Wondering where to sell your car online?
The internet today is full of options, from Craigslist and other generic marketplaces to Cars.com and other lead generation sites for car dealers — and there’s something out there for every type of seller. In this article, we’ll talk about a few of the most-used sites for online car sales.
Autotrader, Cars.com, Etc
Sites like these cater to dealerships who want to advertise their inventory in bulk and receive leads from potentially interested consumers. These sites typically have millions of vehicles for sale by dealers and many of the dealers pay for premium placement to make sure their ads appear at the top of the pages. This large inventory and selection is great if you’re shopping for a vehicle, but not so great if you’re looking to sell.
Dealers advertising millions of vehicles and paying to have them appear first means that your vehicle listing will show up many pages later and most likely never be found by a potential buyer.
These sites are not designed to provide success for a private party seller.
CarMax & Other Used Car Dealerships
CarMax and some other dealerships offer more of a “traditional” car-selling experience as they connect private party sellers with physical dealerships to make you an offer.
This is both the benefit and downside of selling your car to CarMax or other traditional dealerships.
Essentially, it’s like trading in a car at a dealership (even if you’re not actually trading for another car.) Therefore, you’ll be negotiating with professional automotive negotiators at a dealership and you’ll have to settle for a wholesale or below offer. These dealerships will then either take your car to a wholesale auto auction and make money on it or they’ll resell it themselves and make the money that you could have made if you sold it yourself.
Facebook, Craigslist and Generic Marketplaces
Social media and other generic online marketplaces that allow you to sell any type of item are another way to get your vehicle in front of potential buyers. These marketplaces were not designed for vehicle sales though, so there’s no help, no tips, no tutorials and no advice on how to properly purchase or sell a vehicle. To them, your vehicle is no different than a baseball card or used baby clothes.
These sites are typically popular among private buyers and sellers of mainly junk, near junk or title history problem vehicles. They are also very well known for scams and even assaults. Do a quick online search for social media automobile scams and you’ll find pages and pages of people who have been scammed when trying to sell their vehicles. From phony certified checks to non-existent vehicles and everything in between.
Again, you never truly know who you’re dealing with on these vast marketplace sites so safety is large concern.
The Best Place to Sell Your Car Online: Motobyo
While you have tons of options for where to sell your car online, most of those options come with significant risks. Big-name car-selling platforms don’t care about private party sellers because they’re too busy catering to dealers, car dealerships are out to buy your vehicle for as little as possible so they can mark up the price and social media platforms can make you vulnerable to scams and other bad experiences.
So, where should you sell your car online? With Motobyo — the only automotive eCommerce marketplace designed to help both buyers and sellers succeed.
We empower used car buyers and sellers with every service and solution needed to complete a safe, convenient and transparent vehicle purchase. That includes certified vehicle inspections by top mechanics, identity verification services, financing options, mechanical protection plans, and much more. Our platform was designed to make selling used cars easy and convenient, so the listing process takes only a few minutes. Check out how our platform works!
Sell your used car with Motobyo, either online or for cash, for a secure and seamless experience that guarantees you get the most value for your pre-loved car.
