This guide is available in German and English.
Many of the best buys come from private sellers: well-kept first-hand cars, realistic prices, and resale under the margin scheme. At the same time private sellers are often tired of dealer calls – some get dozens after listing. To stand out you need a clean legal footing and a first contact that builds trust. This guide refers to German law, which applies to sellers on the German portals.
- Someone who lists their car with a phone number wants to reach buyers – a specific enquiry about that car fits that purpose.
- Advertising by phone to consumers needs prior express consent; mass purchase advertising is therefore off limits.
- If the listing says “no dealer enquiries”, respect it.
- Contact details from listings are for the enquiry about that car only – not for marketing lists or later campaigns.
- Say straight away that you are a dealer, and give a price you can explain.
- Speed matters: good private offers are often gone within hours.
1. Enquiry or advertising?
The German Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) prohibits advertising by phone to consumers without their prior express consent (§ 7 (2) no. 1 UWG). Advertising by e-mail, text message or messenger generally needs consent too.
Someone who lists their car with a phone number wants buyers to call. An enquiry that refers specifically to the listed car and expresses a genuine interest in buying fits that purpose – even when it comes from a dealer. It becomes a problem where the enquiry turns into advertising:
- General purchase advertising (“We buy your car – other cars too”) instead of an enquiry about the listed car.
- Standard messages to many sellers with little to do with the individual car.
- Repeated calls after the seller has said no.
- Contact despite a note such as “no dealer enquiries” or “no commercial enquiries”.
The portals’ terms of use also prohibit using contact details from listings for unwanted advertising. Breaches can get you blocked there – regardless of the competition-law side.
2. Data protection: what you may use the data for
A private seller’s name and phone number are personal data. You may use them for the enquiry about the listed car and a possible purchase. Collecting them to contact the seller again later, adding them to marketing lists or passing them on is not covered.
- Store only what you need for the enquiry and the purchase.
- Delete the data when there is no deal and you no longer need it.
- Don’t keep lists of private sellers for later campaigns.
CarFalke shows a seller’s name and phone number only while they belong to an active listing, and deletes them 90 days after the listing has left the portal.
3. The first call: how to win them over
Private sellers usually have two worries: a poor price and trouble after the sale. A good first contact takes away both.
- Introduce yourself by name and business and say straight away that you are a dealer.
- Refer to the specific car: model, equipment, what convinced you about the listing.
- Ask the two or three questions that matter for your calculation – accidents, servicing, previous owners, keys and papers.
- Give a price range you can explain, and justify it with the market, not with defects you haven’t seen yet.
- Stress what you take off the seller’s hands: collection, deregistration, immediate payment, no test drives with strangers.
- Accept a no and say thank you – no follow-up calls.
4. Fast, but not pushy
For sought-after cars the first hour often decides. Calling early, you talk to a seller who hasn’t had twenty dealer calls yet – and you get more attention. Being fast doesn’t mean calling unprepared, though: a quick look at market value and price rating belongs before every call.
CarFalke reports new listings from mobile.de, AutoScout24 and Kleinanzeigen within minutes and marks whether a private seller or a dealer is selling. With market value and buying potential in the same view, you are prepared in seconds. In a team, colleagues see who has already called about a car – so nobody calls the same seller twice.
