Of necessity, virtue. Her friend Marta was looking for a car to get from home to university, when this mechanical engineer helped her dive into the second-hand market. Together they explained their experience in a video that went viral and was the seed of an innovative company. Sergei Savchak (Ukraine, 1994) is co-founder and technical director of Need Car Help, a comprehensive on-demand used car inspection service, which in just three years has gone from having two employees to more than 40, spread across almost all communities. autonomous, Germany and Italy.
Despite having never seen “a car or an engine” during his years in college, Savchak already used to maintain his family and friends’ vehicles almost daily. At the same time, he was dedicated to buying and selling second-hand cars “as a hobby”, which the current CEO of his company, Marta Sol, knew how to professionalize by systematizing all processes. The association of both profiles has allowed them to learn more about the mischief prevailing in this sector, against which they offer guarantees.
In 2023, two second-hand vehicles were sold for every new one in Spain (1,940,488 units), with an average age of 11 years. What factors do you think influence these data?
Sales figures fluctuate constantly, but the pandemic has been an external factor that has helped the second-hand market grow. At that time, new cars were not manufactured and many customers in that niche began to buy used or semi-new cars. The increase in demand caused a rise in prices, which have currently stabilized, although they are still above pre-pandemic levels.
What advantages can they offer the driver?
There are not too many apart from the price, which makes them more accessible to the user, and they depreciate much less compared to a new car.
And disadvantages?
The biggest drawback is the uncertainty. A new car should be perfect, but there are countless states in which you can find a used car. A large part of users are unable to discern at a glance what treatment has been given to the vehicle they are considering purchasing and that is where scams, fraud and manipulations begin.
Hence the importance of reviewing it, even though many buyers find it embarrassing or sellers don’t even like it…
Even if you trust the seller, even if he is your best friend, you should always check the condition of the car, because he may not know it himself. There are people who have taken it to the mechanic after purchasing it and have not said that it has a dent, that it is cut in half… In the end, that rush has resulted in the expenditure of a large amount of money for an object that is worth much less. .
Do you receive more pre- or post-purchase calls?
About 25% of the calls we receive from customers are after they have purchased a used car. Many have discovered us thanks to social networks or a family member who has recommended us to make sure and have peace of mind. Luckily, in most cases the reviews are carried out when they are due, which is before paying for them.
What other advice would you give to someone looking for a used car?
Buying a used car is like preparing for an exam. Prices should be studied a little by equipment, age and kilometers, three factors that help filter and avoid bad purchases. Secondly, it is mandatory to always speak with the seller by phone. This way you can get a lot of valuable information about the car if you ask the right questions. In parallel, it is possible to find out a little more about the car’s biography from home and for very little money.
Finally, before paying it, we enter. Nowadays people no longer look for cars within a 50 kilometer radius, but go much further. Before investing time and money in seeing a car from a thousand kilometers away, we can analyze it to check if it is in good condition or requires too much investment compared to the sale price.
What are the most common scams?
Tampering with the odometer and hiding dents. In this last aspect there are many traps, since Spanish legislation does not require sellers to declare the accidents that the cars have suffered, as is the case for contracts in other countries. The usual thing is to fix them so that the buyer does not notice. In the case of kilometers, it is incredible how some sellers even boast of practicing this fraud punishable by law.
90% of scams occur in sales or dealerships. In the end, these are businesses that must sell dozens of cars that are not theirs. Guarantees are just a marketing complement to make it faster, but they do not guarantee its good condition. The best seller is a meticulous, careful individual who knows all the details about his car.
What is the biggest nonsense you have found after doing a review?
A colleague checked an imported Mercedes E Class, which had 150,000 kilometers on it, but had 950,000 reais. Before we could make an appointment, the client had already bought it, because he saw it as a bargain and he was afraid that it would be sold to someone else. When he saw that 800,000 kilometers had been removed, he was paralyzed. He was a civil guard. It was a pretty epic moment.
And the best bargains?
Customers who do their homework have typically found Toyotas from between 2007 and 2012. They are generally good cars, with conscientious owners, and are well priced. Sometimes I have wanted to buy one, but we are completely prohibited from doing so.
Apart from moving you to the place chosen by the client, what other added values ??does your service have?
Firstly, transportation, for those customers who decide to buy a car that is far away. Then we also process ownership changes and insurance registrations. The result, people know what they have bought, have their car ready and parked at their doorstep and have managed everything with the same company.
