Sell my car for cash: compare buyers, offers and what you keep

Choose between an offer and a private listing

An outright buyer evaluates your car and proposes a purchase price. A private marketplace lets you advertise an asking price and connect with prospective buyers. These are different services: publishing a listing does not create an offer, and receiving an estimate does not complete a sale.

CarTruvo lets you list your car privately, set your asking price and discuss the vehicle with interested buyers. Private listings are free during our pilot. If you want CarTruvo to consider buying the vehicle instead, you can submit its details for review. That request is not an instant quote or a promise that we will purchase it.

Compare the main selling routes

• Local dealer purchase: ask whether the dealer wants your vehicle and request an outright offer separately from any replacement-car negotiation.
• Online car buyer: provide accurate condition and history, check the offer's conditions and confirm pickup or drop-off availability.
• Private sale: prepare a listing and organize buyer questions, inspections, payment and transfer. A higher asking price is not a guaranteed result.
• Specialist or nonrunning-car buyer: confirm acceptance and towing costs when the condition limits other options.

Use CarMax versus Carvana for sellers to compare those businesses, selling to a dealership for a dealer visit and nonrunning-car options if the vehicle cannot be driven. A consignment arrangement is another route, but payment usually follows a later sale under the agreement rather than an immediate purchase.

Compare the money left after the sale

For each route, write down the offer or estimated selling price, payoff amount and costs you will pay. Identify whether the amount is conditional on an inspection and when it expires. Include transport or preparation costs rather than comparing headline prices alone.

Hypothetical example: a $15,000 written offer with $200 in seller costs and a $4,000 payoff leaves $10,800. A possible $16,000 private sale with $450 in costs would leave $11,550. The $750 difference is potential, not money already earned; the private sale still needs a buyer. At a negotiated $15,200 price, its estimated net falls to $10,750. All figures here are invented to show the calculation.

Enter your own figures in the seller offer board. Keep offers separate from estimates and write down a date to reassess the listing if serious inquiries do not arrive.

Cash offer does not specify the payment method

CarMax's payment FAQ says it issues a bank draft when you sell the vehicle. Carvana's payment explanation describes payment at the appointment and processing time for direct deposit. Confirm current arrangements with the buyer and your bank rather than assuming a quote means immediately usable funds.

For a private transaction, decide on a verification process with your bank before the handoff. A screenshot, pending transfer or visible balance does not establish that a stranger's payment is genuine. The FTC's car-selling scam warning explains why fake checks and requests to forward overpayments are dangerous.

Can you sell if you still owe on the car?

Plan payoff and lien release with the lender and buyer. If the payoff is larger than the price, work out how the shortfall will be covered before committing to the transaction. If it is smaller, confirm how the remaining funds reach you. See selling a car with a loan. A trade-in adds replacement-car decisions, so use the separate trade-in hub for that route.

Decide what to do next

If your deadline is urgent, use sell my car today to check documents, appointments and settlement timing. If you can manage inquiries and want to seek a private buyer, create your listing. Describe the condition accurately, upload current photos and prepare the payment and ownership process before accepting an offer.