Is it safe to buy a used car in Serbia?
Although the used car market has stabilized and returned to pre-pandemic levels, transparency remains a major problem. Every year, thousands of people buy vehicles with hidden defects and falsified mileage, often unaware that they are overpaying for a car in poor condition.
Vehicle data company carVertical conducted its annual market transparency study to assess which countries are the riskiest to buy a used vehicle. This year, Serbia dropped by one place, so from 18th to 19th out of 25 countries. Neighboring Croatia took 15th place, Hungary – 17th, and Romania – 22nd.
Restoring mileage and previous damage are still a common occurrence on the Serbian market
The carVertical company’s research conducted between October 2023 and September 2024 showed that in Serbia, 4.1% of cars have falsified mileage, with an average correction of 80,405 kilometers. That number could easily double the mileage of a car a few years old. Since the price of a car depends directly on the mileage, drivers who buy these vehicles pay a much higher price than they should.
Although the rate of cars with scrapped mileage fell from 5.3% last year, the average scrapped mileage increased. This problem contributes to the decline of Serbia on the transparency index.
Statistics on damaged cars are also worrying: more than a third (38.5%) of all vehicles checked on the carVertical platform in Serbia were involved in traffic accidents, with an average value of damage of RSD 363,000. The situation was slightly better in 2023, with 37.9% of damaged vehicles. However, the average value of the damage was higher – RSD 438,000.
Buyers of vehicles imported to Serbia are exposed to the greatest risk of buying cars with falsified mileage or hidden damages. According to Matas Buzelis, car expert and head of communications at carVertical, internationally traded vehicles are up to 4 times more susceptible to mileage fraud. As much as 77.6% of all used cars in Serbia were imported from other countries, which is significantly above the European average. Buyers should be careful when purchasing imported vehicles due to potential hidden defects or forged documents.
Automobili (Freepik)
The average age of vehicles purchased in Serbia is 9.3 years, which represents a relatively young fleet compared to other Eastern European countries, but there are still problems with transparency.
The British market is still number one
As in previous years, Great Britain had the most transparent used car market of all the countries covered by the research. Only 2.1% of vehicles had falsified mileage, while 17.8% of vehicles were damaged. In contrast to continental Europe, the UK predominantly uses right-hand drive cars, which are driven around the country during their lifetime, with only 2% of the vehicles tested being imported. Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Sweden are among the five most transparent countries.
“Used car buyers in Western Europe and Scandinavia are less at risk of mileage fraud or hidden damage. Thanks to stricter laws, buyers can be more confident about the history and quality of the car they are buying,” says Buzelis.
Slovenia is the only Eastern European country that managed to make it into the top 10, taking 10th place.
Market transparency in Eastern Europe remains the same
The least transparent countries in the survey were Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Estonia. These markets had the lowest ranking last year as well. A large number of cars with falsified mileage and damage, outdated fleet and high import rates contribute to the fact that these markets are considered very non-transparent and risky.
“The situation on the used car market in Eastern Europe has not changed. Since only a small number of fraudsters are punished for falsifying mileage or hiding defects, this harmful practice is likely to continue for a long time. “Also, an increasing number of diesel cars are moving from the west to the east, which indicates a potential shortage of diesel vehicles in the future,” explains Buzelis.
Used cars (Unsplash)
The highest number of mileage fraud cases among European countries was recorded in Latvia (11.1%) and Ukraine (9.6%). The largest number of damaged cars was found in Poland (62.1%) and Slovakia (60.5%).
How is the market transparency index determined?
The research includes reports on used vehicles purchased by carVertical users in the period from October 2023 to September 2024. The market transparency index is determined based on six indicators:
- Percentage of cars with falsified odometers
- Average falsified mileage (in kilometers)
- Percentage of damaged cars
- Relative amount of damage
- Percentage of imported used cars
- Average age of checked cars
Since these criteria do not have the same impact on market transparency, each factor is assigned a different weight. For example, the number of kilometers by which the mileage has been reduced is more important than the average age of checked cars in a certain country.
The full report can be found here: https://www.carvertical.com/rs/transparency-index.
Source: BIZLife
Photo: Freepik/Unsplash
Source: bizlife.rs
