Germany Used-Car Prices: DAT 2026 and Market Data

The most recent figure for prices actually paid comes from the DAT Report 2026: private used-car buyers paid €18,310 on average in 2025. AutoScout24 reports an average asking price of €26,878 for September 2026. These figures measure different things and must not be treated as a direct price increase.

The monthly market figures are current to September 2026. The paid-price average, finance share and TÜV result cover different periods and populations. The table puts them in context; it does not combine them into one price index.

If you want to map these market figures to your own first-year costs, the used-car budget worksheet keeps the purchase payment, due bills and depreciation separate.

The DAT Report 2026 covers purchases made in 2025 and gives €18,310 as the average price paid for a used car. DAT interviewed 2,598 private individuals for its car-purchase topics, including 1,306 used-car buyers, and weighted the samples.

The AutoScout24 Used Car Price Index tracks average asking prices for vehicles advertised on that platform. It stood at €26,878 in September 2026, up 0.1% from August. An asking price is neither a sale price nor the fair value of a particular car.

The DAT series shows a steep rise through 2022 followed by a high but slightly lower level. It is a backward-looking series of average prices paid. It cannot show the price path for a specific model generation.

According to the DAT market overview for September 2026, 533,447 used passenger cars changed registered keeper in September. That was 4.8% fewer than in September 2025. From January to September, the total was 4,806,866 vehicles, 2.9% fewer than in the same period a year earlier.

Changes of registered keeper count registration transfers. They show neither how many cars are currently for sale nor how many people are looking for a car. You therefore cannot infer weaker demand from fewer changes of registered keeper alone. Nor does this figure explain what caused the decline.

These market figures are not enough to answer ‘Buy now or wait?’ Falling average asking prices on one platform do not predict how the price of the model variant you want will change. Compare suitable vehicles and the supporting evidence available for each. Then decide based on your needs and budget, rather than treating a general market trend as a recommendation to buy.

An asking price is not a guaranteed value. First compare only cars that genuinely match on generation, engine or powertrain, registration band, mileage band and seller type. Review condition, history, specification and work already due separately.

1. Fix the model generation, engine or powertrain, and a sensible registration and mileage band.

2. Keep dealer and private offers separate. Record specification and visible differences instead of hiding them in one average.

3. Label or exclude damaged, export or project listings, missing-HU listings, or offers with unclear information when they are not comparable.

4. For each offer, record the asking price, the source of the figure, documented service or accident information, and work already visible as due.

5. Read the price position only within that set. A low or high number is a reason for further questions, not proof of a fair value.

6. Turn the difference into a next step: request evidence, ask for an explanation, arrange a suitable inspection, negotiate, or pause.

Method note: DAT webScan, the ADAC database and the AutoScout24 price assessment measure different things. None of these sources replaces diligence on the specific listing or the vehicle's condition.

Have you been looking only at cars aged three to five years, but none fits your budget? A second search with a wider age range can show whether older examples of the same model generation and variant could work for you. The September figures provide some market context:

Source: AutoScout24, AGPI September 2026, page 3, published on 1 October 2026. The figures describe asking prices in German AutoScout24 used-car listings, not purchase prices actually paid.

The three groups contain different cars. The gap between their average prices therefore shows neither the depreciation of a particular model nor the amount you could save by choosing an older car. The monthly changes are not uniform either: the average for cars aged three to five years rose slightly, while the other two groups fell slightly.

For a limited search trial, you can widen the age range from three to five years to three to ten years. Keep the model generation, exact engine or battery variant, transmission, purchase-price ceiling and mileage range unchanged. Keep the seller type and required equipment the same too. If the version you want does not exist in the older age range, switching to the previous generation would be a different comparison.

Then put suitable new results alongside your existing shortlist. Compare maintenance records, documented condition and work already due; mark missing information as unresolved. This lets you check whether an older example actually meets your needs and budget, or whether the lower price comes with other differences.

