A Netley man who bought five used cars interstate and wound back the odometers by as much as around 110,000 kilometres has been fined $4,000 in the Adelaide Magistrates Court.

Consumer and Business Services took action against 51-year-old Jim Hiotis, after receiving a complaint a Holden Caprice that Hiotis bought at auction interstate.

The Court was told that when Hiotis bought the car from a Queensland auction house, it had an odometer reading of just over 116,000 - but that when Hiotis presented it for registration in South Australia, the odometer had been wound back to just over 63,000 kilometres.

He later attempted to sell the vehicle at auction, presenting a forged service history logbook that falsely claimed the car had been serviced at 63,000 kilometres.

Hiotis bought four other cars from auction houses in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, winding the odometers in each car back to wipe off between anywhere from nearly 29,500 to 111,750 kilometres from their records.

"This is serious misconduct that could have significantly misled consumers who could have purchased these vehicles, not realising the full extent of their previous use," Commissioner for Consumer Affairs Dini Soulio said.

"He had clearly gone to great lengths to try and cover his tracks, buying vehicles from interstate and seeking to re-register them in South Australia once the odometers had been wound back.

"It was a calculated attempt to deceive potential buyers."

Hiotis was convicted of five counts of interference with an odometer and one count of dishonest dealing with documents.