2022 Georgia Code
Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Chapter 8 - Equipment and Inspection of Motor Vehicles
Article 1 - Equipment Generally
Part 1 - General Provisions
§ 40-8-5. Alteration of Odometer; Involvement With Devices Which Cause Odometer to Register Other Than Actual Mileage; Penalties

1. It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to tamper with, adjust, alter, change, set back, disconnect, or fail to connect an odometer of a motor vehicle, or to cause any of the foregoing to occur to an odometer of a motor vehicle, so as to reflect a lower mileage than the motor vehicle has actually been driven, except as provided in this Code section.
2. It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to bring into this state a motor vehicle which reflects a lower mileage than the motor vehicle actually has been driven due to any illegal acts outlined in subsection (a) of this Code section.
3. It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to sell or attempt to sell a motor vehicle which reflects a lower mileage than the motor vehicle actually has been driven due to any illegal acts outlined in subsection (a) of this Code section.
4. Subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this Code section shall not apply to the disconnection of the odometer used for registering the mileage or use of new motor vehicles being tested by the manufacturer prior to delivery to a franchised dealer.
5. It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise for sale, to sell, to use, to install, or to have installed any device which causes an odometer to register any mileage other than the actual mileage driven. For the purposes of this subsection, the actual mileage driven is that mileage driven by the vehicle as registered by the odometer within the manufacturer’s designed tolerance.
6. It shall be unlawful for any person to conspire with any other person to violate this Code section.
7. 1. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any person who, with intent to defraud, violates this Code section shall be liable in an amount equal to the sum of:
      1. Three times the amount of actual damages sustained or $1,500.00, whichever is greater; and
      2. In the case of any successful action to enforce the foregoing liability, the costs of the action, together with reasonable attorney’s fees, as determined by the court.
   2. Any action to enforce any liability created under this subsection may be brought in any superior court or state court having proper jurisdiction, within two years from the date on which the liability arises.
8. 1. If any person violates any provision of this Code section, the Attorney General, any district attorney in this state, or any solicitor-general in this state may bring an action in any superior court or state court having jurisdiction to restrain such violation.
   2. Any action arising under paragraph (1) of this subsection may be brought within two years from the date of the violation.
9. Any person violating this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

History. Ga. L. 1975, p. 754, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1227, § 1; Ga. L. 1981, p. 649, § 1; Code 1933, § 68E-105, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 165, § 4; Code 1981, § 40-8-5 , enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 165, § 10; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 40; Ga. L. 1996, p. 748, § 20.

Cross references.

Entry of odometer reading on certificate of title upon sale or transfer of motor vehicle, § 40-3-25 .

Actions giving rise to suspension or revocation of licenses of used car dealers generally, § 43-47-10 .

Editor’s notes.

Ga. L. 1996, p. 748, § 27, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an Act approved February 11, 1854 (Ga. L. 1854, p. 281), which abolished the office of solicitor of the City Court of Savannah, now the State Court of Chatham County, and transferred responsibility for the prosecution of criminal cases in said court to the solicitor general (now the district attorney) for the Eastern Judicial Circuit is confirmed. It shall be the duty of said district attorney to prosecute all criminal actions in said state court until otherwise specifically provided by law.”

Ga. L. 1996, p. 748, § 28, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The provisions of this Act shall not affect the powers, duties, or responsibilities of the district attorney as successor to the office of solicitor general under the constitution, statutes, and common law of this state as provided by Code Section 15-18-1.”

Ga. L. 1996, p. 748, § 29, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “Except as otherwise authorized in this Act, on and after July 1, 1996, any reference in general law or in any local Act to the solicitor of a state court shall mean and shall be deemed to mean the solicitor-general of such state court.”

Ga. L. 1996, p. 748, § 30, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The provisions of paragraph (3) of Code Section 15-18-62, relating to the qualifications for the office of solicitor-general of a state court, shall apply to any person elected or appointed to such office after July 1, 1996. Any person holding such office on July 1, 1996, may continue to hold such office for the remainder of the term to which such person was elected or appointed notwithstanding the fact that such person has not been a member of the State Bar of Georgia for three years if such person is otherwise qualified to hold the office of solicitor-general.”

Law reviews.

For annual survey on law on torts, see 42 Mercer L. Rev. 431 (1990).