Best Sites to Sell Your Car Online in 2026

Best Sites to Sell Your Car Online in 2026 (Including Damaged and Non-Running Cars)

We compared 14 places to sell a car online on the things that actually decide the outcome: whether they buy the car themselves, whether they'll take it damaged, how long the offer holds, how fast the money lands, and what it costs you. Then we wrote down what happens when the big instant-offer players say no.

By Rudy Rodriguez, Automotive Expert at CarBrain · Reviewed by Nancy Crum, Automotive Expert · Published August 14, 2026 · Every price, fee and policy below was checked against the platform's own published terms in August 2026.

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The Short Version

If you only read one thing:

• Car is damaged, wrecked, non-running, or already turned down by someone else on this page, and you hold the title: this is exactly what we built CarBrain for. Get your offer — it takes about 90 seconds and holds for 7 days, so there's time to compare it against Peddle and Wheelzy too.
• Car runs, clean title, newer than 1992: get offers from CarMax and Carvana, and list it free on Cars.com at the same time. This isn't a car we're the right buyer for, and we'd rather tell you that now.
• You don't have the title: start with Peddle or Wheelzy, not us. We require a signed title in your name, full stop.
• Classic, collector or genuinely rare: Bring a Trailer or eBay Motors. Instant-offer companies are structurally bad at pricing these.
• Vroom and Shift are gone. Any list still recommending them was not updated. Vroom wound down its used-vehicle ecommerce business in January 2024 and is now a lending and data company; Shift filed Chapter 11 in October 2023.

Compare All 14 at a Glance

This is the table we wished existed when we started researching. Two columns here appear on no other comparison we could find: whether the platform accepts a damaged or non-running car, and how long the offer actually holds. Those are the two facts that determine whether the rest of the process is worth starting.

How We Evaluated These

We're a car buyer, not a review site, so the honest framing is this: we ran the same checks a seller would run, using each company's own published terms rather than marketing copy or third-party summaries.

• Source of truth. Every claim in the table above comes from the platform's own site, help centre, or in Copart's case its published consignment agreement. Where a company's site is fully JavaScript-gated and we couldn't read its terms directly — Carvana is the notable one — we've flagged it in the entry rather than quietly using a third-party number.
• The five fields that decide the outcome. Offer validity, payout method and speed, condition and title requirements, fees, and geographic coverage. These are the fields sellers get burned on. Most comparison articles cover fees and stop.
• Complaint patterns, not star ratings. We read BBB complaint filings and state regulator actions rather than aggregate review scores, because the useful signal is what specifically goes wrong, not an average.
• Who the seller is. We evaluated for a private individual selling one car, not a dealer or fleet. That's why IAA isn't on the list: it has no consumer on-ramp, whatever some roundups suggest.
• What we did not test. We did not sell a car through each platform and compare the payouts. Nobody in this category has, and any article claiming otherwise is worth a second look. Offers move constantly with wholesale conditions, so a single head-to-head from one month tells you very little.

For context on those wholesale conditions: Cox Automotive put the average used-vehicle listing price at $27,027 in June 2026, up 6% year over year and the highest since summer 2023, with the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index at 212.9. Values are up, which is good news if you're selling, and it means an offer you got six months ago is stale.

The 14 Places to Sell Your Car Online

Our pick — with caveats

1. CarBrain

Best for damaged, wrecked and non-running cars when you have the title.

We built CarBrain for one situation: your car is worth less than it costs to fix, and the companies advertising instant offers won't touch it. We've been buying less-than-perfect cars online for over a decade across the contiguous United States, and the valuation model is built specifically for damage — collision, mechanical failure, flood, totaled, parts-only.

The mechanics: you submit the year, make, model, condition, photos and VIN. Many cars get a number back in about 90 seconds; some go to a human evaluator and come back shortly after. The offer holds for seven days. Accept it and we schedule pickup, usually within 24 to 48 hours. The driver hands you a check, you hand over the keys and the signed title, and the towing and title transfer are on us.

