Study Finds Western‑European Used Cars Not Safer for Hungarian Buyers

A carVertical analysis of vehicle‑history reports for cars bought in Hungary between July 2024 and November 2025 shows that 57 % of the vehicles are recorded as damaged. Most of these – 90.7 % – have repair costs below 20 % of the car’s market value, indicating minor damage, but 1.8 % involve repairs that cost at least half the vehicle’s value, classifying them as severely damaged.

The study compares damage rates across major European used‑car exporters. Italy has the highest share of severely damaged cars at 7.8 %, followed by Germany (7.7 %), Sweden (5.8 %) and Spain (4.5 %). Germany, however, records the lowest share of minor‑damage vehicles (68 %). Because these nations dominate the used‑car export market, the data challenge the common belief that cars imported from Western Europe are in better condition. Cross‑border sales of heavily damaged vehicles fall into a regulatory grey zone, as EU member states apply differing safety‑approval rules, increasing the risk to buyers in Central and Eastern Europe.