The desire to get a car as soon as possible, especially when there is a good option for the price and description, can sometimes harm the buyer. Even when it comes to a "turnkey car from Europe", do not rush to turn on the customs clearance calculator and estimate how much this or that car will cost on the spot, after paying all the necessary payments. After all, the first step is to check the car by VIN code so as not to get fresh problems for your own money. What is it about? Now letʼs show with examples.
The first of them will be a relatively "fresh" crossover Skoda Kamiq. The car was offered for sale in Germany, only 3 years old, and without any comments in the description before the announcement. Since, most likely, you have already seen a photo of this car, there is no point in making our story about it too detailed — except that the insurance company estimated the amount of damage at 43 thousand euros (almost twice as much as the car costs new in the basic configuration), after how this crossover left the road and rolled over its own roof.
As a result of researching the history of the car, it was possible to learn about this incident, and the buyer decided to abandon this car. But — all this was not visible in the photos in the ad, and the seller was in no hurry to tell about it. Instead, the CEBIA reports revealed the whole truth and saved the buyer, who almost ordered the delivery of this car, from unnecessary expenses.
A high price does not guarantee the quality of the car. At least this can be said about the next hero of this selection — Mercedes-Benz GLE 2017. The price of such a "jeep" was considerable, especially for the Ukrainian market — about $65,000 (after delivery, certification, customs clearance and registration).
What happened to this car? Checking its VIN history with CEBIA revealed important information: the car had been involved in a serious accident and had significant body damage. Later, they were recognized by insurers and the official service as unfit for further restoration. However, this did not stop the Polish merchants, who tried to restore this car, and as a "bonus" they also "twisted" the mileage (which can be seen on the diagram). Moreover, their "twist" turned out to be the second in the difficult life of this premium crossover. Agree, it makes no sense to buy one even at half price.
Finally, another example, this time of a relatively budget car. In the photos, which were obtained thanks to the VIN code check from CEBIA, it can be seen that individual "auto businessmen" do not hesitate to undertake the "restoration" of even such cars, where, it would seem, there is nothing to repair. However, it was this Toyota that was brought back "to life" and tried to be sold as a "whole". We do not know whether these clever people managed to find a gullible buyer, but he will definitely not be one of those who used the CEBIA car history check.
Are you sure you know the full history of the car you plan to buy? If not, itʼs better to use the instant check by VIN code so that you donʼt end up owning something that got into our photos this time.