Pros

• Buys cars other instant-offer sites reject outright: non-running, wrecked, totaled, parts cars

• Free towing and free title transfer, no listing or service fees

• Offer held for 7 days, so you can shop it against Peddle and Wheelzy

• Paid by check at pickup, not after an inspection window

• Contiguous US coverage

Cons — the real ones

• We require a valid, signed title in your name. No title, no sale. Peddle and Wheelzy are more flexible here in some states, and if that's your situation you should start with them instead of us

• If your car is clean, running and late-model, we're the wrong choice. CarMax, Carvana or a dealer will beat our number. Our pricing advantage only exists on damage

• Not every vehicle gets a truly instant online number — some need manual evaluation

• The offer is condition-contingent. Describe the car accurately or it changes at pickup, same as everyone else on this list

• We don't handle lease buyouts, and we offer no real help with loan payoff paperwork

• Contiguous US only — no Alaska or Hawaii

2. Peddle

Best when the title is missing, branded or otherwise complicated.

Peddle is our closest direct competitor and it beats us on one thing that matters a great deal: title flexibility. Salvage, rebuilt and missing titles may still be eligible depending on your state, and Peddle maintains a state-by-state title guide running to roughly 150 articles — the most granular public resource on this we found anywhere. If you're in the "I don't know where the title is" situation, start there.

Offers hold seven days. You choose how you're paid: a check at pickup, ACH about three business days after, or a mailed check in 7 to 10 days. Towing is free, coverage is nationwide, and they'll take a car with no keys, no tires and a seized engine.

Pros

• Best title flexibility of the direct buyers — missing and branded titles eligible in many states

• Three payout options including immediate check at pickup

• Free towing, no fees, nationwide

• Genuinely takes anything: no keys, no tires, no engine

Cons

• Offer reductions at pickup are the dominant theme in their BBB complaint file — 168 complaints over three years despite an A+ accredited rating. Documented cases include $845 cut to $765 over an unverifiable odometer, and $1,280 cut to $600 on arrival over a disputed non-starting claim

• Complaints also cite handwritten checks triggering bank fraud holds, and no-show carriers

• Their pattern on disputes is a small courtesy payment rather than honouring the original quote

3. Wheelzy

Best for cash on the spot and the loosest title requirements.

Wheelzy buys in all 50 states, takes anything from 1981 onward, and may buy without a title depending on where you are. Two things are unusual and genuinely good: they'll pay cash, not just a check, at pickup, and they don't put a countdown on the offer — their stated policy is to hold your number available as long as they're able, rather than the industry-standard seven days.

Pros

• Cash or check handed to you at pickup

• No expiry clock on the offer

• All 50 states, free towing

• May buy without a title in some states

Cons

• 1981 model-year floor rules out genuinely old vehicles

• Wheelzy states there's no bait-and-switch and drivers pay the agreed amount. At least one independent review contradicts this, noting the final price may be adjusted after a closer inspection. Treat the no-adjustment promise as the company's claim rather than a guarantee

4. Carvana

Best for a clean, drivable car that still has a loan on it.

Carvana is very good at the thing we're bad at: a straightforward, running, reasonably modern car. The loan payoff handling is a real strength — they'll deal with the lender directly, which is exactly the paperwork we don't help with. The offer holds seven days and they'll collect the car from your driveway if you're near one of their hubs.

A note on sourcing: Carvana's site, including its own help centre, is fully JavaScript-gated and returned no readable terms to us. Everything in this entry is from secondary sources, and we'd rather tell you that than present it as verified. The widely repeated "7 days or 1,000 miles" cap in particular — we could only confirm the 7 days.

Pros

• Handles loan payoff and lender paperwork directly

• At-home pickup near their hubs, no store visit

• Strong on clean, drivable, late-model cars — likely to beat us on price for those

• 7-day offer

Cons

• Your car must be safe to drive and test-drive, and reportedly newer than 1992. Non-running, wrecked and salvage cars are out

• Connecticut's Attorney General settled with Carvana for $1.5 million in January 2025 following hundreds of complaints, with findings that expressly included delayed payments to consumers who sold their vehicles to Carvana, plus title and registration delays

• 4,950 BBB complaints over three years, and not BBB accredited

• Inspection at pickup can adjust the offer

5. CarMax

Best if you want to leave with payment in hand today.

