If someone were to change the odometer, would it read the miles from the donor car or the car that it's put into? Are the miles stored in the odometer/gauge cluster or the ECU/ECM?

The reason I ask is that there is a car of interest that has a suspiciously low number of miles (~11k) put on it in the last 8.5 years. The ad claims new gauges were put in it, so I'm wondering if the odometer reflects the miles from the donor car. Of course, there are no maintenance records or anything else that shows the mileage during the last 15 years - only the most recent work done on the car.

The car in question is a 2000 Accord with the digital/LCD odometer.

 

Good question, perhaps hooking the cars ECU at a mechanic could reveal the accurate amount? Although 2000 maybe too old but I'm just guessing.

 

Well, the car had enough other red flags that it wasn't worth pursuing. The question remains unanswered. It pays to run the VIN through Autocheck or similar service.

 

The odometer reading is stored on the odometer/gauge cluster.