Best place to find a used car online: sources and how to compare

What to write down before you open the first site

A search goes faster when you already know what you will turn down. Note:

• your total budget, which includes transport, registration, any taxes and a first service on top of the price;
• the model and generation, not only the make, because engines and known faults differ between generations;
• engine, gearbox and fuel;
• a ceiling for mileage and age;
• equipment you will not do without, such as a tow bar or a reversing camera;
• the longest distance you will travel to see a car;
• reasons for an immediate no, such as no service history or a seller who will not give the chassis number.

Where to look: types of sources

Choose sources by whether price or choice matters more to you, and expect to use more than one.

Why one site is not enough

Each site holds its own set of listings, so one car can appear in several places while another appears in only one. If you search on a single site, you see part of the market.

You have three ways to widen it. The first is manual searches on a few sources with the same filters. The second is a saved search with an alert for new ads, which many sites offer, so check whether yours does. The third is a search engine that combines several portals. The same rule applies to all three: a well-priced car often sells quickly, so how fast you notice a new ad matters.

Save your searches and switch on alerts

Many larger portals offer saved searches with alerts; whether and how is something to check in each portal's settings. Instead of retyping your conditions every day, let new listings come to you. Set up two versions of the same search: a narrow one that matches your criteria exactly and a wider one with a slightly higher price or more mileage. The narrow one tells you what to buy, and the wide one shows whether your prices are close to the market.

Compare three ways of searching

Weed out duplicate listings

The same car is sometimes listed more than once, by different sellers or on several portals. Copy the VIN into your sheet when you first view a listing: if it turns up again, it is a duplicate and you can drop it. Check the vehicle history by VIN before you phone the seller. If a portal lets you hide sellers, hide those who post incomplete details or photos that do not match the description.

A search log: a table for comparing offers

A spreadsheet log keeps offers from blurring together and, after a few days, shows you a realistic price for your criteria. Each offer gets one row.

Once you have several entries for the same model, you can see which offers fall outside the normal range. Until you know why an offer is far cheaper than the rest, do not trust it.

Red flags in a listing

A suspicious listing is usually given away by a combination of signs. Be careful if:

• the price is far below comparable offers and there is no explanation;
• the seller does not answer questions about the chassis number or service history;
• they ask for payment in advance or suggest an "agent" who will hold the money safely;
• the photos look like they were taken in different places, or the description is thin or copied;
• they rush you because "many other people are interested".

Checks before you pay

Do the checks in this order, because the early ones cost least and weed out bad offers fastest.

1. Get the chassis number and photos of the vehicle documents.
2. Check the vehicle history with an independent, usually paid, service rather than relying only on the seller.
3. View the car yourself, or have an independent expert inspect it if it is far away.
4. Sign a sales contract that names the vehicle and the seller.
5. Take the original documents: registration certificate, service book and invoice.
6. Pay on collection or through a secure channel, never in advance without safeguards.

Official sources

If you buy in another EU country, rely on official sources. We read them on 19 October 2026. Your Europe states that you have a minimum of 2 years' guarantee when buying from a professional seller in the EU, that it may be reduced to no less than 1 year for used vehicles if buyer and seller agree this at the time of purchase, and that EU consumer rights do not apply to private sales: Buying and leasing a car in another EU country. If you plan to bring a car into Great Britain, GOV.UK lists the steps, including telling HMRC within 14 days of arrival and registering with the DVLA after vehicle approval: Importing vehicles into the UK. We do not give tax amounts here.

What this means for a buyer

If you are buying one car, it is usually enough to check a few sources by hand with the same criteria, set alerts and keep a log.

WeltScout is a tool for dealers and brokers: it combines listings from 50+ portals in 14 countries and sends alerts about new ones on WhatsApp or by e-mail. We currently offer plans to dealers, so it is usually not the right fit for a private buyer. If you buy through a dealer, ask how they search foreign sources. You will find more articles on the blog and the tool on the home page.

Example: one search on 11 portals

One search for the Audi A4 Avant with ten filters returned 854 matches on 27 October 2026 on 11 portals in 11 countries. One portal returned 745, six others together 109, and four portals returned none. This is a snapshot of one search on one day, not market statistics. The table by portal, the method and the limits are in the article One search, 11 portals: what an Audi A4 Avant returns.

Frequently asked questions