The first used car bought 100% online and paid for by card

Thursday, 9 July 2026, 22:37:37. By then KocsiGuru's car dealership in Budaörs, near Budapest, had been closed for three and a half hours. Yet a customer still bought a car from them: on kereskedes.kocsiguru.hu they looked at the used car they had chosen, ordered it online and paid for it by card. No phone calls, no haggling in person, no pile of paperwork. We built the system it happened on: both the web portal and the ERP behind it were developed by APPON.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case in Hungary in which a used car was bought 100% online and paid for by bank card. This article is about how we got here, and why it is more than just an "Add to cart" button.

What exactly happened?

The customer went through the same steps as anyone in an online store, except that here the "product" was a used car worth several million forints:

1. They chose the car from KocsiGuru's online stock, filtering by category (city car, SUV, estate, MPV, etc.) and price.
2. They studied the listing: photo gallery, technical data, equipment, MOT validity, cosmetic condition report.
3. They saw the full total: besides the price of the car, the registration transfer fee and the dealer fee are shown on separate lines and added up, so there were no surprises at the end.
4. They added the car to the cart and placed the order.
5. They paid by card on the bank's secure payment page.

At the moment of purchase nobody was sitting in the dealership, yet the transaction went through. This is exactly what we built the system for.

Why is this a big deal on the used car market?

We have been buying clothes, electronics and plane tickets online for years. Most people, however, still buy a used car by browsing ads, making phone calls, arranging a viewing, haggling on site and then paying in cash or by bank transfer. A used car is a difficult "webshop product":

• Every car is unique. No two cars have the same mileage, condition and equipment, so the listing has to do far more than an ordinary product page.
• A car can only be sold once. Once it has been paid for, it must disappear from the stock immediately, otherwise it gets sold twice.
• It takes trust. People only pay several million forints sight unseen if they get all the information and the payment is secure.
• The price is not just the price. Registration transfer, dealer fee, financing, part-exchange: all of these have to be transparent.

If any of these is missing, the customer picks up the phone instead. If all four are in place, they press the "Buy now" button. On 9 July, someone did.

What is behind it? Web portal and ERP in one system

We developed a web portal and an ERP system for KocsiGuru, built on APPON CMS. The key point is that the shop window and the back office are not two separate worlds: the website and the dealership team work from the same system.

For the customer: online car stock, just like an online store

• Searchable, categorised stock with special offers, weekly new arrivals and recommendations of similar cars.
• Detailed listings: gallery, technical data, equipment, documents, cosmetic condition report.
• A transparent total: car price, registration transfer fee and dealer fee in one place, added up.
• Several ways to buy: an enquiry, reserving the car for 72 hours, or buying it immediately with the cart.
• User accounts with registration and Google sign-in.

Payment: by card, securely

After placing the order, the customer is taken to the bank's encrypted payment page, where they pay by card. The card details are entered at the bank, not in the dealership's system, so the customer pays with the same level of security as in any large online store.

For the dealership: an ERP that ties everything together

Behind the online shop window, the ERP runs the dealership's operations. It ensures that the data of the cars shown on the website comes from the dealership's own records, and that an online order is not just an e-mail in someone's inbox, but part of the dealership's processes. For an online sale this is not a convenience feature but a basic requirement: without it you cannot sell cars securely at any time of day.

Roll with the Guru, even at half past ten at night

On Thursdays KocsiGuru is open until 7 pm. The purchase happened at 22:37. It is hard to show more clearly what a well-built online sales system means: the dealership can sell even when the gates are closed, and the customer decides when it suits them, from their own sofa.

This is not the end of personal service. At KocsiGuru there are still test drives, part-exchange, financing and warranties. Buying online is a new route for those who want to buy a car this way. And the fact that someone actually went all the way through it shows that there is demand for it.

What did we learn? What makes an online sales system work?

Whether you sell cars, machinery, property or any other high-value, unique product, the same rules apply:

• The website and the back-end system should be one whole. If stock has to be transferred to the website by hand, sooner or later mistakes will happen.
• Provide every piece of information. The more detailed the listing, the fewer questions remain that would make the customer call or hesitate.
• Make the total transparent. Hidden fees are the biggest enemy of trust.
• Payment should be secure and familiar. By card, on the bank's payment page, just as the customer is used to in other online stores.
• Leave the choice open. Enquiry, reservation, instant purchase: let everyone take the route that suits them.

Frequently asked questions

Can you buy a used car completely online in Hungary today?

Yes. On 9 July 2026, a customer did everything online on KocsiGuru's website, from choosing the car to paying by card. The system handles adding to the cart, placing the order and card payment.

Is it safe to pay for a car online by card?

Payment takes place on the bank's own encrypted payment page; the dealership's system never sees the card details. This is the same solution that large online stores use.

What is the difference between a webshop and a web portal + ERP system?

A simple webshop manages products and orders. In a web portal + ERP system, the website is connected to the company's entire operation: its records, its processes and its team's work. For unique, high-value products such as used cars, this is what makes secure online sales possible.

Do you only build systems like this for car dealerships?

No. We develop web portals, online stores and custom business systems built on APPON CMS for any industry where online sales need to be connected to the company's internal operations.

Do you need a system that sells even after closing time?

KocsiGuru's story shows that a well-designed web portal with an ERP behind it is not just a nice shop window, but a real sales channel. If your goal is also to let customers decide and pay at any time of day, take a look at our web portal development and webshop development services, or get in touch with us. If you would like to use grant funding for the development, it is also worth checking our grant opportunities.