Why Use Auction Sites to Sell My Car in 2023

January 26, 2023
2:31 pm

If you’ve decided now is the time to sell your car, but you don’t know where to sell it, you’re in the right place! Using auction sites to sell your car not only streamlines the entire process, but can help you get the most value for your pre-loved car. It’s also an equally efficient experience for the buyer. Of course, there are plenty of other reasons to use an auction site to sell your car. Keep reading to learn more.

Top 6 Reasons to Use an Auction Site to Sell Your Car

While the thought of buying and selling via a car auction website can be a bit confusing for some, it is surprisingly simple and comes with a laundry list of advantages. This is especially true when you consider how stressful and time-consuming it can be to sell a used car privately.

1. The Auction Website Handles the Marketing

Listing your used car on an auction site isn’t the same as selling on Craigslist or some other social platform that doesn’t specialize in automobile sales. With digital classified sites like Craigslist, you create your post and hope for the best. You also have to refresh it daily to make sure it doesn’t get buried under the other car listings.

When you list your car on an auction site that specializes in automobiles, they make sure that your listing gets the proper attention. Auction sites have the capacity to cast a larger net to target a much larger buyer pool because they have the marketing tools available to garner attention for their company online. One of the many ways used car online auction sites pique interest is by giving the seller (you) the option to sell your car for the highest bid or accept a cash offer while the auction is live.

Essentially, they’re able to generate more interest — locally and across state lines — because they can appeal to buyers looking for your specific vehicle as well as buyers looking to place a bid and set their own price.

2. They Handle All the Paperwork

Aside from marketing, some used car auction sites also take care of the car paperwork for you. Of course, you have to supply them with the proper information, and they’ll have to collect some documents from you. Beyond that, however, they can make sure all of the paperwork is taken care of so that all you and the buyer have to do is sign on the dotted line, even when it comes to transferring the car over.

The types of paperwork these sites handle often includes:

And they can even offer car insurance, which you legally have to have, and service plans for your used car!

3. You’ll Be Safe From Scammers

One of the top reasons to use an online secure auction platform to sell your car is safety. Not only does the auction site handle all of the marketing and paperwork but they also offer a level of fraud protection for both buyers and sellers. Simply put, secure auction platforms have the means to provide 3 key services to avoid getting scammed. These services include:

Identity Verification: This verifies both the seller’s and the buyer’s identity to ensure everyone is who they say they are
Payment Protection: This ensures that payments are secure.
Certified Inspections: Certified technicians go through detailed inspection checklists to ensure that the car being sold to the buyer is in expected mechanical condition, which also ensures the seller gets what their car is worth.

4. You Get to Keep 100% of Your Money

When you sell your car privately, you may have to deal with lowball offers from potential buyers that do not understand the vehicle value. When you trade your car in or sell it through a dealership, you may again have to deal with lowball offers from professional negotiators who plan to mark up your vehicle and resell it.

One of the many pros of using an online automobile auction platform is that you get to list your car for exactly what it’s worth and keep every penny. This is because most of the auction sites charge a listing fee to auction your vehicle upfront rather than taking a percentage of your sale price. Vehicle auction platform fees do vary and many of the specialty auction sites or classic car site do take a percentage of the sale price, so check all terms before listing your vehicle.

Don’t forget, with car auction websites, sellers also have the choice to set a reserve. This means you can choose to sell your car once the bidding reaches a specific amount. In other words, you get more control over how much you get for your used car.

5. You Get to Skip the Dealership

We know that not all car salespeople are out to get us. However, dealing with car dealerships in general, can be an incredibly exhausting waste of time.

Dealerships are in business to make money. They have facilities to pay for, employees to pay and lights to keep on. Dealerships need to earn a profit to stay in business and that profit comes from you.

They buy or trade your vehicle for as little as possible and resell it for market value. There’s nothing wrong with that. Dealerships do provide valuable services to the community and they are not a charitable organization. However, selling your vehicle on your own will allow you to cut out this middleman and pocket the money that the dealership would normally earn.

6. They’ll Save You Time & Effort

When you auction your used car online with the right platform, all you have to do is provide the basic vehicle information and post some photos. This process takes only a few minutes and your vehicle is made available for potential buyers to view and place their bids. The auction site takes care of creating the right exposure and putting your vehicle in front of the right audience of motivated buyers.

There is also a set amount of days that the auction listing stays live, so bidders and buyers know that your vehicle will only be available for a limited time. A private party seller who chooses a general classified listing site instead of an auction site will generally see their vehicle take 75 days to sell as opposed to a week with an auction listing. An auction listing can save you two months of time, that’s big deal.

Ready to Sell Your Car? Get an Estimate Now!

Need more reasons to use an auction site to sell your car? How about this one: With Motobyo you have the option to sell your car for a quick cash offer, list it in a standard auction, or list it in a premium auction. Whether you need quick cash or want to get more than your car’s trade-in value, we can help you auction your car online today.