Imported used car: how to check a car's history from abroad

Short answer: you check the history of an imported car in two parts. The Slovenian register shows what happened to the vehicle from its first registration in Slovenia onwards. For the period before the import, you need documents from the country of origin, such as the foreign registration document, service invoices and technical inspection reports. In some countries you can also use data from the official registers there.

How to tell that a car was imported

Two dates show it fastest: the date of the vehicle's first registration and the date of its first registration in Slovenia. If the car was first registered in Slovenia, the two dates are the same. If it was first registered in another country, the second date is later, and the gap tells you how many years the car was driven abroad.

Both dates appear in Evoca's free vehicle check by VIN for vehicles registered in Slovenia between 2014 and 2022. The date of first registration is also entered in the registration document, in field B. An import often explains why a car is cheaper than similar ones in ads.

What the Slovenian register tells you about an imported car

For the period from the first registration in Slovenia onwards, the Evoca report shows:

• the vehicle's technical data, such as make, model, year of manufacture, fuel and engine,
• owner details by year: age, gender and whether the owner is a legal entity,
• recorded mileage readings with dates,
• the date of first registration and the date of first registration in Slovenia.

The report does not include names, addresses or service history. Detailed service records from Evoca partners are visible only to the service card holder in their digital garage, after they add the vehicle with the card and enter the PIN.

Once the car is registered in Slovenia, the mileage, the number of owners and the technical inspections are also visible in the public register of motor vehicles on eUprava, the Slovenian state portal. For the lookup you need the registration number and the number of the registration document, which you get from the seller.

Motor vehicle tax data on eDavki

When a car brought in from abroad is first registered in Slovenia, Slovenian motor vehicle tax (DMV) is assessed on it. In 2020 the Slovenian Financial Administration announced that you can check the assessment data on the eDavki tax portal by entering the VIN. The lookup shows the year of first registration, the mileage the taxpayer declared at the assessment, the tax paid, the value of the car and information on any damage to the vehicle. It covers vehicles for which the tax was assessed and paid after 30 December 2009. You need to log in to eDavki, so check whether the lookup is available to you.

What the Slovenian register does not show

The Slovenian register starts with registration in Slovenia. It does not tell you what happened to the car before that: how many owners it had abroad, whether it was damaged and what the mileage readings were before the import. A car that was never registered in Slovenia is not in Evoca's data.

There are paid services that collect data from several countries. CarVertical, for example, gathers vehicle data from more than 40 countries, including damage and thefts. It also warns that not all accidents and repairs make it into official records. You order a CarVertical report by VIN or registration number. Affiliate link: Evoca earns a commission if you buy.

Which documents to ask the seller for

What you ask for depends on whether the car is already registered in Slovenia.

The car is already registered in Slovenia

• the registration document, where you check the VIN in field E and the date of first registration,
• a copy of the foreign registration document, if the seller has one,
• the service book and service invoices, including those from abroad,
• technical inspection reports from the country of origin,
• the invoice or contract for the purchase abroad, which shows who the car was bought from.

The car is not yet registered in Slovenia

If the seller offers the car on foreign plates or without Slovenian registration, you will register it yourself. For a used car from another EU country, the official Slovenian e-uprava portal lists proof of purchase (an invoice) and either a certificate of conformity (COC) or the registration document issued by the country the vehicle comes from. The Slovenian Motor Vehicles Act requires such a car to undergo identification and an assessment of its technical condition at an authorised technical organisation.

Motor vehicle tax must also be settled before registration. The Slovenian Motor Vehicle Tax Act forbids registration organisations to register a vehicle that is not entered in the Financial Administration's register of motor vehicles. A car from a non-EU country also needs individual vehicle approval and, on import, a customs declaration with the invoice attached.

Where to check the history in the country of origin

Countries open up vehicle data in different ways. Below are official sources for a few EU countries and what you can learn from them.

Germany

There is no public lookup of a vehicle's history. The owner, however, can ask the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) for a free extract of the data on their vehicle. Since 20 May 2018, the register has also stored the odometer reading at the general inspection (Hauptuntersuchung). The German transport ministry says the owner can give such an extract to a prospective buyer. If you are buying the car from a German seller, ask for it, along with the inspection reports from TÜV or DEKRA.

Netherlands

The Dutch vehicle authority RDW offers a free lookup by registration number (kentekencheck), which also shows the number of owners and a verdict on the mileage: logical, illogical or no verdict. The full list of recorded mileage readings with dates is in the RDW vehicle report (RDW-Voertuigrapport), which only the vehicle's owner or holder can order. Ask the seller for it.

Belgium

In Belgium, the seller of a used car must give the buyer a Car-Pass document, unless the buyer is a professional car dealer. The Car-Pass must not be more than two months old and contains the mileage readings recorded for the vehicle in Belgium. If the car was bought in Belgium, ask whether the Car-Pass stayed with the documents.

Italy

On the official portal Il Portale dell'Automobilista, the Verifica revisioni effettuate service shows the technical inspections carried out after 1 June 2018 for an Italian registration number. The inspection certificate also records the mileage. For the lookup you need the car's old Italian registration number, which is on the Italian registration document.

Austria

We have not found an official public lookup of a vehicle's history. The Austrian government portal says that on a sale the seller hands over both parts of the registration document (Teil 1 and Teil 2) and the COC certificate, and it recommends an inspection by an independent automobile club or an expert.

Mileage on imported cars

For an imported car, compare the mileage from several sources. Foreign sources such as the Car-Pass, the RDW verdict, the KBA extract or the Italian inspection certificate show the reading before the import. The mileage the importer declared when DMV was assessed shows how far the car had travelled when it arrived in Slovenia. Later readings are shown by the records in the Evoca report and on eUprava. If any later record is lower than an earlier one, do not buy the car until the difference is explained. In 2018 the European Parliament cited estimates from studies according to which 30 to 50% of used cars sold across borders have a tampered odometer. We describe how to check the mileage step by step in our article on checking mileage.

Checklist before you buy an imported car

1. Ask the seller for the VIN and check it in Evoca. Compare the date of first registration with the date of first registration in Slovenia.
2. If you have access to eDavki, check the motor vehicle tax data by VIN.
3. Ask for the foreign documents: registration document, COC, service invoices and inspection reports.
4. Where possible, check the official sources in the country of origin, or ask the seller for an extract that only the owner can obtain.
5. Sort the mileage readings from all sources by date and check that they keep rising.
6. Compare the VIN on the vehicle with the VIN in all documents.
7. Have an independent mechanic inspect the car before you buy it. You can find a workshop near you among Evoca partners, and in Slovenia AMZS, the Slovenian automobile club, also offers a pre-purchase inspection of used cars.
8. If the car is not yet registered in Slovenia, check that the certificate of conformity and the motor vehicle tax are in order.