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Full equipment or just the basic model.

Full service history or with a long overdue general inspection.

The choice is huge on car portals.

"Mobile.de" with more than 1.5 million and "Autoscout24.de" with almost one million car ads have some of the largest.

There are also motorcycles, mobile homes and trucks.

But there are also good offers outside of the big platforms.

Specialized sites and portals offer fewer, but selected vehicles.

"It depends on the interest and the vehicle on which online exchanges searchers find what they are looking for," says Stefan Musat from Auto Club Europa (ACE).

As examples of alternatives, the ACE expert cites the car manufacturers' car exchanges, which are stocked by dealers, or the used car exchanges of car rental companies.

Vehicle-specific portals such as “Bidaclassics.de”, “Bidacamper.de” or “Bidabike.de” are also useful.

"Heycar.de" with used cars up to eight years old and a maximum of 150,000 kilometers and a guarantee also offers interesting vehicles, "says Musat.

Autoportals cannot do without an overview

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It is worth visiting many pages and portals to get an overview of vehicles and prices.

Meta search portals such as "Pkw.de" or "Autouncle.de" query many sources at the same time.

“It helps if interested parties know exactly what kind of vehicle they are looking for.

Then they won't be overwhelmed by the offer, ”says Stefan Musat.

If questions arise, they should also be asked.

It is best to have a checklist and set a clear price framework.

In the case of supposed bargains, the following applies: do not strike too quickly.

Frank Wilke from the market observer Classic Analytics sees the strength of the large portals primarily in the number of vehicles on offer.

“Here you can find niche cars and volume vehicles, in very different conditions and price regions.

A good place to browse where those interested can also find bargains. "

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But other portals are also helpful, such as “ClassicDriver.com” or “Classic-Trader.com”, where an editorial team makes a pre-selection and rather high-quality cars are offered, as well as the curated marketplace “Catawiki.de”.

Only pre-war vehicles are offered on “PreWarCar.com”.

“There is a special community here that knows its way around,” says Wilke.

Car portals abroad

On "BringATrailer.com", interested parties will find many different vehicle auctions and an active community that discusses the vehicles and often provides interesting information.

US car fans will also find a wide range of products on "Hemmings.com".

The vehicles just park mostly in the USA.

ClassicCarsForSale.co.uk is a large collection of classics in Great Britain.

Smaller auction houses such as ACA, Historics, H&H or Coys are also interesting for browsing.

But vintage car fans will also often find what they are looking for at major international auction houses such as RM Sotheby's, Bonhams, Gooding & Company or Barons.

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"However, there are no test drives at auctions, so it is rather risky for most Germans to bid for a car there," says Frank Wilke.

And: auctions have ancillary purchase costs (surcharge).

And it can be even more special: fans of tractors should look around at “Traktorpool.de”, racing car enthusiasts at “Motorsportmarkt.de”.

Authority vehicles can be found on “Vebeg.de” or “Zoll-Auktionen.de”, but they are often not bargains because the vehicles are auctioned.

Viewing on site is usually possible before the end of the auction, but no test drive.

Scams when buying a used car

Most of the time, the pages, portals and exchanges are only there for information and purchase initiation.

In the end, the actual purchase is usually not made online, but conventionally on site, either directly from the dealer or from a private person.

Then there is no 14-day right of withdrawal within the meaning of the distance selling regulations, explains Klaus Heimgärtner, a lawyer at ADAC.

“This has the advantage that there are no later problems to prove whether a sales contract was actually concluded in black and white contracts,” says Heimgärtner.

From his experience, buyers on used car portals would have to reckon with various problems: "These include, among other things, scams, incorrectly delivered equipment or a delivery delay."

Important: Look carefully who is selling the vehicle and read the terms and conditions.

In any case, the offer is so large that it is better to keep looking if you have any doubts.

Find used cars offline

A look at newspaper advertisements and especially in specialist magazines such as “Oldtimer Markt”, “Motor Klassik” or “Träume Wagen” can of course still reveal a suitable offer.

“It is also sometimes worth stopping by specialized dealers, regardless of whether they are for sports cars, vintage cars or mobile homes,” advises Stefan Musat.

Because: "Some dealers prefer not to advertise, but want to sell their offer exclusively."