Are you thinking about selling your used car? To get the most for your vehicle, you’ll need to find a buyer that will pay a fair price.
The used car buying and selling market is big and booming thanks to the popularity of used cars. This means that you have plenty of car-buying companies and resources to choose from.
Read ahead to learn about popular used car companies and what they have to offer.
CarBrain
With so many players in the used car-buying game, what sets CarBrain apart? For one, we have a unique way of calculating your estimate. We take factors into account that other used car buyers don’t such as:
Location.
Current market demand for the car and parts.
Wholesale value of your car pre-accident.
Type of damage.
We make sure the process is short and sweet: you won’t need to meet with prospective buyers or haggle for a great price. You sell straight to us, and we do all the work.
Moreover, we buy cars that are damaged, missing parts, or totaled. Other used car buyers are hesitant to buy such vehicles, but we welcome them.
This is our simple three-step selling process:
Enter your vehicle details and get an estimate in less than two minutes.
Accept our offer and schedule a free pick-up.
Hand over your title and keys and get paid!
Get a free quote from CarBrain today!
Our expert evaluators can help you get an accurate estimate for your car's value, FAST!
Carvana
Carvana is known for its glass towers full of vehicles found throughout the cities of the United States. They offer a sort of “vending machine” for cars.
Carvana provides a fully online platform for selling or trading your used car. Here’s how their process works:
Enter your car’s VIN and answer some questions.
Get an offer in minutes that’s valid for seven days.
Get cash or trade-in your car.
You can either drop off your car at a local Carvana location or schedule a pick-up.
With this service, you are selling directly to Carvana, so you don’t have to worry about creating and managing a listing. However, your estimate could be close to the lowball offer you’ll receive at a dealership.
Keep in mind: Carvana will not purchase a car that was produced before 1993.
CarMax
CarMax operates much like a traditional dealership but exclusively buys and sells used cars. In addition to an online service, CarMax has physical locations in 41 states where you can sell your car.
Because CarMax operates like a car dealership, you can also expect to receive an estimate that’s in the same ballpark as a typical dealership. CarMax prefers newer model used cars so if your car is more than 10 years old, you might not get a great offer. If your car is damaged, you might not get an offer at all.
To sell your car to CarMax, you can either set up an appraisal appointment at a nearby location or obtain an estimate online. Your offer is good for seven days. To finalize your sale, you’ll need to head to a CarMax location as they do not offer pick-up.
So, if there isn’t a location nearby, you won’t be able to sell your vehicle through CarMax.
Peddle
Peddle is an online car-selling platform that connects you with companies that are willing to buy your car—including junk cars. It’s like the middle ground between a private sale and a dealership.
Through Peddle, you’ll get an instant offer for your car as well as free pick-up within one week of accepting the estimate. You’ll get paid the same day that your car is towed.
eBay Motors
eBay Motors is a platform where you can sell your car much like you would sell old furniture. Just like with regular eBay, you can list your automobile for a set price or sell by auction.
If you’re selling locally, you won’t have to pay a listing fee; but, if you sell outside of your local area, you’ll have to pay between $19 and $79 to list. You can show between 12 and 24 photos of your car.
You’ll be able to get your car listing in front of millions of users and even provide a free vehicle history report for buyers to see.
Because this platform is based on private sales, you’ll have to put in all the effort into selling your car including pricing, listing, vetting buyers, preparing paperwork, and delivering the vehicle.
Autotrader
Autotrader is a popular site for buying and selling new, used, and certified used vehicles. It allows both private sales and trade-ins or sales with dealerships.
When selling to a dealership through Autotrader, the dealer will have to honor the Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer quote provided by Autotrader. However, the dealership will need to inspect your car before finalizing the sale which can affect the quoted price.
If you decide to sell to a private buyer instead, you’ll have to pay $49 to put up the listing. You’ll be able to post up to 30 photos of your vehicle as well as a free vehicle history report. Autotrader also offers free listing renewals for up to a year.
The downsides to Autotrader are found within its benefits. For instance, selling or trading into a dealership can yield a lower profit than a private sale. However, private selling through Autotrader can result in spam emails and unreliable buyers.
