Guides to checking a car in Türkiye before you buy it
Written for someone buying a car in Türkiye whose paperwork is in a language they do not read. Each guide takes one document or one check and explains what it means for the price you pay.
All guides
7 guides
- How to check a used car's history in Turkey before you buyWhat to check before you pay, in the order a buyer actually does it. It covers the pre-purchase examination, the periodic roadworthiness reports, mileage, money owed on the car, and how to test what you are told.14 min
- How to find a car's service historyNo government keeps a maintenance record anywhere. It sits with the shop that did the work or the owner who kept the paperwork. That is why reconstructing it takes six separate sources rather than one lookup.8 min
- How to spot an odometer rollback before you buyA dashboard reading is editable and the rest of the car is not. Mileage is written into several control units, into wear patterns and into dated records, and tampering rarely reaches all three.7 min
- Paint thickness readings, and what they actually tell youA gauge gives you a number in microns and the number alone means little. What the tool is genuinely good at is telling you that one panel is not like the panels around it.7 min
- Flood damage warning signs, and why price is the wrong questionWater damages everything at once and then keeps working, so the checks below help you identify a flooded car rather than help you price one.6 min
- The check engine light and OBD fault codesThe light means a code is stored, not that a part has failed. Steady means read it soon, flashing means stop, and readiness monitors expose a seller who cleared the memory.7 min
- Structural damage: what to look for, and when to walkPanels are cladding and replaceable. Rails, pillars, sills, strut towers, floor and firewall are structure, and damage there is a decision about whether to buy rather than a discount.7 min