Car Buying Portals' Purchase Prices
Selling a car privately can bring the best price, but it can be a hassle. online car buying platforms can take the stress off selling and often provide competitive prices – is the effort worth it?
If someone wishs to sell their car with the least amount of work, they could sell it to a used car selling platform. This can save time and be financially advantageous. In fact, as per a recent ADAC study, offered prices were often higher than the appraised value in a sample of five portals in Germany, but only for cars with diesel and gasoline engines. An electric car, on the other hand, could only be sold below the appraised value – if at all – through this channel.
At such platforms, one enters details about their car online and receives a preliminary estimate. It's then necessary to show the car at a designated time for inspection. If a deal is reached, the car can be sold there as well.
A Gas Car, a Diesel Car, and an E-Car for Sale
The ADAC examined three used cars specifically, namely wirkaufendeinauto.de, AutoScout24, mobile.de, Autohaus Tabor, and HUK Autowelt. The test cars were a Gas Car (Seat Leon, model year 2015), a Diesel Car (VW Caddy, model year 2015), and an E-Car (VW ID.3, model year 2020). All three were registered to private owners.
Two independent external appraisers and an ADAC appraiser determined the dealer purchase price (average) for these cars beforehand. Then, undercover testers approached the portals.
The result: The offers varied greatly. For the Seat Leon (Gas Car), all five portals offered prices above the appraised value by the appraisers (€6,467). The range was from €6,500 (mobile.de) to €9,282 (wirkaufendeinauto.de).
For the VW Caddy (Diesel Car), only one offer (€8,000 from mobile.de) was significantly below the dealer purchase price of €8,383. All other offers were higher than the evaluation. The highest offer was €10,117 (HUK Autowelt).
Popular E-Car? No, not really
The VW ID.3 performed poorly as an electric car. It was hard to sell or impossible. Only HUK Autowelt (€17,610) and AutoScout24 (€15,000) made offers – both were below the appraised value of €18,183. The other three did not want to buy the car. What's bad for sellers might be good news for buyers.
As a conclusion of their experiences, the ADAC recommends that those planning to sell a used car should also consider these platforms as an alternative to the usual methods, but they advise:
- educate yourself about the value of your own car: A used car appraisal ensures fair negotiations. The appraisals should include not only the resale value, i.e., what it would cost to buy the same car at the time of appraisal, but also the dealer purchase price.
- ask for a written offer and don't rely on estimates
- do not put yourself under undue pressure and request a cooling-off period if necessary
- compare offers from different platforms.
