How do stablecoins fit in here? You can buy a car with crypto but not cash?

Many EU countries have limits on cash payments, and the EU will enforce a union-wide limit of 10,000€ in 2027. Of course, this limit won't be reevaluated over time, so the real value will decrease with inflation.

I'm just trying to imagine what kind of European vendor is willing to accept crypto for their car. The most obvious reasons seem a bit shady.

The use case would be for transactions between individuals. A friend working at a large industrial firm told me recently that crypto would solve a problem that they have in Asia: orders are often done during auctions from the producer, and require instant payments; however the payment rails take two weeks to clear a transaction. Crypto would fix this.

The fact that it's not widespread doesn't mean that there isn't a usecase.

It was good while ago, but last time I bought a car I just did bank transfer. SEPA transfers are entirely free. Was kinda amazed that they just handed me keys when I showed them the receipt from my own online bank...

This requires trust, which, depending on where you live and who is the seller, may be a little bit risky or attract scammers.

It's a calculated risk. They know the VIN number and I assume made a copy of your photo ID.

If you get scammed, it requires you to sue, many EU countries have very long waiting times for those, so you'll be carless and money less for a long time. Cash or crypto solves this elegantly.

How does crypto solve this? You still have to send the funds and hope they give you the car - it's exactly the same as a bank transfer.

Because the transfer is done instantly and every party can verify it. Just like cash.

Intra-bank transfers are instant, so is PayPal/Revolut/Zelle or whatever else, and many inter-bank transfers are also instant or very nearly so in the EU. None of these, except maybe cash, protect you from someone sinply not delivering the physical good (car + car keys) after the transfer completes.

From a legal standpoint, the bank transfer speed is anyway irrelevant - you first sign a sale contract that makes the car yours and the money theirs, before anything actually exchanges hands. If one party fails to deliver the money or the other fails to deliver the good, they are anyway liable. With instant transfers, the buyer is more likely to get scammed; with delayed transfers, both the buyer and the seller are equally as likely to get scammed - that is the only difference.