What is the Best Car Selling Website?
Why is Selling Privately Better than Dealerships?
Here are the most popular online marketplaces:
We call these sites "meetingplaces" because they introduce you to prospective buyers and leave the two of you to navigate all the complexities of the transaction on your own.
Best Online Platforms for Private Car Sales
Here are the most popular online marketplaces:
Key Tips for Success Once You List
Closing the Sale and Getting Paid Safely
The Private Auto Advantage
Our standard why PA is the best section
Use a Transactional Marketplace
Competitors | PrivateAuto | |
Transactional tech | No innovation. These sites connect buyer and seller and leave them to navigate the transaction on their own. | A complete technology stack to facilitate every phase of the deal. |
Ease-of-use | Difficult to navigate | Intuitive to navigate |
Communication with buyers | Clunky, exposes contact info | Securely handled via the PrivateAuto app; keeps your personal info private. |
Identity verification | No | Yes. You can choose to deal with verified sellers only. |
Funds verification | No | Yes. Weed out tire-kickers by dealing with buyers whose funds are verified. |
Payments | No support. Buyer and seller handle payment off-platform; all options are inconvenient, risky, slow, or expensive. | PrivateAuto Pay allows you to receive any amount of money, instantly, with no transfer fees. Like Venmo—for high-dollar transactions. |
Escrow | Encourage you to use a third-party escrow service (inconvenient and expensive). | Self-administered escrow-like safeguards baked into the workflow. |
Paperwork | No support | Electronically sign the bill of sale in the PrivateAuto app. |
Shipping | No support | Book car shipping within the PrivateAuto app. |
Inspections | No support | Schedule an inspection from a qualified mechanic within the PrivateAuto app. |
Integrated services | None: buyer must coordinate between multiple parties. | Get insurance, car shipping, a warranty, an inspection, or financing within the PrivateAuto app. |
Choose between auction or standard sale | No (except eBay Motors) | Yes. PrivateAuto lets you choose between auction format (perfect for unusual vehicles) and standard sale. |
What if I Want to Sell My Car on Another Site?
DealNow allows you to start a deal anywhere and finish it on PrivateAuto. Our fast-track deal flow includes convenient scheduling, electronic docu-signing, and instantaneous and fee-free payment transfers. Just create your private dealroom, invite the private buyer, and get the deal done.
Get your deal started now!
What Paperwork Do I Need When Selling a Car?
While different states may require different documents, these are the ones you’ll typically need when selling your car:
1. Certificate of Title
2. Vehicle history report (optional but recommended)
3. Bill of sale (mandatory in some states, recommended in all)
4. Release of liability form
5. Odometer disclosure form
Vehicle Title
If you’ve forgotten where you’ve stored your title, give yourself some time to find it before listing your car for sale.
If you can’t find it, get a replacement title ASAP.
Replacing a lost vehicle title is a straightforward process:
1. Contact your local Department of Motor Vehicles or visit their website to begin the replacement title application.
2. There is typically a minor fee of around $25 to get a duplicate title.
3. You'll need to provide your ID, VIN, current registration, and possibly an odometer disclosure statement with the current mileage.
4. After applying, the DMV will mail you a new title, typically within 2 weeks.
5. Once you have the replacement title in hand, you can sign it over to the buyer when selling your car, just like with any other title transfer.
Vehicle History Report
We provide a vehicle history report for all premium listings when you sell your car on PrivateAuto.
Here are some reasons why a vehicle history report is such a good idea:
1. It demonstrates you have nothing to hide. Providing a report shows transparency and proactively addresses any concerns about the vehicle's history.
2. It builds trust and credibility as a seller. A detailed report proves you're forthcoming about the car's background.
3. It verifies maintenance and repairs. A history report lists service records, oil changes, major repairs, and other work.
4. It can justify your asking price. Documentation of new tires, battery, regular maintenance, etc. helps support pricing.
5. It highlights that the car was well cared for. Regular servicing and repairs indicate responsible ownership.
6. It can ease buyer concerns about accidents or damage. The report documents any collisions or insurance claims.
7. It avoids headaches later if issues arise. A thorough history provides proof if questions arise after purchase.
8. It makes your car stand out. Providing a report shows your willingness to go the extra mile as a seller.
Bill of Sale
Whether or not your state requires it, a bill of sale is a really smart idea. It protects you in case the buyer ever wants to contest the sale or any of the specifics of the sale. It memorializes the VIN, selling price, vehicle mileage, and other key details—and it has the buyer’s signature.
PrivateAuto makes the bill of sale easy. You and the buyer review the transaction details, then digitally sign the bill of sale in the PrivateAuto mobile app. You always have it as a record in your PrivateAuto account
Release of Liability Form
Odometer Disclosure Form
Both you and the buyer will need to sign the odometer disclosure at the time of sale.
What is the Best Way to Get Paid?
There haven’t been a lot of great forms of payment when selling a car—until now. Previous payment methods have serious drawbacks:
1. Cash: inconvenient and risky.
2. Check: inconvenient and slow.
3. Bank transfer: inconvenient, expensive, and slow.
4. Peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo or Paypal: transaction limits, sometimes fees.
5. Escrow service: inconvenient, slow, expensive.
The only hassle-free and safe way to get paid is PrivateAuto Pay.
1. Your PrivateAuto Pay account is a bank account that you own, accessed via your PrivateAuto profile.
2. Easily move money between your PrivateAuto Pay account and your external bank account via a balance transfer.
3. Receive up to $1 million instantly from the seller into your PrivateAuto Pay account.
4. Instant payments arrive any time of day, every day of the year.
5. No exchange of contact information or banking info.
6. Encrypted info protects your data from hackers.
7. Conclude the entire transaction when you meet the buyer for a test drive.
8. Sell a car to a remote buyer and forgo costly and inconvenient escrow services.
Selling a Car FAQ
How much should I sell my car for?
How you price your car is going to depend on:
- How quickly you want to sell. If you want to get rid of your car quickly, price it in the lower part of the fair market value range.
- What upgrades you’ve added. If you’ve had a better and newer sound system installed, for example, that could increase the car's value.
- What it costs to sell. If you’ll be spending money on advertising, you want to price your car to recover those costs. Consider all the ways you can sell your car.
- The prices of similar used cars near you. Look at a few car-selling sites and search for your make and model. Limit the search to a 25-mile radius of your zip code. Compare prices from other private sellers (not dealer inventory).