The Internet has undoubtedly changed the entire business landscape, opening up new markets and expanding existing ones. Online car selling has not been left behind. There are plenty of benefits that come with selling your car online. For one, you get to enjoy the convenience of completing the entire selling process…or perhaps part of it, from the comfort of your home. With more and more Americans opting to buy cars online, it opens a great opportunity for anyone looking to sell their car. But which is the best site to sell a car online? We take a look at one of the more popular sites - CarGurus.com. What are its pros and cons, and is it a good place to list your car? That and more in this guide.
CarGurus is an online car-selling and buying marketplace founded in 2006. You can list your car on CarGurus and sell it privately with the site’s main role being to bring together sellers, dealers, and buyers. Note that the site doesn’t claim ownership of any of the listed vehicles and anyone can use the CarGurus website to compare different prices and get a feel of the current market prices.
You have two options when selling your car on CarGurus; you may either create a listing that requires you to renew after 30 days or you could choose to get an instant offer from local dealers. Creating your own listing and selling your car privately and directly to the buyer will get you the most money for your car and keep to maximum amount in your pocket. However, that can take a lot of effort and you should check out our guide on privately selling your car if you plan on going that route. On the other hand, getting an instant offer from a local dealer will be a much smoother and faster process but you're likely to lose out on getting the most money for your vehicle.
When you sell your car privately, you will start by entering some basic car specs on the site. Using the CarGurus tool, add your car’s license number plate or the vehicle identification number VIN. The company can then use this to find more information about your vehicle.
Other information needed includes:
Having entered the information, go ahead and click enter and you will then be required to enter your email address. Job complete! You can now start receiving inquiries from potential buyers from the CarGurus platform.
If you decided to get instant dealer offers, CarGurus will highlight the best among them and you'll have up to a week to consider it them. If within the same time, you have added over 250 miles to your vehicle, you'll need to get a new offer. You can also receive inquiries from possible buyers on the site, but you'll need to work with them on pricing and the entire sales process.
Located on the selling page of the CarGurus website is the IMV section. Here you are able to add the car details to a valuation calculator and see the likely amount that you could get from selling your car on the site. Furthermore, you can view the car's trade-in value. You can also see the ratings on the deal namely Great, Good, Fair, High, and Overpriced. Keep in mind that the better the deal, the more the eyeballs.
CarGurus was founded in 2006 and has been around for a long time. They have managed to build credibility and trust over the years and have a large audience.
If you are unsure of the dealer trying to sell you a car, CarGurus lets you see their reviews from previous buyers.
The information on the CarGurus listing will offer you valuable intel on the car prices so you can make an informed choice and secure the best deal.
When selling through CarGurus you can get an Instant Market Value to know how much to ask for the car.
Selling online offers you a secure way of conducting a car sale and saves you from most of the issues that you will get from a private car sale.
After I list my car online, I can see how long the car has been listed. The deal is rated and the better the rating the more your listing will be viewed. This helps you strike the best deal and close the deal faster.
While you can get the most money for your car when you sell your car privately online with the help of the CarGurus platform, there's no denying it's a long and time consuming process. Plus you'll want to add your car to other marketplaces like Autotrader and Cars.com, which will add to your cost and time commitment.
You will need to pay $99 to CarGurus once you sell your car on their site.
You will be required to verify vehicle possession. Otherwise, the site is likely to take out your listing. This is good for buyers as it helps prevent fraud but can be annoying if you're trying to quickly get some inquiries on your vehicle.
If you are planning on selling a classic car, CarGurus is not the site for you.
The CarGurus site has Autocheck which, let's face it, isn’t as accurate as CarFax.
CarGurus is certainly not the only site where you can sell your car. Get over many of the pitfalls of selling your car online with Exotic Car Trader. We will spare you the hassle of selling your car by doing all the work for you plus we get your car listed on platforms like CarGurus, AutoTrader, Cars.com and more. The team at Exotic Car Trader has sold thousands of specialized vehicles nationwide and even out of the country. Feel free to click here with further questions about selling your car online.
Exotic Car Trader is the fastest growing marketplace built specifically for automotive enthusiasts. Click below to learn how you can sell your car with us.
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