used car buying experience/advice

[Sx4]

Hello,
I am looking to buy a used vw golf 7.....most autodealers in the neighborhood only have the new golf 8. It seem if I have to buy a used one, I would have to do an online purchase. Anyone car to share the experience, suggest reliable online source or advice in the process.
Thanks

[Eric7]

Just look on something like mobile.de:

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/sear ... b=p&vc=Car

82 examples of a Golf 7 with less than 50tkm within a 20km radius of Berlin.
You can narrow your search with adding different criteria or widen it by extending the search radius etc.

Just look for one with not too many km and with a guarantee and you should be fine.

[Sx4]

Thanks for the reply....my criteria are very restrictive Like umfallfrei, not more than 2 previous owners, 150ps, low mileage, 2018-2020 model, automatic, benzin. With these the number is really low (far and wide). Hence I was wondering about online purchase. I see cars on some sites like Autohero, Autoscout24 and wonder about cons and risks of buying online.

[LeonG]

I haven't heard of outright buying online. I know of people having found a car online and having gone there to buy it, probably after asking the seller to hold it though. The people advertising on autoscout are regular people selling their own cars or dealers having a dealership in some town. If you buy from a dealer, they usually do a warranty for 12 months. If you buy from a private person, it's "as is". Regular VW dealerships should also have used cars that people have traded in. Some dealerships network so they can show you listings from other dealerships in Germany and if they find you a car, they can have it brought to you. I guess that would kind of be a way of fairly reliable online shopping.

[Eric7]

Thanks for the reply....my criteria are very restrictive Like umfallfrei, not more than 2 previous owners, 150ps, low mileage, 2018-2020 model, automatic, benzin. With these the number is really low (far and wide). Hence I was wondering about online purchase. I see cars on some sites like Autohero, Autoscout24 and wonder about cons and risks of buying online.

Autohero and Autoscout24 are 2 very different things.

Autoscout is just another online portal for dealers or private people to advertise their cars for sale.

Autohero is an online shop for buying cars directly. Autohero tends to have good prices but I wouldn't use it because you don't have the possibility of seeing the car before ordering it, never mind having a test drive. No thanks.

I've narrowed the search a bit, integrating your criteria:
https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/sear ... EAR&vc=Car

Another option, if you are looking for a cheap, low mileage Golf 7 and if you don't take many long road trips, would be an e-Golf. Great value for money at the moment!
https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/deta ... EAR&vc=Car

[Sx4]

Autohero is an online shop for buying cars directly. Autohero tends to have good prices but I wouldn't use it because you don't have the possibility of seeing the car before ordering it, never mind having a test drive. No thanks.

Thanks for taking time to do the search for me! The above reply about online buying is what I was looking for...like cons and experiences if one had gone that route.

I love electric cars, but one of the things we enjoy is long trips and visiting different parts of the country. This summer we took three trips and renting a car with the insurance payments etc was super expensive.

[dstanners]

As a few posters have said, from my experience mobile.de seems to offer the widest choice of cars online. It is only a marketplace though (it is just like Autotrader in the UK).
Whilst I always use it when looking for cars, the experience is always completely dependent upon the seller.
In addition to mobile.de and autoscout24, another place to check would be kleinanzeigen.de, but there will be quite a bit of overlap.

If you are fussed about a guarantee, then narrow the search criteria to dealers only.

Personally, I'm not such a huge fan of guarantees - dealers who sell useless cars, are usually not much better at honouring guarantees (how much of your time do you want to spend chasing and arranging legal threats and steps?).

The number of owners is a good thing to check. For a Golf 7, I would only be looking to buy from the original owner. Anyone who has owned the car for 5 or 6 years from new, is likely to have had work carried out as/when it was needed. A car which changes hands every two years or so, is usually one where the owners have seen a problem or big bill coming up, and decided to stick a new HU (without the work done) and move the car along. Buying from the original owner also makes it less likely that the sale is a trader pretending to be private (to get around the guarantee). Don't forget to ask for the reason for sale.

Personally, I can't imagine buying a used car I hadn't seen and driven prior to agreeing the deal. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

[Eric7]

Another good site to check is autouncle.de:
https://www.autouncle.de/de/gebrauchtwa ... ar%5D=2018

That has cars from all different selling portals on it and has a couple of other advantages:
1. It shows you how long the car has been for sale
2. If you click on the "i" next to the number of days, it shows you how the price has changed since the advert went online

Give it a look!

