The Car-Pass non-profit organisation, dedicated to protecting buyers in the second-hand car market by combating mileage fraud, issued nearly 850,000 car-pass documents and processed about 22 million mileage records last year, setting two new records.
The car-pass, which is a legally required document provided by the seller to the buyer when selling a used car or van, details the vehicle’s mileage history. Since 2024, it also records any work done on the vehicle. This tool helps provide buyers with a clear overview of the vehicle they intend to purchase.
In 2024, the Car-Pass organisation issued 849,860 such documents, a 4.4% increase from the previous year, and received 21.86 million mileage records, up 12.8%, from 14,141 different sources.
On average, the Belgian used cars and vans for which a car-pass was issued were 9.4 years old and had 106,021 kilometres on the clock.
The organisation identified 1,411 cases of mileage fraud last year, down from 1,640 in 2023. Of these cases, 850 involved domestic sales and 561 were related to imported vehicles destined for Belgium. The most significant fraud case in 2024 involved a mileage reduction of about half a million kilometres.
“The Car-Pass continues to serve its purpose and has nearly eradicated mileage fraud in our country,” said Car-Pass Managing Director Michel Peelman. “However, when fraud occurs, it tends to be severe, with an average reduction of nearly 100,000 kilometres per case.”