CarMax will buy your car whether or not you buy one from them, and the payment experience is the cleanest in the category: verification happens at the store, and you walk out with a bank draft. The offer holds seven days, which makes it a useful benchmark even if you sell elsewhere.

Their published position on adjustments is refreshingly plain: offers change only if the car's condition, use or history differs from what you told them. Reporting on real appraisals shows movement in both directions — one seller's $17,000 online number was cut by $2,500 in person, another received the full $17,000, and a Reddit user's CX-5 came in $1,500 higher in person than online. Describe the car accurately and you'll usually be fine.

Pros

• Paid on the spot by bank draft after verification

• Nationwide store network

• Adjustments go both ways, and the policy is published

• Offers are firm and non-negotiable, so there's no haggling

Cons

• Requires an in-person appraisal — no fully remote sale

• Home pickup isn't available everywhere and distance restrictions and fees can apply

• They don't publish year, mileage or salvage cutoffs, so "most cars qualify, some we'll ask to see" is all you get up front

• Sellers commonly report nitpicking on body condition and tires

6. Cars.com

Best free private listing.

Cars.com is the only major platform here where a private listing costs nothing at all — their terms state plainly that whether or not you sell, no fees are incurred. That makes it the obvious thing to run in parallel with an instant offer: list it free, and if nobody bites in two weeks, take the cash number.

Pros

• Private listing is genuinely free, with no success fee

• Instant offer available as a fallback, paid by a local dealer

• Partners with Caramel for the DMV paperwork

Cons

• The instant offer holds only 3 business days — the shortest window of anyone here, and not enough time to properly shop it

• Cars.com doesn't buy the car; a dealer does, and it's contingent on their physical inspection

• Instant offer excludes cars roughly 17 years and older, hail damage, substantial mechanical or electrical damage, and salvage titles

7. CarGurus

Best dealer offer if your car is clean and you're in a covered market.

Worth correcting something most comparison articles still get wrong: CarGurus no longer offers private-party listings. Their own help documentation says it directly. It is now a dealer-offer channel only. If you read elsewhere that you can list your car privately on CarGurus, that article is out of date.

Pros

• 7 days or 250 additional miles, whichever comes first

• Dealers often pay same day, by check or electronic transfer

• Free

Cons

• No private listings any more

• Long exclusion list: branded titles, extensive damage, high mileage, advanced age, rare or exotic, non-drivable, or simply no local dealer interest

• Offers exist in select markets only, not nationwide

8. Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer

Best fast benchmark before you commit to anyone.

KBB never buys your car. The Instant Cash Offer is redeemed at a participating dealer, who inspects it and may raise or lower the number. As a free sanity check on everyone else's offer, it's useful. As a selling channel, it's a referral.

Pros

• Free, fast, and the most recognised valuation brand in the category

• 7-day validity, and you can resubmit after it lapses

• The dealer inspection can raise the offer, not only lower it

Cons

• KBB doesn't buy anything — you still have to find a participating dealer

• Ineligible: salvage and grey-market titles, taxis and limos, unresolved recalls, very low value cars, and anything that's been at auction in the last 45 days

• Not available in every metro, or for every make and model

9. Edmunds

Best second benchmark, especially if CarMax is convenient.

Edmunds appraisals are dealer-fulfilled and redeemable at CarMax. Worth knowing why: CarMax has owned Edmunds since June 2021. Treat an Edmunds number as a CarMax-adjacent number rather than a fully independent second opinion.

Pros

• No photos or phone number required to get a number

• 7-day validity, redeemable at CarMax

• Free

Cons

• Not independent of CarMax

• Doesn't buy the car; inspection-contingent

• No path for damaged or non-running vehicles

10. Facebook Marketplace

Best top-dollar option on a cheap running car, if you'll put in the work.

For a running car under about $8,000, Marketplace will usually beat every instant offer on this page, because you're selling retail instead of wholesale. Local vehicle sales are free — the 5% fee people mention applies to shipped checkout orders, which cars aren't.

Pros

• Free, enormous local audience, no condition restrictions

• Best realistic price on an inexpensive running car

Cons

• No escrow, no buyer or seller protection on local vehicle deals

• Fake cashier's checks, reversible Zelle and CashApp payments, and curbstoners are all common

• You handle photos, messages, test drives, negotiation and the title transfer yourself

• Meet-up safety is entirely on you

11. Craigslist

Best for reaching local mechanics and project-car hunters.

