Romania has one of the most non-transparent car markets in Europe
Romania ranks at the bottom of the "Transparency Index of the car market", which analyzes the transactions with used cars in Europe and makes a ranking of the most transparent second-hand car markets. The index is part of a study by leading car history reports provider carVertical.
According to the findings, Romania has one of the least transparent used car markets in Europe. One in five used cars has the mileage adjusted. The average value erased from the odometer is about 50,000 kilometers (48,090 km). This means that a buyer can not only overpay for a vehicle but, based on false records, can also have trouble planning revisions.
Almost two-thirds of the used car fleet in Romania is imported, and more than half of the vehicles are damaged.
On the other hand, Romania presents itself better when it comes to the age of the second-hand car park. Used cars are, on average, slightly more than 9 years old (9.19 years old), occupying the 9th place out of 23 in the ranking of European car markets analyzed by the Transparency Index of the car market.
The least transparent market for used cars is in Latvia, followed by Ukraine, Lithuania, and Romania. Ukraine is the champion of car imports – over 80% of the vehicles in this country arrive from abroad. Latvia (75.5%), Romania (67.2%), and Lithuania (75.3%) are also not very far behind.
Many cars from Western Europe come damaged, and then they are repaired and sold. That is why the percentage of cars damaged in Eastern Europe is very high.
“Buying a used car from Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine or Romania is risky, given that they are markets with the highest car imports. This is where most fraudulent vehicles are located by running the odometer or hiding the damage,” said Matas Buzelis, Head of Communication carVertical in the press release.
According to the analysis carried out by carVertical, the used car market in Western Europe enjoys more transparency than that of Eastern Europe. The first place is occupied by the United Kingdom, the country with the highest transparency index. Only 14.5% of cars in the UK had the mileage rolled back. The country also has the lowest percentage of imported cars, at 10.7%. Germany comes in second, followed by France.
The Transparency Index of the car market was conducted on a sample of 23 countries in Europe and the USA, over a period of 12 months.
(Photo source: Vitalij Sova | Dreamstime)
