The Best Sites to Sell a Used Car Online

Selling your car online can be more convenient and flexible than selling it in person. You can complete the entire car-selling process, or part of it, from the comfort of your home and at your own pace. Many online car-buying sites will even come to your home to pick up the car and hand you a check on the spot.

The best places to sell a used car online provide instant purchase offers, easy inspection and transaction processes, fast payment and decent help with financed and leased cars. Here’s an alphabetical list of the top players and what we think you should know about them.

» MORE: How much is your car worth?

Algo

Algo buys virtually any car in any condition. You sell the car directly to Algo, which is owned by a company called Auto Lenders, which is a dealership with 10 showrooms in Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. There’s a $125 administration fee if you don't buy a car from them, and there’s a $25 processing fee if your car is financed or leased.

» MORE: Read our review of Algo

AutoNation

AutoNation buys virtually any year, make or model of car. You sell the car directly to AutoNation, which has over 300 locations. Its instant offers are good for a week, and the company is one of the few to offer electronic payments (most of the companies we looked at only pay by check).

» MORE: How to sell your car yourself

AutoTrader

AutoTrader doesn't buy cars older than 1989, RVs, motorcycles, cars that don't run, police cars or cars with salvage titles. You sell the car directly to a dealer that is part of the AutoTrader network, which contains over 40,000 dealers. Its instant offers are good for a week, and you get paid when you drop off the car with the dealer buying your car. AutoTrader is owned by Cox Enterprises, which also owns Kelley Blue Book.

CarBrain

CarBrain is a good option for people with cars that are damaged, old, exotic or that don’t run. You sell the car directly to CarBrain, which does a virtual inspection and picks up your car. Its instant offers are good for a week, and you get paid when it picks up your car.

CarGurus

You can sell your car either 100% online to CarGurus or to a local dealer. Instant offers from CarGurus are good for seven days or 250 miles, whichever comes first (however, the deadline varies if you go the local-dealer route). However, it doesn’t buy cars with salvage titles, extensive damage, high mileage or old age, as well as exotic or rare models, non-drivable cars or cars that have “no local interest.” CarGurus will help handle the paperwork around paying off your outstanding car loan if you have one.

» MORE: Read our review of CarGurus

Carmax

Carmax is a well-known brand that claims it will buy “pretty much any car.” Its instant offers are good for seven days. CarMax cannot purchase cars leased through Nissan, Infiniti, Honda, Toyota, GM, Ford, Mazda, Volvo, Lincoln, Acura, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Tesla.

» MORE: Read our review of CarMax

Cars.com

Cars.com is a platform for a network of over 19,000 car dealers who buy and sell cars. You can use the site to get an instant quote from a local dealer or create a free listing to sell your car yourself. If you’re looking for an instant offer, beware that the offers are only good for three days, and the list of limitations is long: no cars older than 17 years, no hail damage, no “substantial mechanical or electrical damage,” nothing that’s been for sale longer than 45 days, no commercial or government vehicles, no motorcycles, no RVs, no cars with salvage titles and more.

Carvana

Carvana is a well-known car dealer that buys cars that run and that are newer than 1992. It has over 300 locations, and its offers are good for seven days. It’s one of the few buyers we evaluated that can pay via direct deposit, which is usually faster than waiting for a check to clear (you can still get a check instead if you want). Carvana will pay your loan provider directly when it buys the car, but whether it can help you pay off a leased car depends on the car. You’ll need to take the car to Carvana for inspection and drop-off, but you can have them pick it up for an extra fee.

» MORE: Read our review of Carvana

GivemetheVIN

Givemethevin is a wholesaler that purchases cars and resells them to other dealers, dealer groups and other countries. It’s one of the few sites we evaluated that also buys commercial vehicles and buses, RVs, trailers and cars with salvage titles. It’s also the only site we found that said its offers are negotiable. There are some important downsides, however. Offers are only good for 12 hours, which is far shorter than other sites we evaluated. Plus, sellers should beware of the $250 fee for not being honest about the car’s condition or to change their minds once they’ve accepted an offer.

