Imported Used Cars in Greece – The DIRTY Secret
In this article I want to discuss a major pitfall when looking to buy a used car that has been imported into Greece.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this article is based on my experience of looking at used vehicles in Greece. My experience my not reflect the actual reality.
Importing used cars into Greece I would say is popular, due to the price of used cars already in Greece. But, in my experience of looking at imported used cars in Greece, there is a chronic problem with the imported cars in Greece. A problem not even the owners of an imported car may know about.
The Problem With Imported Cars
The problem with imported cars in Greece is their mileage. Specifically the mileages on the odometers are not correct. The mileages, again, in my experience of looking at imported used cars in Greece, have been wound back, and not by a little bit, by a lot, I’d say 100K KM is about the norm.
And again, in my experience (the reality may be different) this is not a small problem. I’d say conservatively 70% of the imported cars on sale have had their mileages wound back. There were some instances where private people had bought the car themselves from Europe, and in these cases, I saw no issue with the mileage.
Exceptions
There were some exceptions, not all the imported cars I looked at had their mileage turned back. One car that stands out in my memory was a car from Belgium whose mileage did match the history of the car (I used AutoDNA to check the mileages of the vehicles) but the last MOT/KTEO (road worthiness certificate) of the car was something like 6 years previous. I have no idea what had happened to that car in those six years but I was told by the party selling the car that it was a fresh import ie just been imported into Greece. My point being, the one vehicle I remember actually having apparently accurate mileage, had something else in it’s history which rang an alarm bell. In short. Some research is key.
Who Is Too Blame?
Honestly, it’s impossible to say. No one want to admit they have been had by an unscrupulous seller in another country and no one wants to admit they know the mileage on the vehicle they are selling is not correct.
Having said all that, the import/registration tax (which is discussed here) create a massively perverse incentive to import vehicles into Greece with high mileages (The higher the mileage the better because the import tax reduces as mileage increases. The incentive to wind the odometer back is obvious, the car costs less to buy from Europe and winding the mileage back in Greece increase the value of the car). This is another example of the registration tax achieving the opposite of government’s stated aim of improving the quality of the Greek vehicle fleet.
Obvious Problem & Solution
There is something very simple that could be done by the Greek DMV during the registration process to stop high mileage cars having their clock wound back (in Greece). The Greek DMV should cross check the last stated mileage (which is written on the registration application of the vehicle when it is imported into Greece) with the mileage recorded at the vehicles first KTEO/MOT check in Greece (a valid KTEO/Greek MOT is also required for the registration process in Greece). However, I think this cross check is not being done.
This is my understanding of the process, it may be wrong, but if it isn’t, and a cross-check isn’t done, this is a gaping flaw/loophole begging to be exploited. I guess the issue here is what is an acceptable amount of difference between the mileages, for example the car could be driven on test drives in Greece on trade number plates before it is sold.
How To Protect Yourself? – Tips
As a vehicle buyer in Greece, what can someone do to protect themselves against buying a car that has had tens of thousands of kilometers taken of the odometer?
The answer is fortunately, very simple.
The first thing that a buyer can do is ask for the service history of the car and/or last MOT certificate. The last service in the country where the car came from will show the mileage. But obviously, I never saw an imported car with service history from the original country…
The second thing that someone can do is to use a site like AutoDNA. Cars from many European countries will have their history available through this website. It will show mileages at the last MOT/KTEO/TUV test and perhaps even have accident history if the accidents resulted in an insurance claim.
If the car you are looking at does not have history on AutoDNA, it may be because the origin country is not connected to the databases AutoDNA uses. Either way, if there is no history on AutoDNA, there are other imported cars that will have history on AutoDNA.
If on the other hand the buyer is experienced and can assess the condition of car without history (high mileage does not mean a bad car) the mileage is a moot point for them.
Wrapping Up
Again, I have to emphasise, I am talking about my experience, the reality of the car market may be different.
Whatever the case may be, the tips above are things every vehicle buyer can do to check the history of the car they are buying.
Underlying Issue
The underlying issue here, in my opinion, is the registration tax. It is keeping old cars expensive in Greece and additionally, it is incentivising people to be less than 100% honest about the imported vehicle they are selling.
