The used car market is full of fraud. Here's how carVertical helps dealers build trust instead

In some European countries, over 8 in 10 used cars are imported from abroad. Most of those vehicles lived their previous lives in another country – under a different system, with fragmented records that may not follow them across borders. Even in Germany – the biggest used car exporter in the EU – 30.2% of used cars are imported from abroad, proving that cross-border history gaps are a concern everywhere.

Meanwhile, dealers are expected to make fast, high-stakes purchasing decisions with partial information – and then stand in front of increasingly sceptical customers and confidently say: This is a good car.

The most successful dealers have stopped relying on assumptions. Instead, they’ve built transparency into every step of the process – from sourcing to resale.

Here’s how carVertical fits into that picture, and what dealers across Europe are learning along the way.

Challenge #1: no unified car registry in Europe

Every dealer knows the frustration.

You have a VIN. You have a car. What you don’t have is the full story.

Across Europe, there is no unified vehicle registry that would allow dealerships to easily access a car’s complete history. Even though a VIN does not contain personal data, many countries treat it as sensitive information. As a result, dealers are often left guessing when evaluating vehicles – especially imported ones.

Germany’s top automotive content creator and owner of Automobilzentrum Rhein-Neckar, Omid Mouazzen, describes the situation bluntly:

“As a dealer, you are expected to make high-stakes decisions while being deliberately left in the dark. This creates a perfect environment for fraud. Sellers with bad intentions know exactly how limited the system is, and without reliable data, you are often exposed and defenseless. I’ve said it many times, and I stand by it – there are very few industries where as much lying and deception happens as in the used car market.”

In other words, the system rewards those who hide information – and punishes those who try to do things properly.

Challenge #2: justifying pricing

Even when a car is clean, another battle begins: price. Two identical models sit online. Same year. Similar mileage. But one costs more. Why?

Luigi Di Gioia, Brand Manager at L’Auto SPA, knows this dilemma well. Customers today compare dozens of listings before ever stepping into a showroom.

They are willing to pay more for a vehicle with a clean and verified history. But they expect proof.

More buyers now actively ask for history reports before even discussing financing. Transparency is no longer a bonus – it’s a baseline expectation.

Dealerships are adapting. Our recent study showed that already:

• 43.5% of French dealerships
• 41.7% of Italian dealerships
• 56.3% of Romanian dealerships

regularly share history reports with customers.

That’s progress. But it also means that dealers who don’t provide data are starting to stand out – and not in a good way.

Challenge #3: no way to verify the history of imported cars

Now add cross-border trade to the mix. Many dealers import vehicles to diversify their stock or improve margins. But importing also increases risk.

Some information about locally driven cars may be obtained from national authorities. But when a vehicle has spent most of its life abroad, its history can become fragmented or practically invisible.

“Our biggest challenge was the information barrier associated with imported vehicles,” says Bartosz Grzesiuk, co-owner of the Polish dealership Automotore. “Manually verifying service history across multiple countries was time-consuming and did not always guarantee full transparency – especially regarding incidents outside authorized service networks.”

carVertical’s Transparency Index shows that in some European countries, more than 80% of used cars are imported. And the journey is often complex: a car is bought cheaply at a US auction, repaired in one European country, then exported again and offered for sale somewhere else.

By the time it reaches the final buyer, it may look flawless. But without data, the past disappears. Tracking a vehicle’s full journey can feel less like automotive trading – and more like investigative journalism.

Challenge #4: establishing trust with customers

Even when a car passes inspection, the bigger question remains: will the customer trust you?

Stories of buyers discovering hidden damage months after purchase are everywhere – online forums, social media, word of mouth. Many customers have been burned. Others know someone who has.

At carVertical, we regularly see cases that explain this distrust. Recently, for example, a Nissan X-Trail heavily damaged by flooding in Germany was restored and later listed for sale in Poland. On the surface, it looked fine. Underneath, it told a different story.

And this is not an isolated case.

According to Grzesiuk, customers today are highly informed – and they value proactive transparency. Dealers who bring data to the table first immediately change the tone of the conversation.

Solution – turning hidden data into a competitive edge

The turning point for many dealerships comes when data becomes part of their routine.

carVertical helps dealers stay one step ahead – reducing acquisition risks and strengthening customer confidence. A vehicle history report allows dealers to verify mileage, damage records, ownership changes, cross-border movements, and other critical information within minutes.

It works as a pre-screening tool. Instead of physically inspecting 10 risky cars, dealers can eliminate problematic vehicles early and focus on inventory that meets their standards.

Charles de Saint-Seine, CEO of France Super Cars, shares that in 2025 alone, the company avoided wasting time and money on around 80 vehicles that would not have passed their internal evaluation process.

“Just yesterday, we were sourcing a Porsche GT3 Touring for one of our clients. We found a promising example at a dealership near Paris. However, after reviewing the carVertical report, we discovered that the car had previously been declared a total loss and later repaired in Eastern Europe before returning to the French market,” explains de Saint-Seine.

Without that report, the car might have entered their stock. Instead, it never made it past the first filter.

Vehicle history reports also change how dealers communicate with customers:

“We no longer need to convince customers about a vehicle’s condition – the data does it for us. It reinforces our image as a dealership with nothing to hide. carVertical reports are a crucial part of our risk analysis and pricing policy. They enable us to differentiate our inventory with precision. Vehicles with documented, damage-free histories are perceived as more valuable by customers, allowing us to confidently position them at a premium,” says Grzesiuk from Automotore.

In a market where information gaps create risk, reliable data becomes more than protection – it becomes a competitive edge. Every sourcing decision, every trade-in, every price discussion carries weight. When you can replace guesswork with verified facts, conversations change. Negotiations become clearer. Doubts fade faster.