You have collected comparable listings and calculated their average price. Also look at how far apart the prices are. Two groups can have the same average even though their prices are distributed very differently.

The following prices are entirely fictional. They do not come from collected listings and are not market prices for a particular model. For the calculation, we assume that the vehicles are comparable within each of the two separate groups.

In both groups, the total is €160,000. Dividing by eight gives an average of €20,000. The median is also €20,000 in each group: with eight prices sorted in order, it is the average of the fourth and fifth values.

Yet the gap between the lowest and highest prices is only €3,000 in A, compared with €12,000 in B. ‘€20,000 on average’ hides this difference.

The quartiles mark the boundaries of the middle part of the distribution. The distance between them is called the interquartile range. It shows the spread without making it depend solely on the cheapest and most expensive listings. The range from minimum to maximum, by contrast, depends directly on the two outermost values. NIST: Box plot and quartiles, NIST: Interquartile range

Our calculation rule: here, the lower quartile is the median of the lowest four prices; the upper quartile is the median of the highest four. For A, this gives €19,250 and €20,750. Quartiles can be calculated in different ways. So when you compare figures from different analyses, the calculation method should also be explained.

An additional listing at €19,000 would be five percent below the average in both groups. In A, only one of the eight example values is lower; in B, three are lower. The same gap from the average therefore means different things depending on the distribution.

For your purchase, my next question would be: ‘What specific difference explains this price position?’ The distribution itself does not tell you whether different equipment, higher mileage, outstanding work or simply the seller’s price expectations explain it. It would therefore be premature to call everything below the lower quartile a bargain.

Even a median is of little use if the cars being compared do not match. If you mix generations and powertrains or count the same car more than once, the calculated midpoint does not automatically become meaningful. With only a few suitable listings, I would keep the individual prices visible rather than draw a supposedly reliable market boundary.

A comparison over time raises another question: was the calculation method the same? In its AGPI report for August 2026, AutoScout24 notes that the method changed in March 2025, which can lead to differences from earlier calculations. The report also publishes no model-specific quartiles that would show the price spread in your particular search. AutoScout24: AGPI August 2026, methodological notes on page 6

So the two tables explain a method. They do not tell you a vehicle’s fair value or what price to negotiate, and they do not show the measured spread of prices in the German used-car market.

The figures below are invented assumptions, not market observations:

Offer B is not automatically cheaper or fairer because its number is lower. The example only shows why price, mileage, seller type and evidence should be considered together before deciding.

DAT reports that 49% of used-car buyers used finance in 2025. Compare the total amount payable, term, interest, deposit and any final payment. The monthly instalment alone does not show whether insurance, tax, maintenance and repairs fit your budget.

The TÜV Report 2026 draws on about 9.5 million periodic roadworthiness inspections from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. Major or dangerous defects were recorded in 21.5% of them. That result describes the inspected vehicles as a group. A fresh HU does not replace a service history or a technical inspection chosen for the car in front of you.

For a specific advert, a Listing Audit can organise the price logic, visible risks, missing evidence and seller questions before you travel.

What is the average used-car price in Germany in 2026?

The latest DAT figure for prices actually paid covers 2025 and is €18,310. AutoScout24 reports an average asking price of €26,878 for September 2026. Different periods, datasets and measures mean the two figures are not directly comparable.

Are used-car prices falling in Germany in 2026?

AutoScout24’s index rose by 0.1% in September 2026 compared with August. Changes differ by segment and powertrain. The average covers asking prices on that platform, not the price history of every car or the final prices buyers paid.

How can I judge whether a particular asking price is fair?

Compare the same generation, engine, age band and similar mileage. Account for specification, seller type, maintenance and accident history, and work already due. A national average is not enough.

The data comes from different studies, periods and populations. It does not assess an individual car and does not replace a valuation, workshop inspection, roadworthiness inspection, financial advice or legal advice.