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Buying guides
Practical guides for buying a used car, with sources for each guide.
Buying guides in Czechia
- Paid vehicle history checks vs free Czech state toolsThe Czech Ministry of Transport runs two free tools for checking a vehicle by VIN: kontrolatachometru.cz, which shows odometer readings logged at inspections, and Portál občana, which shows the complete register record, but only for a vehicle you currently own or have owned before. The Police of the Czech Republic separately runs a free check for whether a vehicle is listed as stolen. A paid commercial check such as Cebia's AUTOTRACER, priced from around 199 Kč up to roughly 700 Kč for the full check, adds by its own description a financing check (leasing or consumer credit) and a broader international matching database, data that none of the free state tools provide.
- What to check before buying an imported car in CzechiaA used car imported into the Czech Republic is registered after either an evidenční kontrola (a records-matching check) or a full import roadworthiness inspection, depending on your COC certificate and foreign inspection reports. Rolling back an odometer has been an offence under Section 36(4) of Act No. 56/2001 Coll. since 1 October 2018, with a fine of up to 500,000 Kč. Odometer readings logged at every Czech inspection can be checked free by VIN at kontrolatachometru.cz. Foreign service and inspection history is not carried into the Czech register automatically.
- How the Czech Republic's official odometer check worksKontrolatachometru.cz is the Czech Ministry of Transport's official odometer tool. Enter a VIN and a captcha code, and it returns the mileage readings recorded on a car's odometer during technical inspections at STK stations and at emissions testing stations. The tool itself warns, on the page, that these readings may not reflect the vehicle's actual current mileage. It is a record of what was officially logged, not a guarantee that the odometer was never tampered with, not least because nothing gets logged between two inspections.
- What Czech STK inspection history actually showsThe inspection history for a Czech car comes from the Registr silničních vozidel, published at dataovozidlech.cz by the Ministry of Transport. Search by VIN, ORV or TP number and the dataset returns each inspection's type, station, validity dates and a status code the ministry does not explain. It leaves out a written defect description and the odometer reading, those live on a separate tool, kontrolatachometru.cz. The data has been published this way, as daily snapshots running weeks behind, since November 2025.
Other buying guides
Odometer fraud: how to spot a clocked car before you signOdometer fraud, rolling back a car's mileage to inflate its price, affects an estimated 5-12% of domestic used-car sales and 30-50% of cross-border sales in the European Union, according to a 2018 European Parliament study. You can't always spot it by eye, but mismatches between service records and the dashboard reading, plus tell-tale wear on pedals, seats, and the steering wheel, are the strongest clues before you sign anything.
What a vehicle history check reveals, and what it can'tA vehicle history check pulls together title records, odometer readings, salvage or total-loss brands, open recalls, and theft flags from government and insurance databases into one report. It can't reveal anything that was never reported in the first place: unreported accidents, undocumented repairs, or the car's current mechanical condition. That's why consumer groups like AAA recommend pairing a check with a hands-on inspection, not relying on either alone.
Red flags in used-car listings: how to spot a scam adScam listings tend to repeat the same handful of tactics regardless of country: a price well below market, a seller who avoids meeting in person or letting you test drive, payment requests that bypass normal traceable channels, and manufactured urgency. In the US, imposter and marketplace-style fraud reports to the Federal Trade Commission grew for a fifth straight year in 2025, and vehicle-history provider CARFAX has separately flagged a rise in tactics like VIN cloning and fake escrow services in online car sales. The pattern is consistent enough that a short checklist catches most scam ads before you waste time or money.
Accident damage and total loss: how to find hidden repairsA car doesn't have to look wrecked to have a hidden accident history: repaired panels, structural fixes, and total-loss write-offs can all be resold looking perfectly normal. A paint thickness gauge, a close look at panel gaps, and a vehicle history check together catch most of what a walk-around inspection alone misses. Factory paint typically measures 100-180 microns thick, and what matters most is consistency panel to panel: a single panel that reads clearly different from its neighbors is the red flag, not any specific number. No visual inspection can fully replace a documented history check for confirming a prior write-off.
The 15-point used-car inspection checklistA thorough used-car inspection covers 15 checkable points across the exterior, interior, engine bay, and paperwork: from paint thickness and tire wear to warning lights and VIN matching. Doing all 15 in order takes about 30-45 minutes at the seller's location, before you even start the test drive. None of them require special tools beyond a flashlight and, ideally, a cheap paint thickness gauge. Skipping the documentation checks (VIN matching, service history) is the most common mistake buyers make.
The test-drive checklist: what to test and what a test drive can't tell youA thorough test drive covers seven phases (cold start, steering, brakes, transmission, noise at speed, electronics, and suspension) and takes at least 20-30 minutes on varied roads, not five minutes around the block. A warning light that stays on after startup, or milky exhaust smoke that lingers, are both reasons to stop and ask questions rather than continue. What a test drive fundamentally cannot tell you is the car's accident and ownership history: for that, you need documentation, not a drive.
Buying from a private seller vs. a dealer: risks and protectionsA dealer sale usually comes with some form of short-term protection and stricter disclosure rules; a private sale is typically 'as is,' with far less legal recourse if something goes wrong. In the US, for example, private sellers aren't covered by the FTC's Used Car Rule that requires dealers to post a Buyers Guide. But exact rights vary by country, so check your own consumer-protection rules. That legal gap is exactly why independent verification matters more, not less, when you're buying from a private seller.- How to read a service history, and which gaps are dealbreakersA full service history shows maintenance done at roughly the intervals the manufacturer recommends, with dated receipts or stamps for both routine work and the bigger scheduled jobs. Gaps matter most when they overlap with expensive wear components: a skipped timing-belt or clutch replacement, for example, doesn't just delay a bill, it risks turning a planned repair into a much larger one once the part fails and damages what's around it. A missing book isn't automatically a dealbreaker, but it shifts the burden onto you to verify the car's condition independently.