[Sx4]

Another good site to check is autouncle.de:

Thanks, I did check it out, and like you pointed out, it has a couple of helpful features (over mobile.de). Most cars however are from Autohero and so I am back to deciding weather it is safe to buy from an online dealer without test drive (I do realize there is a 14 day return and a I year warranty....but don't want to get into that hassle of struggling to get service or money back if something goes wrong). I realize it can happen at a local dealer too, but I am still worried as I have never thought of an online big purchase like this before

[Eric7]

Another good site to check is autouncle.de:

Thanks, I did check it out, and like you pointed out, it has a couple of helpful features (over mobile.de). Most cars however are from Autohero and so I am back to deciding weather it is safe to buy from an online dealer without test drive (I do realize there is a 14 day return and a I year warranty....but don't want to get into that hassle of struggling to get service or money back if something goes wrong). I realize it can happen at a local dealer too, but I am still worried as I have never thought of an online big purchase like this before

Don't do it!

[Sx4]

Don't do it!

Okay, convinced, I am not going that route. Thank you again for taking time to reply.

[Alberto]

I bought two cars since moving to Germany in 2013.
1) from a friend and colleague
2) from a stranger on Kleinanzeige
Both very positive experiences.

Some random thoughts:
If you work in a very large company, like I do, consider buying from a colleague. Many big workplaces have some sort of internal marketplace. The benefit is that a person you're likely to meet continuously is unlikely will try to "cheat" you.
I'm only in favour of very cheap cars. Have my personal reasons for this. If you buy a used, very cheap car, worst case you won't waste much anyway....
Be flexible on what you want. The more requirements you set, the more difficult and stressful will be to buy.

[LeonG]

Thanks, I did check it out, and like you pointed out, it has a couple of helpful features (over mobile.de). Most cars however are from Autohero and so I am back to deciding weather it is safe to buy from an online dealer without test drive (I do realize there is a 14 day return and a I year warranty....but don't want to get into that hassle of struggling to get service or money back if something goes wrong). I realize it can happen at a local dealer too, but I am still worried as I have never thought of an online big purchase like this before

The problem when you buy from an online dealer, where will you show up with your torch and pitchfork if it turns out to be a lemon?

Another thing to be aware of when you bought from a dealer and want to claim warranty is that you may not get repairs done yourself so if there is a problem, you have to park the car until the dealer handles it.

[Sx4]

The more requirements you set, the more difficult and stressful will be to buy.

Unfortunately, I am already in this trap

[dstanners]

Then the answer would seem to be that you either have to reduce/flex your requirements (for example, the Skoda Octavia instead of the more or less identical Golf) or increase your budget I'm afraid.

Despite having lived here for over 8 years this time, I'm always amazed by how expensive used cars are in Germany (vs. UK). Mobile.de will give you a fair idea of market prices, so perhaps what you are after just costs more than you were expecting over here.

Have you considered EU-reimported new cars as an alternative?

[kaffeemitmilch]

The more requirements you set, the more difficult and stressful will be to buy.

Unfortunately, I am already in this trap

Took me a year to find a 7-seater with enough technology for a reasonable price. But, I primarily wanted private, because they're usually cheaper, and I know more about cars than the average person. I had to drive around the country to see some of them, though, and finally found one in Reutlingen. You'll have to be prepared for that, and for people not to agree to let you drive the car away with their plates (these people easily let me take their plates!), meaning potentially two trips if you want the car.

Also, there are guarantees you can buy yourself for cars you buy, but I have no experience with them. I thought of getting one because I am a little wary of the DSG. Decided not to, though. Let's hope it lasts.

[Sx4]

Then the answer would seem to be that you either have to reduce/flex your requirements (for example, the Skoda Octavia instead of the more or less identical Golf) or increase your budget I'm afraid.
Have you considered EU-reimported new cars as an alternative?

I don't mind increasing the budget, but to me (and from the reviews I read), the Golf VIII has lots of software issues, plus I don't like the feel of the new all electronic dash etc. Unfortunately, in this case more money doesn't make a car available at my local VW dealership.

[Eric7]

I'm struggling a bit to see the problem.

There are loads of Golf 7s for sale in Berlin. From dealers. With guarantees. Fitting your criteria.

Is the problem just that the dealer closest to you doesn't have any?

[Fraufruit]

It's always helpful when members put their locations in their profiles for things like this.

[Eric7]

It's always helpful when members put their locations in their profiles for things like this.

I was sure I'd read he/she was in Berlin but can't see it now...