Used-car warranty in Slovakia and Czechia: what you can claim from a dealer

Autumn is the busiest part of the year on the Slovak and Czech used-car market – plenty of people change cars before winter arrives. Yet almost nobody asks the most important question before signing: what happens if the gearbox starts complaining a month later. The answer comes down to one thing – whether you are buying from a business or from a private seller. The rules below are Slovak and Czech, which is what counts when the car is registered there.

A dealer and a private seller are two different worlds

If a business sells you the car – a used-car lot, an authorised dealer, a company clearing out its fleet – you are a consumer. In Slovakia the Civil Code and Act No. 108/2024 Z. z. on consumer protection cover you: a statutory liability period for defects, the right to a free repair, and firm deadlines.

Buy the same car from a private seller you found in a classified ad and consumer protection does not apply at all. You are not without rights, but they look different and demand far more initiative from you. So the first thing to check during the viewing is who appears in the contract as the seller: a natural person, or a company with an IČO registration number.

From a dealer: 24 months, at least 12 on a used car

The basic liability period for defects in Slovakia is 24 months from the moment you take delivery. For second-hand goods – and a used car is one – the seller and buyer may agree on a shorter period, but never shorter than 12 months. The Slovak Trade Inspection (SOI) confirms this too.

The key word is „agree“. The reduction to one year is not automatic: it has to be in the contract or on the purchase document. If the paperwork says nothing about it, you have the full 24 months. Read the small print and ask outright how long the seller’s liability runs.

The seller must fix the defect within a reasonable period that cannot exceed 30 days from the moment you report it. The order of your remedies is fixed: repair or replacement first, and only when that fails or is impossible do a price reduction or withdrawal from the contract come into play.

New since 31 July 2026: an extra year after the first repair

An amendment in force in Slovakia since 31 July 2026 (Act No. 310/2025 Z. z.) brought in a rule many buyers still do not know about: after the first repair of a defect, the liability period is extended by 12 months. The extension applies once only, no matter how many repairs follow.

In practice, a repair in month fifteen covers you all the way to month twenty-seven. Before the repair the seller also has to tell you that you may choose between repair and replacement, and that the period will be extended. So take a dated written record of every claim – without it the extended period is hard to prove.

Wear and tear is not a defect

This is where most claims collapse. On a second-hand item the seller is not liable for defects caused by use, nor for wear appropriate to the condition of the car at the time of sale. Nor is the seller liable for defects you were told about in advance, or for those you were given a discount for.

On a twelve-year-old car with 250,000 kilometres, worn brake discs or perished rubber bushings are normal wear, not a claimable defect. A cracked engine block or an undisclosed accident history is something else entirely. What matters is whether the condition matches the age and the mileage.

Buying privately: no warranty, but there is liability

When the seller is not a business, the statutory warranty does not apply. The seller is nevertheless liable for defects the car already had when you took it over and did not tell you about. Under § 597 of the Slovak Civil Code you are then entitled to a proportionate price reduction, and if the defect makes the car unusable or the seller’s assurances turn out to be untrue, you can withdraw from the contract.

The deadlines are unforgiving, though. The defect must be raised without undue delay, and you can only enforce your rights in court if you raised it within 24 months of taking delivery (§ 599). Watch out for the wording „sold as it stands“ as well – § 501 permits it and it cuts the seller’s liability substantially. It does not protect the seller, however, where they claimed something about a specific property of the car that was not true.

How it works in Czechia

The Czech rules follow similar logic but differ in the detail. A defect can be raised within two years of delivery (§ 2165 of the Czech Civil Code), and on a used item the period can be shortened to one year (§ 2168) – provided it is agreed and noted on the purchase document. The most valuable rule concerns proof: if the defect appears within the first year, it is presumed to have existed at delivery (§ 2161(5)), so the seller has to prove otherwise. A claim must be handled within 30 days, and the widespread „as it stands“ clause is effectively useless for a single car: § 1918 ties it to goods determined in bulk, such as the contents of a warehouse.

What to do before you sign

• Establish who is selling. A company with an IČO means consumer protection; a natural person does not.
• Read the liability period in the contract. If there is no reduction to 12 months, 24 apply.
• Put what the seller told you into the contract. The sentence „the vehicle has not been in an accident, the mileage is original“ carries entirely different weight in a dispute than a promise over the phone.
• Do not sign „as it stands“ lightly. On a car you do not know, you are giving up a large part of your protection.
• Have the car inspected before you buy. Diagnostics and a look on a lift cost a fraction of a repair and reveal most problems in advance.
• Raise a defect immediately and in writing. A dated email with a description is evidence; a phone call is not.

An honest advert is the best prevention

Most disputes about defects start in the advert. If you are selling, describe the real condition along with whatever still needs attention – service history, reason for selling, last timing belt change, known niggles. Buyers appreciate it, and you avoid someone coming back six months later asking for money off.

On AutoCasa, listing is free, with no sales commission and no limit on the number of adverts. Promoting a listing is optional and starts at 1.50 €. You can list cars, motorcycles, vans and trucks, buses, trailers, spare parts, wheels and tyres, and bicycles.

And if you are the one looking for a used car, browse the listings on AutoCasa.sk – and ask about the liability period for defects before you even go to view it. That single question can save you thousands of euros.

This article describes Slovak law (Civil Code No. 40/1964 Zb. and Act No. 108/2024 Z. z. as amended by Act No. 310/2025 Z. z.) and Czech law (Civil Code No. 89/2012 Sb. and Act No. 634/1992 Sb.), as at September 2026. These rules do not apply to a purchase made in another country. This text is not legal advice.