For many self-employed professionals and small businesses, the car is much more than just a means of transportation. It is a work tool used to visit clients, move between facilities, meet with suppliers, or provide on-site services. Therefore, when it’s time to renew the vehicle and the budget requires looking at the used market, knowing its history can be as important as negotiating the price.
Recent CARFAX data provides an additional reason to exercise extra caution. The company analyzed the 1,343,965 vehicles that changed ownership in Spain between January and July 2026 and concludes that 56% show at least one risk factor related to their history. The figure sits five points above the 51% recorded across the entire Spanish fleet.
This does not necessarily mean that more than half of those vehicles have a mechanical problem or are not fit to drive. The factors analyzed refer to past circumstances worth knowing before closing a deal, especially when the purchase represents a major investment for a small business.
A younger car doesn’t always mean a safer purchase
One of the most striking findings of the analysis is that the vehicles that changed hands are, on average, younger and accumulate fewer miles than the national fleet.
Their average age is 12 years and 169,128 miles, compared with 14.95 years and 176,270 miles for the national fleet. However, despite that apparent advantage, they concentrate a larger share of risk factors.
For a self-employed professional, this data can be especially relevant. When searching for a car to work, it is common to first look at the year of registration, mileage, or price, but these elements alone do not provide a complete picture of the vehicle.
The prior history can reveal information that ends up influencing the real cost of the purchase.
According to CARFAX, 39% of the analyzed vehicles have a history of damage or accidents, while 13% have rental history, 10% are imported, and 2% show mileage inconsistencies.
Four owners before reaching the next buyer
Another element that may be of particular interest to a small business looking for a used vehicle is the number of previous owners. Cars that changed hands during the first seven months of 2026 have had four owners on average, compared with 2.6 owners for the entire Spanish vehicle fleet.
The more hands a vehicle has passed through, the more important it becomes to reconstruct its history. Knowing whether it has suffered damage, whether it has previously been part of a rental fleet, whether it comes from another country, or whether there are mileage inconsistencies helps assess whether the asking price truly matches the car’s condition and history.
This can have a direct impact on a small business. An apparently cheap vehicle can stop being cheap if soon after purchase it requires repairs, causes downtime, or must be replaced earlier than planned.
The rental history and imported vehicles carry more weight
There are also differences between vehicles that change hands and the overall fleet. The 13% of analyzed cars that had previously been part of a rental fleet, while this figure stands at 7% for the overall fleet. In the case of imported vehicles, they represent 10% of ownership changes versus 6% of the national fleet.
Being imported or having belonged to a rental company does not by itself imply a bad purchase. However, they are circumstances the buyer should know before deciding and may justify a more detailed review.
Imported vehicles included in the study accumulate, for example, about 192,888 miles on average, while those originally from rental fleets record about 139,233 miles.
Buying a used vehicle always involves weighing price, condition, and needs. But for a small business or sole proprietor there is an added factor: the car can directly form part of their ability to generate income.
A professional who needs to travel daily can suffer a double hit if the vehicle becomes immobilized. On one hand is the repair cost, and on the other, the difficulties in performing visits, trips, or services during that period.
Therefore, before closing a deal it’s wise to go beyond a visual inspection. Reviewing maintenance performed, checking mileage, knowing the number of previous owners, and analyzing possible damages recorded can help detect risks that do not always show up during a test drive.
The CARFAX analysis itself warns that a younger age or mileage below the average does not guarantee a vehicle with an incidence-free history.
For a small business with limited resources, that information can make the difference between finding an opportunity in the used market or turning an attractive price into an unexpected expense.
