Barbara weber reports on insurance and legal topics at finanztip. The lawyer, who specializes in labor and social law, came to writing in a roundabout way: after studying and then completing her legal clerkship, she first worked in a business consulting firm and helped companies set up their own businesses. in 2020, she completed additional training in journalism. This makes her the ideal candidate for the finanztip editorial team.
- If you want to buy a used car, online portals give you a good overview of the market and you can search specifically for the car you want.
- During our research mobile had.De and autoscout24 the largest selection of vehicles and the most filter options.
- with the cross-portal search engines, autouncle was able to keep us.De convince with a large offer of cars and a good usability.
- think about what kind of car you need, what you value and how much money you want to spend. Do you have an idea of it, you go into the comparison.
- Make the price comparison at mobile.De, autoscout24 or autouncle.De.
- Decide on a car or use the offer as a basis for negotiation if you want to buy locally.
In this guide
If you want to buy a used car, you shouldn’t go straight to the next best dealer. most offers you get online on used car portals. one so comprehensive overview about the offered cars and prices you will not get at the dealers near you. But the used car portals differ in the number of offers and the ease of use. We have looked at the car exchanges with the most vehicles on offer.
Two types of used car portals
if you are looking for a used car on the internet, you will come across two different types of used car portals. Providers such as mobile.De or autoscout24 have own databases with their car offers.
dealers and private sellers can advertise their used cars there. as a rule, the portal only establishes contact with the salesperson. If you are interested in a particular car, you can contact the seller via the respective portal. afterwards you can make an appointment for an inspection and buy the vehicle.
In our guide to buying a used car, we show you what you should look for when buying a car.
More about buying a used car in our guide
- use our sample purchase contract and checklist for buying a car.
- Calculate the insurance premiums on verivox or check24 before buying and then with huk24.
So-called meta search engines like autouncle.De or automarkt.De, on the other hand, comb through the websites of other providers and summarize their offers. If you then click on a car of your choice, you will be taken to the example of autouncle.De to mobile.De forwarded, because the original ad can be found there.
our tip: stay up to date – with our free newsletter!
Our tip: stay on topic [category] always up to date – with our free newsletter!
Which portals have the most offers?
If you’re thinking of buying a car, it makes sense to look for offers online first. So you can get a good overview of the prices and maybe you already find a suitable car for you. But even if you want to buy from a local dealer, an additional price comparison on the Internet is worthwhile. With several offers you have a good basis for negotiation and can better assess whether the dealer’s offer is reasonable.
In order for you to get a good overview of the market, the respective used car portal must have as many offers as possible available. In our research we had mobile.De and autoscout24 the most offers.
Used car portals with their own database
1.068.380 | 689.163 | 450.919 |
896.651 | 625.256 | 203.958 |
169.259 | 63.905 | 246.961 |
✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Source: finanztip, own presentation (as of: 4. January 2022)
dealer and private cars
Source: finanztip, own presentation (as of 4. January 2022)
At the meta-search engines car.Meinestadt.De and autouncle.De with the most offered score.
Meta search engines with most offers
dealer and private cars
Source: finanztip, own presentation (as of: 4. January 2022)
Which portals have good operability?
Most of the time, you already have a rough idea of what your future car will look like when you start your search. Maybe you want an electric car, then you should be able to limit your search to that as well. Or you absolutely want a five-door car with heated seats and navigation system. On user-friendly portals you can set exactly these filters.
Mobile.De and autoscout24 offer extensive filter options. You can set almost anything in the search – from the color to the fuel type to the special equipment. the results can be filtered down to details such as a bluetooth connection or a parking aid. Even accident vehicles can be sorted out easily.
In our search the used cars all described in detail. The information about the provider is also very transparent. In the respective offer, you can find out who the seller is and can use a button to contact the seller.
Both at mobile.De as well as autoscout24 are at the top of the results list "top-inserate" or "current top offers for your search". Don’t let it get to you. Providers pay money for these ads. Better check yourself if the offer meets your expectations.
On ebay classifieds cars are also traded. The marketplace for used goods has a lot of cars on offer, but cannot be compared with specialized providers like mobile.Compare De or autoscout24. The filter options are less diverse. The result list and the descriptions of the individual cars are in many cases too inaccurate. Accident vehicles cannot be sorted out.
Heycar.De scores with a modern and user-friendly design. the filter options are similar to mobilie.De and autoscout24 very diverse. Big plus: at heycar.De you get according to their own information only tested cars. Before a car is listed, it must pass a used car check in the areas of electrical, drivetrain, chassis, body and interior, and safety. Therefore you will find only offers from commercial suppliers. Also only vehicles with warranty are listed.
car.De has fewer vehicles in the offer, but also lists only offers from dealers. For this the portal has distinctive filter possibilities. Accident vehicles can not be excluded, however. The portal scores with a clear design in the vehicle description. In addition, each offer is classified as "super price," "fair price" or "negotiate. According to the company’s own information, the assessment is based on current and past offers, which should make a very accurate comparison possible.
Also yesauto.De is lagging behind with its offers, but provides clear filter possibilities at the equipment. On this portal, there are only offers from dealers. because of the corona pandemic you can view offers where online consultation and delivery is possible. We still recommend you to visit the car on the spot at least for a test drive and a car check.
What is the best meta search engine?
Among the meta search engines the portal stands out autouncle.De positively out. The meta search engine lists according to its own information offers from currently 1099 car sites (as of january 2021). Besides popular sites like mobile.De and autoscout24.De find also offers from used car dealers, car manufacturers and private sellers.
The search settings are very detailed. It can be filtered by dealer offers and private offers. Accident cars can be removed from the search.
All eligible cars are summarized in a common and clear list of results. By clicking on the respective ad you will be redirected to the original ad.
Autouncle.De also offers a decision support an: the portal marks the price worthiness of the individual car in relation to comparable cars – in the form of a traffic light. For the evaluation, the comparison portal takes into account parameters such as first registration, mileage, engine or equipment.
Car.MyCity.De lists more vehicles in the result than autouncle.De, but offers only a few filter options for the equipment. Own features like a first price estimation are not offered. lacks the possibility to filter for offers from dealers or from private sellers. Accident cars can not be sorted out.
Car market.De has fewer offers listed and also offers few filter options. Also this portal does not hold own advantages like a first decision assistance ready. The possibility to search exclusively for dealer ads or private sales does not exist. Accident vehicles cannot be filtered out.
Where can you buy a used one privately?
If you specifically want to buy a used car from a private seller, you can filter between dealer offers and cars from private sellers at four of the nine portals examined: mobile.De, autoscout24, ebay kleinanzeigen and autouncle.De have a corresponding filter option.
In terms of quantity dominate the dealer vehicles clear: at mobile.In Germany, around 85 percent of vehicles come from dealers, and on autoscout24 the figure is as high as 90 percent. Also at autouncle.De, around 83 percent of the offers are from dealers (as of: 4. January 2022).
Most privaten offers for used cars we have with ebay classifieds found. Here, around 55 percent of all offers were from private dealers (as at 4. January 2022).
These portals offer financing
Even for a used car you can basically get a car loan. Most of the used car portals refer directly in the results to the credit offers of various banks or to comparison portals such as check24 or finanzcheck.De. If you want, you can immediately calculate the monthly rate for a selected term.
Better: you look for a car loan yourself and make a price comparison beforehand. In our guide to car loans, we have summarized how you can best do this.