Car-Pass 2025: the Belgian used car market breaks records… but cars have never been so old

Introduction

Every year, the Car-Pass non-profit organisation publishes its annual report on the Belgian used car market. This document is a goldmine: it brings together data from more than 855,000 transactions, millions of mileage readings and the rare cases of fraud that still occur despite one of the most effective checking systems in Europe.

The 2025 report, covering last year and published only at the end of March 2026, confirms a strong trend: Belgians are buying more used cars than ever, but those cars are getting older. For a buyer in Walloon Brabant or Wavre, that changes everything in terms of vigilance and the risks to anticipate.

At Le Garage Privé, this kind of market analysis is exactly what shapes the way we support our clients. Here is what you need to know.

Key figures from the 2025 Car-Pass report

• 855,169 Car-Pass certificates issued in 2025, an all-time record 
• 9.8 years = average age of used cars at the time of sale in 2025
• 107,127 km = average odometer reading at the time of sale in 2025
• 1,466 cases of mileage fraud detected, or less than 0.2% of the market

To put these figures in perspective: in 2008, the average age of used cars sold in Belgium was 7.9 years. In 2025, it reached 9.8 years. In under 20 years, cars have started changing hands almost two years later than before. That is no small change.

Why cars have never been so old at the time of sale

This ageing of the car fleet is no accident. It is the direct result of three trends that reinforce each other.

1. New car prices have soared

Between 2019 and 2025, the average price of a car under 4 years old jumped by almost 53%, from €29,783 to €45,426. Faced with these prices, buyers settle for slightly older cars and keep them longer before selling them.

2. Uncertainty over powertrains is holding back decisions

Expanding low emission zones (LEZ), upcoming diesel restrictions, electric cars still a hesitant choice on the used market: many Belgians prefer to keep their current vehicle rather than take a risky bet on a new powertrain. The result: cars stay longer with the same owners.

3. Modern reliability allows a longer service life

“Motorists are keeping their cars longer, helped by more reliable models but also held back by high new car prices and uncertainty over energy choices.” (Vincent Hancart, Country Manager AutoScout24 Belgium, 2025 analysis)

A well-maintained modern car can easily pass 200,000 km without any major failure. What was seen as “old” at 120,000 km ten years ago is often still in very good condition today. The limit is no longer mechanical, it is psychological and a matter of information.

The used car market in 2025: record figures

• 734,165 used cars registered in Belgium in 2025 (+0.9% vs 2024)
• 63.9% of the total Belgian car market was used cars in 2025
• × 2 the used market is almost twice the size of the new car market in Belgium
• 10 years = average age of the Belgian car fleet on the road, a historic record

The new car market, for its part, fell by 7.4% in 2025 compared with 2024. The polarisation is clear: on one side a new car market driven by company fleets and electric leasing, on the other a massive used car market, 90.5% dominated by private individuals.

What Car-Pass says about fraud: almost eradicated, but still serious when it happens

One of Belgium's great successes, little known abroad, is the near-eradication of mileage fraud thanks to the Car-Pass system. The 2025 figures confirm it.

⚠️ Rare but brutal fraud: the worst case found in 2025 involved a 2010 Mercedes E-Class whose mileage had been wound back from 562,690 km to 192,030 km, meaning more than 370,000 km erased. In an import fraud case, a 1990 Mercedes 300TD had more than 330,000 km disappear from its odometer. These isolated cases show why vigilance is still needed, especially with imported vehicles.

Before Car-Pass was introduced, the number of cars with a tampered odometer in Belgium was estimated at 60,000 to 100,000 a year. In 2025, the figure is 1,466. It is one of the quietest and deepest transformations of the Belgian car market.

New in Car-Pass for 2024-2025: the maintenance history

Since 1 January 2024, Car-Pass is no longer limited to mileage. It now includes a standardised description of the work carried out on the vehicle at each visit to a professional. This is a major change, and it is often underestimated.

💡 What this means in practice: in 2025, 70% of the work carried out on Belgian vehicles is already recorded in the Car-Pass under 60 standardised activities. You can now check directly in the document whether the timing belt has been replaced, whether the brakes have been serviced, or whether manufacturer recalls are outstanding.

According to the first data from this new feature, here is how the most frequent work on the Belgian fleet breaks down:

What this table shows: electronics (22%) is now the leading repair item, ahead of brakes. This reflects an increasingly connected fleet, with ADAS systems, parking sensors and engine control units that age like any mechanical part.

What this means for you as a buyer in 2026

A used market made up of ever older cars (9.8 years on average) with more than 107,000 km on the clock is good news on paper, as prices are more affordable. But it is also a market where the risk of a bad deal automatically increases.

• Higher risks with older cars: timing belt never replaced, shock absorbers at the end of their life, ageing electronics (22% of breakdowns), uncertain LEZ compliance, patchy maintenance history in private sales.
• A relative rise in import fraud: 543 cases of import fraud in 2025. Vehicles bought abroad (Germany, France, the Netherlands) are not covered by Car-Pass for their history abroad, although recent agreements with France and Germany now partly cover this.
• Car-Pass as a shield: since 2024, it includes the standardised maintenance history. Always ask for it: it is a legal obligation for the seller. Out of 855,169 transactions, fraud concerns only 0.17% of the market.
• Professional inspection as a safety net: Car-Pass checks the mileage and the declared maintenance. It does not detect hidden damage, non-professional repairs, or the real condition of tyres, brakes and shock absorbers. That is where a 111-point inspection comes in.

The regional trend: Walloon Brabant in line with the national average

AutoScout24 data for 2025 reveals an interesting regional difference in the Belgian market: Flanders structurally has more recent premium vehicles (29% of used car registrations in the premium segment in Limburg and West Flanders), while Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and Liège are around 22%.

What this means in practice for buyers in Walloon Brabant: the local market offers good access to versatile family cars at reasonable prices, but recent premium used cars are often traded in Flanders. Buyers looking in that segment need either to widen their search area or to call on a car agent who searches the whole of Belgium for them.

At Le Garage Privé, we read the Car-Pass for you, and go much further

The 2025 Car-Pass report confirms what we see every day in Wavre: the used car market in Belgium is healthy, but cars are older and more complex than ever. Without guidance, buying a used car averaging 9.8 years and 107,000 km is like navigating without a map through a minefield of hidden costs.

That is exactly our role as a car agent: we do not sell you a car from our stock. We find yours, we check it, and we tell you exactly what you are buying, including what Car-Pass does not show.

In practice, we can:

• Decode the Car-Pass of a vehicle you are interested in: mileage, maintenance history, consistency of the data
• Spot the “gaps” in the history: periods with no reading, suspicious imports, patchy maintenance
• Inspect the vehicle on 111 points to detect what Car-Pass cannot see (mechanical condition, hidden damage, real wear)
• Calculate the total cost of ownership over 3 to 4 years before any purchase
• Advise you on LEZ compliance based on your journeys in Belgium
• Negotiate the price on your behalf, taking the real condition of the vehicle into account
• Handle all the paperwork: transfer of ownership, registration, insurance

Found a used car in Belgium and want to know if it's a good deal? Bring us the Car-Pass and the listing. We will tell you what we think, with no obligation.

👉 Book an appointment with Le Garage Privé

FAQ