The scale of the used car market in China is enormous. In 2024, the number of used car transactions in China is expected to reach 20 million. As the prices of new cars in China continue to fall, used car prices are also becoming more affordable. Moreover, some used car models are only available in China. Buying a used car in China is becoming an increasingly smart choice. So how do you go about choosing a car on Chinese used car websites? Let me walk you through the process in more detail below.
Let’s start by looking at the largest used car website in China: www.che168.com. It lists over 260,000 used cars. When you visit the homepage, you’ll see that it’s displayed in Chinese. The site does not offer a language selection, but you can translate it into Russian using the translation feature in the Google browser. If you have Google Chrome installed, you can browse the site on both your PC and mobile phone. In the example below, we’ll focus on using a PC.
We’ll use a three-year-old Volkswagen Tayron as an example to show you how to find a car you like on one of these platforms.
Start by selecting the car brand and model. Keep in mind that some brands and models are translated into Chinese for local marketing, and these names might not match their international versions when translated back into Russian. For example, the Tayron model of Volkswagen is shown in China as “Tanyue.” Fortunately, you can usually recognise the car by its logo and the rear view photo — confirming that it’s a Volkswagen Tayron.
Next, let’s choose the age of the vehicle. The age listed on the website might differ slightly from what you normally understand as the car’s actual production year. There are two fields on the site to pay attention to: model year and vehicle age. In China, the model year doesn’t always reflect the exact year the car was manufactured. For example, a 2022 model might have started production in September 2021, or it could have been produced throughout 2022, or even continued into 2023 without any changes. So, for the same 2022 model, the manufacturing date could be 2021, 2022, or 2023.
The model year is usually shown in the car’s listing title. For instance: Tanyue 2022 380TSI 4WD R-Line Smart Edition. Don’t be misled into thinking this car was necessarily manufactured in 2022. Otherwise, you might end up paying higher customs duties!
The vehicle age shown on the website refers to how long the car has been registered, not how long it has been since it was manufactured. If you want to know the exact age of the car based on its production date, the most accurate way is to check the vehicle’s factory plate. This plate shows the precise manufacturing date, but it will not be displayed on any used car website in China. You’ll need to contact the seller directly and ask them to send you a photo of the car’s factory plate.
The production date can also be found in the bottom right corner of the vehicle registration certificate. If the car is less than 3 years old, you may be required to pay higher customs duties when importing it into Russia. So first, on the website, select a vehicle age of 3 to 5 years. Then ask the seller for a photo of the car’s ID plate to confirm its age based on the production date.
The factory plate on the car below shows the production date as March 2021, which means the vehicle is 4 years old.
Let’s continue. By default, the system selects the region where the vehicle is located as your city. But to find more available cars, we change the region setting to cover the entire country. In this case, 259 vehicles are shown. You can still narrow down the selection by choosing your preferred colour — for example, black — and your desired configuration, such as all-wheel drive. Once you apply these two filters, you’ll notice that the number of available cars becomes smaller. On this website, we applied the following filters: Nationwide, Volkswagen, Tanyue, 3–5 years old, All-wheel drive, Black — and the result was 127 filtered vehicles.
Next, you can check the price and mileage to see if they meet your expectations. After that, you can move forward and contact the dealership. For example, this particular car is priced at ¥107,900 (approximately $14,900 USD) and has only 42,000 kilometres on the odometer.
When you open the vehicle’s listing page, you’ll find photos, configuration details, a description of the car’s condition, and the seller’s contact information. Most sellers on these platforms only deal with domestic Chinese customers, as they don’t have the qualification to export vehicles.
There’s no live chat feature with the dealer on the listing page. You can either call them via a protected phone number or leave your number and request a callback. To proceed with export, you’ll need to confirm the vehicle’s condition and arrange the shipping yourself. This requires an independent export service provider who can handle vehicle inspection, transport, customs clearance, and international payment processing.
Any Other Second Hand Car Websites?
Of course, in addition to this website, you can also visit another platform: www.dongchedi.com and select the used car section.
There is also Guazi Used Cars (https://www.guazi.com/). It is recommended to browse this site using the translation feature in the Google browser on a mobile phone. Vehicle information is not accessible when using a PC.
We hope you found this guide helpful and that it gave you a clearer understanding of how to browse and choose a used car on Chinese websites in 2025. Whether you’re looking for a reliable family SUV, a compact city car, or something unique that’s only available in China, the process starts with knowing where and how to search.
If you’ve found this information useful, we highly recommend bookmarking our page. We’ll continue to publish easy-to-follow guides, share important updates on the Chinese car market, and offer tips that make the buying process smoother and safer — especially for international buyers.
Stay tuned for more practical advice on how to confidently buy and import used cars from China!