The dream of many Romanian drivers is a "recently brought" car, with premium features and a suspiciously low number of kilometers on board. However, the reality behind the "full options, no accident" ads is much bleaker. According to the latest study conducted by the carVertical platform (based on data collected between September 2024 and August 2025), importing a used car into Romania significantly increases the risk of being a victim of odometer fraud.
The Romanian car market remains dependent on vehicles driven from abroad. Data shows that 60.7% of the cars checked on the platform are imported, while only 39.3% are vehicles driven exclusively on national roads.
The big problem arises when the car crosses the border. The export process creates an "information vacuum" that samsaris take full advantage of. Here's how this risk translates into percentages:
| Vehicle Category | Mileage Manipulation Rate |
| Imported Cars | 8.7% |
| Local Cars | 5.7% |
| National Average (Romania) | 7.5% |
Basically, a car brought from abroad has a 1.5 times greater probability (or 50% higher) of having its mileage reversed compared to one originally purchased from dealerships in Romania.
When a vehicle is sold from one country to another, its history becomes difficult to track. Records in the national databases of the country of origin (such as technical inspections or service interventions) are not automatically transmitted to the authorities in the country of destination.
This lack of cross-border transparency is why countries like Latvia, Lithuania and Romania have become magnets for cars with fake odometers. Without a centralized European system, mileage becomes a flexible variable in the hands of dishonest sellers.
Statistics are not just cold numbers, they reflect a state of mind: distrust. The carVertical study, conducted on a sample of over 10,000 European drivers, highlights some alarming aspects about our market:
Fear of "impossible": 69.3% of Romanians fear that the car they are going to buy has hidden defects.
Distrust in sellers: 53.6% of buyers do not trust those who sell used cars at all.
Negative experiences: 36.4% of Romanian drivers admitted that they had already been cheated at least once when purchasing a vehicle.
Romanian buyers no longer want to buy “with their eyes closed”. An overwhelming 81.6% believe that access to the vehicle history should be a standard right. Moreover, the mentality regarding data privacy is changing: 58% of respondents claim that the chassis number (VIN) should not be considered sensitive information, but public information, necessary to verify the correctness of the transaction.
The second-hand car market in Romania remains a minefield for the unwary. Although the mirage of a car "from Germany" is still strong, the figures confirm that the risk of fraud increases with the distance traveled by the car to the buyer. In a context in which 1 in 13 checked cars has its mileage modified, checking the history through specialized platforms and rigorous technical inspection are no longer optional, but represent the only method by which a buyer can ensure that he is paying the correct price for a real car, not for a "rejuvenated" one from the pen.