Cars: buy a used car directly from the owner

Run the VIN through free registries for liens and accidents, pay a workshop for diagnostics, and bring a paint thickness gauge. Pay only after the title transfer at the service center.

Roughly 2–4 thousand hryvnias: service center fees, plates, and a 1–5% duty depending on the car's age. The transfer itself takes about an hour at the service center.

A worn wheel and pedals on a car 'under 100k', service records that stop abruptly, a suspiciously fresh interior on a freshly imported car. Cross-check mileage with listing history and dealer service records.

Only customs-cleared with Ukrainian registration — it can be legally re-registered within an hour. Uncleared imports and cars 'on installments' without title transfer risk losing both the money and the car. Verify in the registry that the seller is the owner.

For a 10-year-old budget car: fuel per your mileage plus roughly 1.5–3 thousand hryvnias a month averaged for maintenance, tires, insurance and small repairs. Premium brands multiply that by 2–3 — parts and labor cost more.

Ask for a SOH (state of health) screenshot from a diagnostic app — LeafSpy for the Leaf, built-in stats for Tesla. SOH above 85% is good. Judge real range on a test drive with climate control on: in winter it drops 20–30%.