Mobile.de in English: How to Find and Buy a Car in Germany

mobile.de is Germany's largest vehicle marketplace, with well over a million cars from dealers and private sellers. It has an English interface (language menu at the top of the page), but many listing details stay in German.

As a foreigner you can search, contact sellers and buy. What you cannot do without German residency is register the car in your own name. CarTurf solves that: our German partner is the Halter, you stay the owner, and registration takes 1–5 business days once the documents are in. Customers contract with CarTurf Global FZCO (Dubai). Our German partner CarTurf UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is the registered Halter.

• Location radius: start with Germany-wide, then narrow down to where you can collect the car (many customers pick it up near Cologne, Frankfurt or Düsseldorf).
• HU valid until: filter for a long HU so you are not inspecting the car again soon. See TÜV inspection.
• Seller type: dealer: dealers selling to consumers must accept liability for defects, often 1 year on used cars. Private sales usually exclude warranty.
• Vehicle type: mobile.de also lists vans, motorhomes and motorbikes. See motorhome & van registration.

• Negotiate, with realistic expectations. For typical cars and vans, German dealer prices are usually close to what the dealer will accept, and a dealer can simply decline a low offer on a car that will sell within weeks. Private sellers are often more flexible, especially if your offer saves them repairs or a new HU. With dealers, ask for services they already offer rather than a straight price cut: a fresh HU, a full service with fluids, new brake pads, all-season tyres or tinted windows. A €300 service included is usually easier to get than €300 off.
• "MwSt. ausweisbar" is not a red flag. It usually means an ex-company or ex-lease car, often well maintained. The listed price already includes the 19% VAT, so as a private buyer you pay the price shown, nothing on top.
• "Nur Export/Gewerbe" means no consumer warranty. Avoid it unless you know exactly what you are buying.
• Prices far below similar cars are a warning sign. Never pay a deposit to a seller you cannot verify.
• Ask for the VIN, service records and recent photos of the actual car.

Many CarTurf customers buy without seeing the car first. To reduce the risk:

1. Check the dealer's mobile.de rating and compare the address with Google Maps reviews and street view.
2. Ask for a video call walking around the car, and for the latest HU report.
3. Get a written purchase contract with you as the buyer. Remember: you appear as the buyer on the contract, even though our partner becomes the Halter.
4. Ask whether the dealer has the original vehicle documents in house. If they come from a bank or head office, pickup can take longer.

See also Buy a car in Europe and the cheapest countries to buy a car.

Here is where most foreign buyers get stuck: the dealer will sell, but the car cannot be registered without a German address, and without registration there is no insurance.

With CarTurf:

1. You buy the car (you are the owner).
2. Send us the purchase contract and vehicle documents.
3. We register it through our German partner in 1–5 business days. Cars with digital documents (roughly 2015 onwards) can often be registered online immediately, with plates printed locally.
4. You collect it once the dealer is ready. That depends on payment clearing, the original documents and any warranty inspection.

Insurance covers drivers 23+ by default; drivers aged 18–22 cost more. Prefer auctions? See German car auctions.

Car delivery: €0.75/km base calculation, plus route-specific costs depending on distance, multiple countries, overnight stays and return travel. We don't arrange shipping to the USA, but we can recommend shipping partners. Leaving Europe later? Cars registered through CarTurf can get export plates (30 days €300, 60 days €590, 90 days €790, liability insurance included).

• AutoScout24: similar to mobile.de, strong dealer inventory across Europe.
• Kleinanzeigen (formerly eBay Kleinanzeigen): more private sellers and lower prices, but less buyer protection.
• Dealer websites: brand dealers often list approved used cars with longer warranties.
• Auctions: cheapest, but mostly trade-only. CarTurf buys at trade-only auctions for €750 + 4% of the net vehicle price; auction fees and delivery passed through at cost, with access to autobid.de, AUTO1.com, CarOnSale, OPENLANE, BCA and Ayvens Carmarket and others.