» MORE: Read our review of GivemetheVIN

Peddle

Peddle’s notable feature is that it sometimes pays cash for cars. It doesn’t buy motorcycles, scooters, RVs, campers, trailers or boats. You sell the car directly to Peddle, which does a virtual inspection and picks up your car for free. Its instant offers are good for a week, and you get paid when it picks up your car.

» MORE: Read our review of Peddle

TrueCar

TrueCar is a well-known platform for a network of over 13,000 car dealers who buy and sell cars. You get an instant quote from a car dealer and then take the car there for inspection and to do the transaction. Be prepared to hustle, though: offers on the TrueCar platform are only good for a relatively short three days.

Alternative options for selling your car online

• Kelley Blue Book arranges instant cash offers through its network of partner dealers. Information is sent to nearby dealers for bids. Unlike Kelley Blue Book's widely known estimates of values, Instant Cash Offers provides an offer to purchase. Dealers are free to adjust value if vehicles do not meet descriptions. Offers are good for seven days, and you must take the vehicle to the purchasing dealer.

• Shift buys (and sells) cars online, including cars with loans, and may make offers on leased vehicles. Offers are good for seven days, and it offers free returns for seven days on purchased vehicles. Shift also arranges financing, and picks up as well as delivers vehicles. But note that the company charges a service fee.

• If your online offers don't meet your needs consider selling your used vehicle to other consumers via Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.

How to sell your car online

1. Find out how much your car is worth.

To do this, most online car-buying platforms require you to enter the car’s 17-digit vehicle identification number — or its license plate number — and confirm the make, model, mileage, color and operating condition.

You’ll also typically have to answer detailed questions about the car’s condition and history like the following: Has it been in an accident or flooded? Does it have aftermarket modifications? Does it have scratches or dents? Bear in mind that offers from online retailers may not always reflect what your car is worth; it's what these particular buyers are willing to pay at that particular moment. For example, you might get a lower offer for an older car, a high-mileage car, a car with mechanical issues or a salvage title car because such vehicles are typically not easily resold or financed.

2. Decide whether you are trading or simply selling.

Most online car buyers also sell cars directly to consumers and say their trade-in price does not differ from their purchase price, meaning they won’t buy trade-in from you for a certain amount, then sell it for twice that amount.

3. Disclose current loans or leases.

Many, but not all, online car-buying companies will buy a vehicle that you are still making payments on, and some will buy out a lease if the manufacturer allows it. Use an auto lease buyout calculator to see if the offer is fair. But if you owe more than the offer you receive, you must provide funds to make up the difference.

4. Provide photos of the vehicle.

Alternatively, some companies may arrange to view the vehicle in person to inspect its condition. Or a company representative might wait to inspect the vehicle at the pickup or drop-off time. If the vehicle’s condition is worse than you described, the company could change its offer. Note that some buyers may not ask for this step until you have accepted an initial offer.

What to expect if you sell your car online

• After you’ve accepted an offer, a representative will usually email or call to arrange a time to either pick up the vehicle at your home or have you drop it off at a pickup point. Some companies may charge an administrative fee, deducted from the offer price.

• You might also have to pay a fee if you back out of the signed sale agreement, so ask in advance.

• Each company handles title and registration paperwork in its own way, but expect to upload copies of your registration, title and driver’s license to get the ball rolling.

• Sales contracts, odometer statements and power of attorney may arrive for electronic signature or through overnight mail.

• Most companies will hand you a payment when they take the vehicle, typically via a check or a bank draft, which can take several days to clear. Some offer payment via direct deposit or even cash.

• Before handing off your car, be sure to remove the license plates and clear the car of any personal items and leave only the items that came with the car when you bought it, such as the car manual, keys and car mats.