‘Common mistake’ alert for Vauxhall, Fiat, BMW, | Tech News

One in 5 second-hand automobiles has a historical past of harm, latest analysis reveals, as specialists warning that “buyers should not rely on appearance alone” when buying a new motor. Britain’s most broken used vehicles of 2025 have been unveiled, with Vauxhall main the national league desk, based on recent information from vehicle historical past platform carVertical.

1 / 4 of Vauxhalls (24.7 p.c) examined in the UK had not less than one documented harm incident, rendering it essentially the most often broken marque amongst these analysed. They have been adopted by Fiat (23.6 p.c), SEAT (23.5 p.c), Hyundai (23 p.c), and Ford (22.6 p.c), indicating that quite a few automobiles British motorists buy for affordability and each day practicality are additionally these most vulnerable to displaying proof of earlier harm.

Across all automobiles examined by carVertical within the UK, one in 5 (20.3 p.c) had harm historical past, whereas the average worth of a single documented harm incident was £4,800. Bentley recorded the best average harm worth at £16,000, regardless of being amongst the least often broken marques within the UK, whereas Tesla (£5,700) and BMW (£5,200) additionally stood out for elevated average harm prices.

Amongst particular person fashions, smaller automobiles are these most definitely to show harm historical past. The SEAT Ibiza was essentially the most often broken model within the UK, with 33.6 p.c of these examined displaying harm historical past, adopted by the Audi A1 (30.6 p.c) and Fiat 500 (30.1 p.c). Matas Buzelis, motoring knowledgeable at carVertical, stated a historical past of severe harm didn’t routinely make a car unsafe, but it surely ought to change the extent of scrutiny.

He added: “Damage is one of the most common issues buyers can encounter in the used car market and in many cases it affects exactly the sort of models people shop for every day – affordable, practical cars from familiar brands. A damaged car is not automatically a bad car, but buyers need to be aware of how serious the damage was and how well it was repaired. Two vehicles can look almost identical in an advert, while one has a much more complicated history underneath.

“That is why patrons mustn’t depend on look alone. A car may be freshly cleaned, effectively photographed and priced attractively, however nonetheless have a file of accidents, poor-quality repairs, and even a earlier insurance coverage write-off classification. Without checking its historical past, it is vitally simple to overlook that.

“One of the biggest mistakes buyers make is only checking the final car they are about to buy. It is much safer to compare several options side by side and rule out the ones with the worst histories early in the process. Leave no car unchecked.

“When patrons evaluate more than one vehicle, it turns into simpler to identify what appears regular for the age, mileage, and price and what doesn’t. That is the place vehicle historical past checks can help, by giving customers higher context earlier than they decide to a buy.”

Nouran Moustafa, practice principal and IFA at Roxton Wealth, urged prospective purchasers to conduct a comprehensive vehicle history examination before committing to a purchase.

She added: “This is precisely why patrons ought to by no means confuse ‘appears tremendous’ with ‘is okay’. Used vehicles may be one of the simplest locations to make an costly mistake, as a result of beauty repairs can cover larger structural or mechanical issues beneath.

“The fact that so many everyday, practical brands are showing recorded damage does not mean they are bad cars, but it does mean buyers need to slow down and do proper checks instead of getting carried away by price alone. My advice is simple: always run a full vehicle history check, inspect the panel gaps, paint consistency, tyres, lights and shut lines, and never skip an independent inspection if something feels off.

“The greatest warning signal is normally when the price appears too good for the age, mileage and situation. An affordable used car can turn out to be a very costly car if the harm beneath was by no means correctly repaired.”

Rohit Parmar-Mistry, founder at Burton-on-Trent-based Pattrn Data, warned that dealers becoming evasive regarding documentation should raise concerns.

He added: “‘One in 5’ is not a surprising stat, it is a reminder that the used car market runs on incomplete data. Damage will get repaired, information get missed and sellers optimise for velocity, not fact.

“The practical move is to treat every used car like a mini due diligence exercise: get a full history check, look for mismatched paint or panel gaps, watch for uneven tyre wear, and budget for an independent inspection. If a dealer gets defensive about paperwork, walk away. The cheapest car is often the most expensive after month two. The bigger issue is data quality.

“We audit automated determination systems all of the time and the sample is similar: people deal with a report as ‘the reality’ when it is actually ‘the reality plus the gaps’. A clean report doesn’t imply no harm, it means no recorded harm. Buyers ought to ask what must be true for this examine to overlook one thing, and who advantages from that blind spot.”