Buying a used car from China: inspection, mileage and paperwork

A used car is not a new car with a smaller number on it. It has a history, and the whole job of buying one well is to make that history visible before the money moves. Here is what we ask for on every unit, and what you should ask us for on yours.

Where the units come from

Most second-hand stock leaving China is one of three things: a car traded in at a dealership against a new one, a fleet or rental unit being cycled out, or a lightly used private car sold through a wholesale market in Guangdong or Shandong. Trade-ins and fleet returns are the easier buys: one owner, a service record, and a paper trail.

What an inspection report has to contain

• Photographs of every corner, the interior, the engine bay, the odometer and the VIN plate. The VIN must be readable in its own photograph — if the same plate never appears twice, the photos may be of different cars.
• Paint and panel readings, so a repaired corner is stated rather than hidden behind favourable lighting.
• Tyre and brake wear, with the remaining tread depth if it is close to the limit.
• Fault codes read from the OBD port, not just the warning lamps on the dashboard.
• For electric and hybrid cars: a battery state-of-health reading and the number of charging cycles.
• Undercarriage photographs on anything that has seen salted roads or rough ground.

Mileage and first registration

A mileage claim is only worth what backs it up. Ask for a photograph of the odometer with the ignition on and the dashboard clock visible, plus whatever service records exist. On a car with more than one owner, expect the record to have gaps, and treat the gaps as unknown kilometres rather than as zero.

A car that has been registered and plated in China is a used car, even if it has done very little distance. That is not a technicality: it is what the destination customs and your insurer will see, and it is why we list a registered unit under used stock with its first registration date rather than calling it new.

Documents that follow a used car

• The vehicle registration certificate and the cancellation of registration, which is what allows the car to be exported at all.
• The original purchase or transfer invoice.
• The full export set: commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, export declaration and the bill of lading.
• The inspection and condition report for the individual unit, which travels with the car.

Before you pay

• Ask for a walkaround video with the engine running and the odometer in frame.
• Check that the VIN in the video, the VIN in the photos and the VIN on the invoice are the same string of characters.
• Ask what happens if the car arrives with a fault that was not in the report. A seller who has an answer has usually done this before.

Send us the models and the budget you are working with and we will come back with the units available, their first registration dates and their inspection reports — before you commit to anything.