Craigslist is still the place where people looking for a cheap running car or a fixable wreck actually look. The by-owner vehicle listing fee has been $5 since 2019; we weren't able to re-confirm the current figure directly, so check before you post.

Pros

• Cheap, no condition limits, strong local reach for project cars

• Buyers here understand and expect damaged vehicles

Cons

• Scam density is high and there's no platform protection at all

• No structure — pricing, paperwork and payment are entirely yours to manage

12. eBay Motors

Best for enthusiast, modified and rare vehicles with national demand.

If your car has an audience beyond your metro area, eBay Motors is where that audience is. Fees changed on 15 April 2026: vehicles over $15,000 cost $79 to list, $15,000 or under cost $34, and it's all-inclusive — no final value fee when it sells. There's a 2.8% processing fee on the buyer's deposit. Listings created before that date still run on the old three-tier package pricing.

Pros

• All-in listing fee with no commission on the sale price

• National audience, up to 40 photos, AutoCheck included on cars and trucks

• No condition restrictions — salvage and project cars are welcome

Cons

• You pay whether or not it sells

• Shipping, payment and paperwork coordination is on you

• Poor fit for an ordinary commuter car with no enthusiast interest

13. Bring a Trailer

Best for collector cars, including unfinished projects with real interest.

Bring a Trailer is curated, which is the whole point — the audience is knowledgeable and the comment threads do genuine price discovery. If your car is interesting, this will beat any instant offer by a wide margin. If it isn't, they won't accept the submission.

Pros

• The most engaged collector audience anywhere, and it shows in final prices

• Even non-running project cars do well if the car itself is desirable

Cons

• Curated — most ordinary cars are rejected

• Listing fee, and you must produce a thorough photo and history package

• Slow relative to an instant offer

14. Copart

Best for a high-value salvage vehicle when you can afford to wait.

Individuals genuinely can sell through Copart, despite frequent claims to the contrary. Understand what it is, though: it's a consignment auction. You keep ownership until it sells, you pay fees whichever way it goes, and the money is slow. On a high-value salvage car this can beat a direct-buy offer. On a $600 junker the fees eat the difference.

Pros

• Competitive bidding can beat a fixed offer on desirable salvage

• Takes salvage, flood, fire and wrecked vehicles

• Nationwide yard network

Cons

• Payment takes 7 to 21 business days after the buyer pays — by far the slowest option here

• Real seller fees: $85 + 2% on Pure Sale, or $125 + 1% on Minimum Bid, plus $10 for the title history review and $75 for "Make an Offer"

• Storage runs $20 per day after 7 days, and re-running the car costs $35 after three free attempts

• Requires a valid, transferable, unencumbered title and sole ownership

• Tow fees apply on branded and salvage vehicles

What to Do When Carvana, CarMax or CarGurus Turns Your Car Down

This is the part every other comparison leaves out. The big instant-offer platforms publish their exclusions and then stop, as though being declined is the end of the story. It isn't — it's the beginning of a different one. Here's what each rejection actually means and where to go next.

The Title Question Nobody Else Answers

We checked all eight of the top-ranking comparison articles on this topic. Not one of them says anything about title requirements — not liens, not lost titles, not salvage versus rebuilt. It's the single most common reason a sale falls apart on the day, so here it is.

Buyer Policies Differ Sharply, and This Is Worth Shopping

• CarBrain requires a valid, signed title in your name. We're the strictest of the three direct buyers here. We say so plainly because there's no point wasting your afternoon.
• Peddle says salvage, rebuilt and missing titles may still be eligible in many states, and publishes a state-by-state guide.
• Wheelzy may buy without a title depending on your location.

If the Lender Still Holds the Title

Normal, and solvable. The payoff amount comes out of the sale and the lender releases the title. Carvana handles this well. We don't help much with the paperwork, which is a genuine gap on our side.

If the Title Is Genuinely Lost

Start with a duplicate title from your DMV — it's the cheapest and simplest route when the car is genuinely in your name, and it usually takes a week or two.

