Best Used Car Websites (2024 Guide) (2024)

Cars.com, Carvana, Edmunds, CarMax and TrueCar are our top recommendations for used car websites. Whether you want to find your ideal pre-owned vehicle or find the right buyer for a car you’re selling, these sites are easy to use and offer excellent customer support. The sections below outline our ratings for these sites when selling and buying a used car.

Best Used Car Websites: Selling a Car

Here’s a look at how we rated our top used car websites for those selling a vehicle:

*Ratings are out of 10 points each.

Best Used Car Websites: Buying a Car

Here’s how our top used car websites measure up when you’re looking to buy a quality used car:

Let’s take a closer look at our top picks for used car websites, breaking down the benefits they offer to those selling and buying pre-owned vehicles. We’ll examine each site’s industry reputation, including Better Business Bureau (BBB) ratings, as well as some cost and customer experience details.

#1 Cars.com

Year founded: 1998
BBB rating: A+

Cars.com is our Editor’s Choice for selling a used car online. We also recognize the site as the Best Value option for buying a used car online. Cars.com has been in business since 1998 and carries an A+ rating from the BBB. The site advertises vehicles from thousands of car dealers and private sellers across the country.

When the time is right to buy, Cars.com makes it easy to research used vehicles, filter specific features you’re looking for and schedule a test drive with a dealer. When selling through Cars.com, you can get an instant offer that’s good for three days, plus the option to trade in your car to a dealership.

Cars.com Car Selling Ratings

Here’s how our team rated Cars.com in five key categories for selling a car:

Cars.com Car Buying Ratings

Our team gave Cars.com the following ratings as a used car buying option:

Read more in our full Cars.com review.

#2 Carvana

Year founded: 2012
BBB rating: NR

Carvana serves 48 states and is known for its car vending machines scattered across the country. We recognized Carvana for having the Most Seamless Process for selling a car online and for being the Best for Transparent Pricing when buying a used vehicle online.

The company is known for its hassle-free buying experience, at-home inspections and on-the-spot offers that are good for seven days. When you buy through Carvana, you also get the added peace of mind of a seven-day money-back guarantee.

Carvana isn’t currently rated by the BBB, but it carries a strong customer review rating of 4.3 out of 5 based on more than 9,100 Trustpilot reviews. The Carvana mobile app receives high marks from customers on both the App Store and Google Play.

Carvana Car Selling Ratings

The table below shows how we rated Carvana for selling a used car:

Carvana Car Buying Ratings

Here’s how our team rated Carvana as a car buying website:

Read more in our full Carvana review.

#3 Edmunds

Year founded: 1966
BBB rating: A+

Edmunds has a history in the automotive industry that’s tough to match, with nearly 60 years as a trusted source. Now a subsidiary of CarMax, the Edmunds website makes it easy to research, buy, sell and appraise used cars. You can browse used cars at dealerships across the country, research prices to make sure you’re getting a good deal and finance your purchase all in one place.

We gave Edmunds a perfect 10 for industry standing for its long history and A+ rating from the BBB. Edmunds also takes our Editor’s Choice award for buying a used car online, as its car research tools simplify the process of finding your perfect pre-owned vehicle.

Edmunds Car Selling Ratings

Here’s how Edmunds fared in five key categories as a car selling website:

Edmunds Car Buying Ratings

Below you’ll find our team’s ratings for buying a used car through Edmunds:

Read more in our full Edmunds review.

#4 CarMax

Year founded: 1993
BBB rating: A

CarMax is another used car retailer and selling platform with an excellent reputation. Our team gave CarMax our Great Value designation on the selling side, and it has an easy process for obtaining an instant cash offer and even getting paid on the day of the sale.

CarMax lets car buyers browse a huge inventory from its 246 U.S. locations. Locked-in prices mean you don’t have to worry about haggling. Our team considers CarMax the Most Reputable used car buying website due to its strong industry reputation and sales volume. We also like the fact that CarMax bests other car buying sites with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

CarMax Car Selling Ratings

Here’s a look at our team’s ratings for CarMax as a used car seller:

CarMax Car Buying Ratings

Our team gave CarMax the following ratings for buying a used car through its platform:

Read more in our full CarMax review.

#5 TrueCar

Year founded: 2005
BBB rating: A+

In our 2024 review of used car websites, we recognized TrueCar for its quick fixed-price offers. On the used car buying side, we gave the company our Seamless Financing Process award and noted its advanced search functions and support tools (like a car loan calculator and car comparison tool). TrueCar receives solid feedback from customers on sites like Trustpilot, where it has 3.4 stars out of 5 based on nearly 1,800 reviews.

TrueCar works with more than 13,000 dealerships across the U.S. That means you can browse a huge inventory of used vehicles when you’re buying and compare offers from dealers when you’re selling. You do have to visit a dealership to close a purchase or sale, which might be a negative for some customers.

TrueCar Car Selling Ratings

Here are the ratings our team gave TrueCar as a platform for selling a used car:

TrueCar Car Buying Ratings

Below are the ratings our team gave TrueCar for its car buying services:

Read more in our full TrueCar review.

Our team reached out to each of the companies in this guide for used car selling and buying pricing information. As you examine these offers and price quotes, remember that CarMax and Carvana use no-haggle pricing models that leave no room for negotiation. Also, note that Cars.com is the only site in this guide that features a private sale option.

Used Car Selling Offers

Here are some offers from a few of our top used car websites and how they compare to the Kelley Blue Book (KBB) market value:

Used Car Buying Prices

Here’s how used car pricing compares among some of our top-rated websites:

You’ll notice that a few popular used car websites aren’t featured in this guide. We rate companies like Autotrader, CarGurus, Vroom and Peddle as reputable sites worth checking out as well.

You can also find good used car deals on sites like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and eBay Motors, but the selling and buying process may not be quite as smooth. It can also be difficult to access a Carfax report (or any vehicle history report) when you deal with local car listings or auction sites. Financing options may be limited as well.

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best platforms to sell your car. We collected data on several providers to grade each company in five key areas. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the car selling platforms that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

• Industry standing: Our research team considers ratings from industry experts and years in business when determining this score.
• Platform: Platforms that offer a variety of features, including instant offers and multiple sales options, are more likely to meet consumers’ needs.
• Cost: To compare providers’ average offer prices, our team conducted a secret shopper analysis for a variety of vehicle types. We also considered the fees companies charge to use their platforms.
• Support: Car selling companies that offer strong transaction support received the highest scores in this category. This includes offerings like free pickup service as well as how quickly you receive your payment.
• Customer experience: This score is based on customer satisfaction ratings on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot as well as our team’s experience reaching out to each platform.

*Data accurate at time of publication