This year, Belgium ranks 8th out of 25 countries. Among Belgium’s neighbours, Germany placed 3rd, France 5th.
Trends in Belgium – mileage rollbacks and hidden damages remain an issue
The carVertical study revealed that Belgium still has cars sold with manipulated mileage. This year, 2.1% of vehicles checked in the country had clocked odometers. On average, mileage was rolled back by 66,000 km.
To better understand the financial losses caused by this practice, vehicle data company carVertical earlier this year conducted a study across European countries. Even using a conservative scenario, the results show that European countries lose approximately €5.3 billion per year due to odometer fraud and Belgium’s economy loses around €76.6 million annually due to odometer fraud. Since many cases go undetected, the actual damage could be significantly higher.
“Drivers often have certain expectations for mileage when buying a used car. Some want a model with under 100,000 km, while for others the limit is 200,000 km. Cars with high mileage are harder to sell, so dishonest sellers roll back the odometer to make the vehicle more attractive and boost profits,” says Matas Buzelis, carVertical’s automotive expert.
Belgium’s market is also heavily influenced by imports – 55.2% of cars checked were brought in from abroad. Unfortunately, imported cars are more likely to come with manipulated mileage or concealed damage.
According to the study, 54.1% of vehicles in Belgium had a damage record, up from 30.5% in 2024, with the average claim value reaching €4,800.
The average age of cars checked in Belgium was 9.2 years, down from 8.7 years in 2024, showing that Belgian buyers are leaning toward slightly older vehicles.
The most transparent markets – United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany
The United Kingdom has once again secured the top spot in the transparency index. Only 2.3% of cars there had clocked mileage, and just 17% carried damage records. Because the UK is one of the few European countries where people drive on the left side, it relies less on imports. With just 2.3% of vehicles coming from abroad, the risks for local buyers remain relatively low.
Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and France complete the top five most transparent markets. Sweden, which ranked 5th last year, slipped to 10th after an increase in imports, more damaged cars, and higher mileage manipulation rates. Portugal is another country with a significant drop in the ranking, finishing 16th, compared to 11th in the previous year. Croatia showed the most improvement and moved from 15th place to 11th.
“The most transparent markets are found in Western and Scandinavian Europe. This is explained by lower reliance on imports, higher living standards, and more open automotive data. The more cars a country imports, and the more difficult its economic situation, the higher the risks of odometer fraud and concealed damages. Scandinavian countries also show leadership in terms of offering a certain degree of data available to vehicle buyers,” explains Buzelis.
Eastern European markets remain the riskiest
The five least transparent countries remain unchanged from last year. Ukraine sits at the bottom, followed by Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Estonia. These markets share common features: a high proportion of imported vehicles, an older fleet, widespread mileage rollbacks, and a high share of cars with damage records.
“Many cars imported into Eastern Europe have already been driven extensively. To make a quick profit, sellers often roll back the mileage, cover up damages, or hide the car’s history. Such vehicles tend to break down more frequently, meaning that instead of saving money when buying a used model, drivers often end up spending much more than expected. Cross-border movement of used cars is very difficult to track, and that is the main reason why some vehicles get tampered with,” says Buzelis.
According to Buzelis, as countries don’t always exchange vehicle data, many mileage or damage records are never digitized. There’s no harmonized approach to tracking car sales within the EU, which all makes this dishonest practice easy to conceal.
In Ukraine, 9.5% of cars had clocked mileage, in Latvia – 10.8%, in Lithuania – 7%, in Romania – 7.5%, and in Estonia – 5.9%. Imports ranged from 61% in Romania to 78% in Ukraine.
How is the transparency index calculated?
The carVertical study analyzed vehicle history reports purchased by customers between September 2024 and August 2025. The transparency index is based on six indicators:
- Percentage of clocked cars
- Average odometer rollback value in kilometers
- Percentage of damaged vehicles
- Average damage value
- Share of imported used cars
- Average age of cars checked
Since their predicted impact on market transparency may differ, carVertical data experts assigned these factors different values. For example, the percentage of clocked cars is more important than the average age of checked cars in that particular country on carVertical.
The full study and methodology can be found here.
carVertical operates in 35 countries and sources data from 900+ global databases, such as law enforcement, national/state registries, financial institutions, and classifieds. By processing millions of vehicle history reports annually, the company can provide trends, comprehensive forecasts, and unique insights into the used car market.