If You Can't Get a Duplicate — Bonded Titles

A bonded, or surety, title is a normal state title with a surety bond attached, so anyone who later proves a prior claim is compensated from the bond. It's registerable, insurable and sellable, and carries a "bonded" notation for typically three to five years.

• Cost: the bond premium runs 1–2% of the appraised value with a minimum around $100, plus a $25–$100 appraisal and DMV fees. Roughly $200–$300 on a $5,000 car, and $500–$800 on a $25,000 one.
• New York and Hawaii don't offer bonded titles. Both require a quiet title court action instead — a civil suit that typically takes three to six months and usually costs more than bonding would have.
• Selling during the bond period: your buyer receives the same bonded title. Some lenders won't finance a bonded vehicle, and buyers will negotiate on it.

How to Actually Run the Sale

The process below works whatever the car's condition. It's what we'd tell a friend.

1. Find the title first. Before you get a single quote. If it's missing, deal with that now — it's the longest-lead item by far and it determines which buyers are even available to you.

2. Write down the VIN and take honest photos. The VIN is 17 characters, on the title, the driver's-side dashboard, or the door frame by the driver's seat. Photograph the damage clearly rather than hiding it. Every offer on this page is condition-contingent, so a flattering photo just moves the disappointment to pickup day.

3. Get three numbers, not one. They're free and most hold for seven days, so there's no reason not to. For a damaged car: CarBrain, Peddle, Wheelzy. For a clean one: CarMax, Carvana, and a free Cars.com listing running alongside.

4. Check the expiry dates. Cars.com gives you three business days. CarGurus counts miles as well as days. Most of the rest give seven. Line them up so they overlap.

5. Compare the true net, not the headline. Subtract towing if it isn't free, subtract listing and consignment fees, and factor in how long you'll wait. Copart's headline can look excellent until you deduct $85 plus 2% plus storage and then wait three weeks.

6. Never release the car before payment. This is the one rule with no exceptions. The check, the cash or the confirmed transfer comes first, then the keys and the signed title. A buyer who wants it the other way round is telling you something.

7. Remove your plates and cancel the insurance after the car is gone and the title is signed over, not before.

8. File the release of liability with your state DMV. It's a five-minute form and it's what stops you being liable for tickets and tolls the car collects after it leaves.

Watch Out for These

• Anyone who won't give a firm number after seeing photos and the VIN. With those two things, a legitimate buyer can commit. Vagueness at this stage means the number is going to move later.
• "Bring it in for an inspection first, then we'll quote." Salvage buyers do not need to see the car before quoting. Getting you and your car to their yard is the point.
• Payment after pickup, or "we'll mail the check." Mailed payment is a legitimate option at Peddle if you choose it. It should never be a condition the buyer imposes.
• Reviews that mention underpayment at pickup. Read the one and two-star reviews specifically for this, on BBB and Trustpilot. It's the highest-signal complaint in this industry.
• Lists still recommending Vroom, Shift or CarLotz. All three are gone. It tells you the article hasn't been touched in two years and nothing in it can be trusted.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best site to sell a car online?

It depends entirely on the car's condition. For a clean, running car newer than 1992, CarMax and Carvana give the strongest combination of price and speed. For a damaged, wrecked or non-running car with a title, CarBrain, Peddle and Wheelzy are the three that will actually make an offer. For a classic or enthusiast car, Bring a Trailer or eBay Motors will beat any instant offer. There is no single best site, which is why we built the comparison table above around condition rather than a ranking.

Who buys cars that don't run?

CarBrain, Peddle and Wheelzy all buy non-running vehicles and tow them at no cost to you. Copart will auction one on consignment. Carvana, CarGurus, KBB Instant Cash Offer and Cars.com all require the vehicle to be drivable and will decline it.

Can I sell my car without a title?

Sometimes, and it depends on your state and your buyer. Peddle and Wheelzy may buy without a title in certain states. CarBrain cannot — we require a valid, signed title in your name. The usual routes are a duplicate title from your DMV, or a bonded title where a surety bond is attached to a fresh title. Bonded titles run roughly $200–$300 on a $5,000 car. New York and Hawaii don't issue them at all and require a quiet title court action instead.

