The highest number of tamperings was seen in the BMW 5 Series, but the Passat records a higher average change rate.
A used car always has a few kilometers under its belt. Or many kilometers, in most cases.
But there are also many cases in which the number of kilometers that appears on the odometer it’s not real. He was adulterated. The car has been in circulation a lot more than that.
It’s a fraud that goes beyond statistics: the car is sold for a higher price than the real price, unexpected breakdowns (and unexpected costs) appear in the short and long term.
carVertical analyzed data throughout last year and found that models from BMW, Citroen and Seat are among the most frequently tampered with cars.
There are two leading models: the BMW 5 Series and the Volkswagen Passat.
In 2025, the most frequently tampered with car in Portugal was the BMW 5 Seriescom 10,6% of copies with manipulated mileage.
Following are the Citroen DS4 (10.4%) and the Seat Ibiza (9,3%).
But, on average, the most tampered mileage, in terms of altered values, was not from any of these models, highlights the carVertical statement.
A highest average reduction was found in the Volkswagen Passat: On average, each of the cars that were tampered with saw their mileage drop impressively 177 298 km.
The BMW 5 Series came in second place with 123,443 km. The Seat Ibiza also stood out, with an average reduction of 123,312 km.
There are two new leaders, compared to: in 2024, the Citroën DS3 was the most manipulated car in Portugal (7.6%) and the leader in the number of kilometers tampered with was the Seat Leon (194 thousand km).
Returning to 2025 data, among the 20 most common models in Portugal, the lowest risk of manipulation was found in the Opel Corsawith only 4.9% of models with manipulated mileage. The other two lowest percentages occurred in Seat Leon (5%) and no Citroen Berlingo (5,5%).
Looking at the European panorama, the most adulterated models were the Toyota Prius (14.3%), the Audi A8 (12.2%) and the Volvo V70 (9.3%).
