La Centrale review

La Centrale is the car specialist in France, where Leboncoin is the generalist. Its company page traces it back to a 1969 classifieds paper, online since 1999, and calls it the first 100% automotive marketplace in France with 9 million unique visitors a month and 800,000 transactions a year. Since 2023, all of the group's vehicle buying and selling offers run through lacentrale.fr, and the group also owns Caradisiac, a car news site and forum. La Centrale says its price guide is the first in France, which helps when judging whether a dealer's asking price is reasonable. For an importer, it is the place to look for French dealer stock alongside private sales. The main website refused our automated checker, so we could not confirm its fees or buyer services and marked pricing as pending. Buyers wanting escrow payment on a private sale should compare Leboncoin. We compared documented features and published fees only.

Who it is for

Buyers in France who want a car-only marketplace

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Car-only marketplace for private and dealer listings
• Publishes its own car valuation, which it calls the first price guide in France
• Sister site Caradisiac for car news and reviews
• MaVoitureCash service for selling a car
• 9 million unique visitors a month, per its company page

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Calls itself the first 100% automotive marketplace in France
• Strength: Reports 800,000 transactions a year
• Strength: Group includes Caradisiac, a car news and forum site
• Weakness: The main site blocked our checker, so listing and service fees are unverified
• Weakness: France only, with a French interface
• Weakness: Fewer general buyer protections documented than Leboncoin's secure payment

Key facts

• Founded: 1969 as a print classifieds paper
• Website: Since 1999
• Visitors: 9 million unique per month
• Transactions: 800,000 per year
• Sister site: Caradisiac

Where it ranks

La Centrale is No. 7 in our Best Used Car Websites in Europe verdict.