Is this correct?

This is part of an ebay listing for a tidy looking P38 "mileage is showing 142k however i was informed the dials were replaced by the previous owner and the true mileage is around 70k" Is this the case? I thought the mileage was stored elsewhere and would always show the correct vehicle milage regardless of the one on a s/h dash??

v8hotrodboy said:

This is part of an ebay listing for a tidy looking P38 "mileage is showing 142k however i was informed the dials were replaced by the previous owner and the true mileage is around 70k" Is this the case? I thought the mileage was stored elsewhere and would always show the correct vehicle milage regardless of the one on a s/h dash??

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As i understand it mileage is stored in instrument unit and in BECM. If either are changed mileage goes to highest reading. Get the BECM read and that should have true mileage stored in it i think. Maybe wrong Irish Rover will know more about it than i do.

Yes....Wammers is correct.
It will show "Odometer Error" for a short while after the change but the mileage will then default to the highest stored value in either the Instrument panel or the Becm. If the replacement panel had the higher value, the Becm will update to that figure.
I suppose a good indication would be the mileage entered on previous MOT certificates. In this case a sudden jump of 70k odd miles would stick out like a sore thumb.
If no previous MOT's or other validated documents can back the figures up...I would treat it with suspicion unless they could PROVE otherwise.