Surprising Facts About the Used Car Market from Last Year
CarVertical has collected the most interesting statistical data generated based on reports downloaded by customers in 2023. They point to certain threats that buyers still have to consider, as well as curiosities related to the used car market.
More Damages, but Lower Value
In 2023, carVertical recorded 1.78 million damages, thus more than in 2022 (when it was 1.4 million). The highest compensation was paid during the settlement of a Lamborghini Huracan damage and was 250,000 Euros. The total value of vehicle damages recorded in carVertical reports exceeded 4.4 billion Euros. In 2022, this value amounted to 5.1 billion Euros.
BMW Cars Most Frequently Involved in Accidents
The most damages are attributed to BMW cars. The indicator here is 48.4% for all cars with damage records. For comparison, the corresponding indicators for Audi are 43.9%, Skoda – 43.7%, Dacia – 43.5%, and Lexus – 42.4%. As you can see, the differences are not too big. On average, 39.3% of all used vehicles checked on the platform were damaged. This means that the risk of purchasing a car with a suspicious history is still very high.
German Cars Most Attractive to Thieves
Last year, carVertical reports revealed many stolen vehicles. However, the actual number of thefts in Europe may be much higher, as stolen cars rarely reach the used vehicle market. In most cases, they are dismantled and sold for parts. Thieves most preferred BMW cars. A staggering 17.7% of all cases revealed by carVertical concerned models of this manufacturer. They are closely followed by Mercedes (15.3%) and Audi (12%). In general, the highest risk of theft concerns premium class vehicles. For comparison – in the case of Ford, it is 6.1%, and for Volkswagen – 5.4% (although these brands also made it to the top five). Most of the stolen cars were produced in the years 2016-2019 – there is the highest demand for such 5-7-year-old cars. The majority of stolen cars come from 2016 – 12.4%.
Every Thirteenth Car Had a Rolled-Back Odometer
Among all vehicles checked by carVertical in 2023, 7.5% had a rolled-back odometer. This means that in as many as 1 in 13 transactions, an attempt was made to deceive the buyer, who could have overpaid for the car. In total, 7.7 billion rolled-back kilometers were registered on the platform, which represents a slight increase compared to 7.4 billion in the previous year.
Last year’s record holder for odometer rollback was the Volvo V70. carVertical revealed that its mileage was reduced by a staggering 450,000 kilometers. One can only imagine what the real mileage of this car was before the odometer tampering.
The ranking of brands where the odometer is most commonly rolled back is led by Opel. As much as 14.3% of all cars of this manufacturer had falsified mileage. Opel is followed by Jeep (12.8%), Land Rover (11.4%), Lexus (10.8%), and Porsche (10.5%).
Odometer rollback is more common among older cars. 13.8% of all cars manufactured in 1995 had a tampered odometer, which (statistically) makes this year model the most risky when purchasing a vehicle. Mileage fraud is also common in cars produced between 2012-2016, where the “correction” rates are around 11%.
Volkswagen Golf was the Most Frequently Checked Car in 2023
The most frequently searched model on the carVertical platform in 2023 was the Volkswagen Golf (4.91% of all downloaded reports). Second is the BMW 3 series (4.89%), and third is the Volkswagen Passat (3.8%). The next places are taken by the BMW 5 series (3.7%) and Audi A4 (3.5%).
What Colors Do We Prefer?
The most popular colors in 2023 were black (29.6%), gray (26.6%), and white (18.8%). The share of extravagant colors such as green, purple, or yellow rarely exceeds 1%.
Methodology: The study analyzed information from 26 different countries: the United Kingdom, the USA, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Australia, and Mexico. All data are based on the analysis of the carVertical platform content.
