Buying a Car Online in Germany with Autohero – Full Walkthrough
Until recently, buying a car in Germany meant driving between dealerships and haggling face to face. Another pattern has since appeared: you choose the car on your screen and it is delivered to your door. Autohero — the online retail arm of AUTO1 Group — is among the most widely used of these platforms in Germany.
This walkthrough moves through the site step by step: searching and filtering, ordering, paying and financing, delivery, and then a frank look at the advantages and the drawbacks.
What the video explains
- What the platform is and how it works (from 00:00)
- The complete purchase process inside the site (from 02:23)
- The drawbacks and the advantages, stated plainly (from 18:43)
- Payment and financing options
- Which documents arrive with the car and what to check on delivery
How a purchase actually proceeds
- Filtering the stock by make, model, price, year and mileage
- Reading the car page: detailed photographs, equipment list and the vehicle condition report
- Choosing collection: delivery to your address, or pickup from a centre
- Choosing payment: full or partial financing, payment on handover, or a bank transfer beforehand
- Completing the order and following the appointment until the car arrives
- Registering the car in your name (Zulassung) after delivery
The guarantees stated on the site
- A 21-day money-back guarantee, within a limit of 500 kilometres
- A warranty of at least one year on every car offered
- Delivery to your address, or pickup from a nearby centre
- Full or partial financing, or payment on handover
What you gain and what you give up, against a dealership
You gain time, a published price with no haggling, and a return window a dealership rarely offers. You give up the test drive and the chance to look the body and the underside over yourself before committing. That is precisely why the 21-day window is, in practice, your test drive — so use it as one: have the car inspected by an independent mechanic in the first few days, not on day twenty.
The official form and the responsible office
The official site only. Never complete a payment through a link that reaches you in a message or an advert:
Common mistakes that delay a case
- Skipping the vehicle condition report and the damage photographs on the car page
- Leaving the independent inspection until after the return window has closed
- Driving past the 500-kilometre limit and then attempting to return the car
- Accepting a financing offer without working out the total cost, the interest rate and the term
- Forgetting insurance and registration (Zulassung) in the final cost
- Paying through a link or an account that does not appear inside the official site itself
Frequently asked questions
Can I return the car if I do not like it?
The site states a money-back guarantee of 21 days within 500 kilometres. Read the full conditions on the official page before ordering.
Is there a warranty?
Yes — the site states a warranty of at least one year on the cars it offers.
Is financing available?
Yes, full or partial financing is offered. The rate and the term are shown before you commit; read them carefully and compare against your own bank.
Is the car delivered to my home?
Delivery to your address is offered, as is pickup from one of the centres.
Can I test drive before buying?
No — this is the essential difference from a dealership. The return window is the practical substitute for a prior test drive.
Please note: Prices, conditions and deadlines are set by the company and may change. What binds is what appears on the official site and in your own contract at the time of purchase — not this article and not the video.
Watch the video
The video is on the OK+ channel on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHKbgrpSYaA
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