How long do online car offers last?

Seven days is the standard: CarBrain, Peddle, Carvana, CarMax, KBB and Edmunds all use it. CarGurus gives 7 days or 250 additional miles, whichever comes first. Cars.com gives only 3 business days. Wheelzy doesn't set a fixed expiry and holds the offer open. Because most windows are the same length, you can comfortably collect several and compare them side by side.

Will they lower the offer when they pick up the car?

They can, and the trigger is always the same: the car's condition doesn't match what you described. CarMax states this openly and adjusts in both directions — there are documented cases of in-person appraisals coming in higher than the online number. Peddle's BBB file shows reductions at pickup as its most common complaint. The defence is straightforward: describe damage accurately and photograph it honestly, and note the VIN and mileage when you submit.

Is Vroom still buying cars in 2026?

No. Vroom wound down its ecommerce used-vehicle operations in January 2024 and now operates as an auto lending and data business through UACC and CarStory. It does not buy cars from consumers. Shift ceased used-car sales and filed Chapter 11 in October 2023, having absorbed CarLotz earlier that year. Any comparison article still listing these as options hasn't been updated.

Does CarGurus still let you list your car privately?

No. CarGurus' own help documentation states that it doesn't provide the option to list or sell your car privately on the site. It's a dealer-offer channel now. A number of widely-read comparison articles still say otherwise.

What's the fastest way to get paid?

CarMax pays by bank draft on the spot at the store. Wheelzy pays cash or check at pickup. CarBrain and Peddle both hand you a check when the driver collects the car. The slowest by a wide margin is Copart, at 7 to 21 business days after the buyer pays — because it's an auction, not a purchase.

Do I need to fix my car before selling it online?

Almost never worth it. Repairs rarely return their cost in a wholesale offer, and if you're selling to a damaged-car buyer they've already priced the damage in. The exception is a private listing on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, where a clean, detailed, running car does measurably better. Even then, cosmetic work only — don't put a new engine in a car you're about to sell.

Is it safe to sell a car online?

Selling to an established direct buyer is low risk, because payment and collection are handled by the company and the title transfer is documented. Private sales on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist carry real risk: fake cashier's checks, reversible app payments, and meeting strangers. The universal rule is that you never release the car or sign the title until payment is confirmed and in your hands.

So Where Should You Sell It?

If your car is damaged, wrecked, sitting dead in the driveway, or something Carvana, CarMax or CarGurus already turned down — this is the exact situation we built CarBrain for. Submit your year, make, model, condition, photos and VIN, and many cars get a number back in about 90 seconds. Accept it and we'll tow it free, usually within 24 to 48 hours, and hand you a check on the spot. No listing, no strangers coming to look at it, no fee for the tow or the title transfer. Get your offer — it costs nothing to see the number, and there's no obligation to take it.

We're confident enough in that number that we'd rather you check it than wonder about it: get a quote from Peddle and Wheelzy too, and take whichever of the three is best. That's exactly why our offer holds for a full seven days instead of expiring the same day.

If your car runs and it's clean and reasonably modern, you'll do better at CarMax or Carvana, and we said so earlier for a reason — we'd rather earn a customer on the cars we're actually best for. But if your car is less than perfect, start with us.

One thing to handle before any of this, whoever you end up selling to: find your title. It's the single most common reason a sale falls apart on pickup day.

Sources and verification. Platform terms were read from each company's own site or published documents in August 2026: CarBrain, Peddle, Wheelzy, CarMax, Cars.com, CarGurus, Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds and eBay Motors from their published help and fee pages; Copart from its Vehicle Consignment Agreement. Carvana's terms are secondary-sourced, as noted in its entry, because its site returned no readable content. Complaint data is from Better Business Bureau filings and the Connecticut Attorney General's January 2025 settlement announcement. Market figures are from Cox Automotive's Q2 2026 Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index and vAuto Live Market View. Vroom's status is from its own investor announcements, including its Q2 2026 results of 4 August 2026.

Disclosure. CarBrain buys damaged and non-running vehicles and is ranked first in this article for that specific use case. We have no financial relationship with any other company listed, and none of the outbound links are affiliate links.