Buying a used car is one of those situations where what you don’t know absolutely can hurt you. The seller knows the car’s full history — every accident, every repair, every country it’s been registered in. You know what the ad says. That information gap is where bad deals happen.

Here are ten questions you should answer before you commit to any used car. Miss even one and you could be looking at a EUR 3,000 surprise within the first six months.

1. Has the Mileage Been Tampered With?

This is the big one. In cross-border European sales, an estimated 1 in 3 cars shows mileage discrepancies when checked against foreign inspection databases. The dashboard says 95,000 km, but the Czech STK database recorded 187,000 km eighteen months ago. Checking the mileage history across countries is the single most important thing you can do.

2. Has the Car Been in a Serious Accident?

Structural damage changes everything — resale value, safety, long-term reliability. A car that’s been in a front-end collision and had the frame pulled straight at a body shop will never drive quite right again. Insurance databases and inspection records often flag total-loss declarations and structural repairs that sellers conveniently forget to mention.

3. Was the Car Ever Reported Stolen?

It happens more than you’d think. A car gets stolen in Belgium, ends up with new papers in Romania, and gets listed on a marketplace. If the vehicle is still flagged in police databases, you can lose the car and your money with zero recourse. A stolen vehicle check takes seconds but can save you the entire purchase price.

4. How Many Owners Has It Had?

A five-year-old car with seven owners is a red flag. Either something keeps going wrong or the car has been through dealer chains doing cosmetic flips. On the other hand, a one-owner car that was serviced at the same garage for eight years is about as good as it gets on the used market.

5. Where Has the Car Actually Been Registered?

Country of registration matters. A car that’s spent its life in southern Spain has different rust risks than one from Finland. A car imported from a country with poor road infrastructure may have suspension wear that doesn’t match its mileage. And a car that’s changed countries three times in two years is often being moved to stay ahead of its own paper trail.

6. Are There Any Outstanding Recalls?

Manufacturers issue safety recalls regularly, but not every owner takes the car in to get them done. Unresolved recalls can affect everything from airbags to fuel lines to brake systems. Some are genuinely dangerous — Takata airbag inflators, for example, have caused deaths from shrapnel. You want to know about open recalls before you buy, not after.

7. What Did the Last Inspection Report Say?

European cars go through mandatory periodic inspections — TUV, MOT, APK, STK, depending on the country. These reports list specific failures and advisories: worn brake pads, corroded brake lines, excessive play in steering components, rust on structural elements. The last inspection report tells you what the car needs right now, regardless of what the seller claims.

8. Does the VIN Match Everything?

The VIN should match the registration documents, the windshield plate, the door jamb sticker, and the engine bay stamping. Mismatches can indicate a cloned identity — where a wrecked or stolen car gets re-tagged with a clean car’s VIN. It’s rare but it happens, and when it does, you’re stuck with an untitled vehicle.

9. What Should This Car Actually Cost?

Market value depends on exact trim, engine, mileage, country, and condition. A car priced 20% below comparable listings isn’t always a bargain — sometimes it’s priced to sell fast before the buyer asks too many questions. Know the market value before you negotiate so you can tell the difference between a genuine deal and a trap.

10. What’s the Maintenance Profile for This Engine/Trim?

Every engine has known weak points. The 2.0 TDI EA189 has the diesel emissions issue. The N47 in BMWs has timing chain problems. The PSA 1.6 THP has cam chain tensioner failures. Knowing the specific reliability profile of the exact engine variant — not just the model — tells you what to budget for and what to inspect closely.

The One Tool That Answers All of Them

You could spend an entire afternoon researching each of these questions manually. Cross-referencing inspection databases, searching stolen vehicle registries, looking up recall databases, decoding the VIN for specs.

Or you could run the VIN through [Carlytics](https://www.carlytics.eu) and get all of it in one report. Mileage history across countries, accident indicators, stolen vehicle status, registration history, open recalls, inspection records, and full vehicle specs — pulled together in about sixty seconds for EUR 8.90.

Skip the physical inspection? No. You should always see the car in person, check the paintwork with a thickness gauge, listen for odd noises, have a mechanic look underneath. But the [vehicle history check](https://www.carlytics.eu/car-history-check) eliminates the worst risks before you even get in the car. It tells you whether this car is worth the trip or whether you should keep scrolling.

Ten questions. One VIN check. Do it before you hand over the money.