Türkiye's second-hand automobile market is the dynamo of the motor insurance sector because its ecosystem has a volume seven times larger than the new-vehicle market, according to Quick Finans General Manager Nihat Karadag.
He was speaking at the inaugural Quick Second Hand Automotive Summit, organised on 16 April by his company to draw attention to the little-known and gigantic size of the second-hand car ecosystem, and to contribute to a working and thinking environment for the stable, transparent, reliable and sustainable development of the motor insurance market.
Elaborating on this, he said, “One sale in the second-hand sector creates three times more trade, financing, notary transactions, insurance policies and four additional stakeholders compared to sales in the zero-km vehicle sector.”
The summit took place at a time of higher motor insurance premiums in the second-hand automobile market. A new regulation, issued in December 2024, introduced insurance requirements for second-hand vehicles. Under it, vehicle owners must have at least two months of motor third-party liability insurance coverage during the sale process at the notary. In Türkiye, the sale, transfer and registration of vehicles are handled by notaries. The regulation aims to address an insurance gap that arises because the motor coverage expires 15 days after the vehicle owner sells their vehicle to a dealership. This could mean that the insurance is cut off before a buyer purchases the vehicle. Without insurance, ownership of the vehicle cannot be transferred.
Used car dealers argue that the additional insurance costs could lead to higher car prices and deter consumers from purchasing second-hand cars. The average increase in insurance costs ranges from TRY15,000 ($395) to TRY20,000 per passenger car and TRY40,000 to TRY100,000 per commercial vehicle.