Drivers try to avoid cars with tampered mileage or hidden defects, but these are not the only criteria to consider when choosing a used vehicle. Cars that have changed owners or registration countries often also have unpleasant secrets.
The car data company “carVertical” analyzed the most extreme cases in the used vehicle market in Lithuania and other European countries in 2025.
Cars “rejuvenated” by hundreds of thousands of kilometers, damages worth a quarter of a million euros or more, and a dozen changed countries show that without taking precautions, it is easy to buy a model with a very poor history.
More than 20 previous owners, for some – not a limit
A significant number of vehicles start their life in one country, but after some time they are sold and exported abroad. Thus, a car that is several years old may have changed several countries and owners. Among all the models checked by “carVertical” in Lithuania, the one that changed the most countries was a “Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class” – 8. Next are the “Audi A4” – 6 countries and “Mercedes-Benz S-Class” – 6 countries.
Cases of mileage rollback
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The car that changed the most owners in Lithuania is the “Fiat Ducato” (23 owners). Right behind it are the “Audi A6” – 22 owners and the BMW 5 Series model – 22.
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According to “carVertical” car market expert Matas Buzelis, such a large change of owners often signals poor vehicle condition:
“If a car is frequently passed from hand to hand, it often indicates serious problems that simply are not wanted to be fixed. This is how the car travels from hand to hand. Sometimes even the car owner does not know that their vehicle has changed several countries in the past. If the car is bought without checking its history, it is impossible to get this information by other means.”
Car mileage tampering: most popular manufacturers
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This situation arises because, for example, Germany, which exports almost 2 million cars annually, does not share car data with other countries. In other words, as soon as a car is sold to another country, its past history becomes inaccessible and remains in the databases of German institutions.
Germany is not the only European country with such strict requirements. Since many cars in the old continent are imported from abroad, this creates favorable conditions for dishonest sellers to hide vehicle history and deceive trusting buyers.
Among all cars checked in Lithuania – a “Škoda” with 36 damage records
A car involved in several minor traffic accidents is not an exceptional case, but some models have damage records counted in dozens in history reports. The car with the most damages in Lithuania was the “Škoda Superb” – as many as 36. Behind it are the “Lexus LS” and “Audi A6” with 19 damage records each.
It is important to note that registered damage records do not necessarily mean the car has been involved in the same number of accidents. In some cases, several damage records may be related to the same accident, so the total number of damages better reflects their severity.
Insurers price luxury car accidents the highest. In Lithuania, the highest total damage value was for the “Porsche 911 GT3 RS” (€395,000), “Porsche 911” (€222,000), and “Ferrari 448 GTB” (€205,000).
“If the value of car damages reaches tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros, it should be avoided or at least taken for a thorough inspection at an authorized service. Since the car history reports show which components were damaged, more attention can be paid to them during the inspection and specialists can be asked to carefully evaluate certain car parts. Buying a heavily damaged car in the past can make it difficult to sell later,” says M. Buzelis.
Mileage adjusted by hundreds of thousands of kilometers
Car mileage is one of the main criteria drivers use when choosing a used vehicle. Generally, the higher the mileage, the less attractive the car is on the secondary market. For this reason, mileage tampering remains popular, causing Europeans to lose millions of euros annually.
Among all cars checked by “carVertical” in Lithuania in 2025, the most tampered mileage was found in “Audi Q8” models – on average as much as 476,000 kilometers. Next are “Mercedes-Benz Sprinter” (331,000 kilometers) and “Volkswagen T4” (281,000 kilometers). Mileage tampering especially affects buyers of more expensive cars, as they can overpay tens of thousands of euros for the desired model.
“Tampered mileage is often characteristic of imported models. Since countries do not exchange car data, historical data remains inaccessible to the institutions of the new country. This flawed situation could only be changed by joint leadership of European countries so that car buyers have a chance to learn the car’s history without any restrictions and not become victims of fraud,” explains M. Buzelis.
Methodology
The “carVertical” study analyzes vehicle history reports purchased by the company’s users from January 2025 to December 18, 2025, in European countries to reveal the most extreme cases in the used vehicle market.
“carVertical” is a company specializing in vehicle history reports, operating in 37 countries – mostly in Europe, as well as the USA, Mexico, and Australia. Collecting data from more than 1,000 registers and databases worldwide, “carVertical” provides comprehensive reports that help customers make well-informed decisions when buying used vehicles.
