Montana § 61-3-607 - Penalty For Tampering With Odometer Or Violating Odometer Statement Requirements

§ 61-3-607. Penalty For Tampering With Odometer Or Violating Odometer Statement Requirements

Penalty for tampering with odometer or violating odometer statement requirements. (1) It is unlawful for a person to tamper with the odometer of a motor vehicle. It is considered tampering if a person removes, turns back, or changes the reading on the odometer, except when repairing or replacing a defective odometer and setting it anew to show the true mileage, or if a person sells, offers for sale, uses, installs, or causes to be installed any device that causes the odometer to register a mileage reading other than the true mileage for the purpose of deceiving a prospective purchaser. For purposes of this section, the true mileage is that driven by the motor vehicle as registered by the odometer within the manufacturer's designed tolerance. (2) A person who purposely or knowingly violates the provisions of 61-3-206 or subsection (1) of this section is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment in the state prison for a period of not more than 10 years, or both. If that person is a motor vehicle dealer, the department shall revoke the dealer's license. Action by the department under this subsection must conform to the contested case procedures in Title 2, chapter 4.