then compared with the range the factory sprays for that model year.
Can an odometer be verified anywhere in Australia?
Not from a register. No Australian register holds the odometer of a used car, so the count is cross-checked against modules that keep their own total and against the dates in the paperwork.
Which states and territories are covered?
Readings are arranged across the country, subject to a time being available at the car's location.
What does it cost, and does this page take payment?
This page takes no payment details at all. Pricing comes from the service when the time is confirmed.