Selling a car or truck is a question of time versus money: Do you go for quick cash by trading it in at a dealership or wait it out and sell your vehicle privately to secure a higher price? Neither option is particularly pleasing. The trade-in process at a dealer always feels like it’s lacking in transparency—plus, there’s no way to get a quote ahead of time—and the private market is full of time-wasting tire kickers who don’t seem intent on buying.
Fortunately, the latest online dealership platforms, as well as startup companies such as Beepi and Vroom that have created peer-to-peer automotive sales networks, have devised new ways to buy and sell cars online that better serve consumers’ needs. Most of these modern tools require users to do little more than answer a few questions about their vehicle and upload a handful of photos in order to receive a price quote or offer. In return, these services promise to make or secure offers for your vehicle higher than those from traditional dealerships. If turn-of-the-century e-commerce sites such as eBay Motors and Autotrader are the vehicle-selling (and -buying) equivalents to the dating sites eHarmony and Match.com, then consider these latest efforts to be the automotive Tinders—quick and easy.
Out of the Red and into the Black
2015 was a record year for new-vehicle sales in the United States as low interest rates, a strengthened economy, and cheap gasoline all came together to create a strong environment for sales of brand-new cars and trucks. But consumers certainly haven’t given up on used cars: Automotive auction company Manheim noted in its 2016 Used Car Market Report that franchised dealerships saw an increase in used-vehicle sales for the sixth consecutive year in 2015.
As consumers buy more vehicles, they’re also turning over the keys to their previous vehicles more and more, resulting in swelling inventories of pre-owned cars and trucks. These used vehicles aren’t a bunch of junkers, either: Manheim reported that the average mileage of cars and trucks sold at auction last year was at the lowest level since 2011. This is largely due to the increase in vehicle leasing.
“Leasing is bringing more cars into the used market at an earlier point in their life cycle,” said Eric Lyman, vice president of industry insights at TrueCar. He added that the number of vehicles being leased in 2016 is about 50 percent more than a decade ago, accounting for approximately 30 percent of all new-vehicle sales today.
With TrueCar predicting a rise in used inventory levels through 2021, the sheer number of vehicles available for purchase is leading to improved means of buying and selling pre-owned vehicles, as well as encouraging the rise of new market players.
“There is still an opportunity to improve the used-vehicle transaction process for all parties,” Lyman observed, adding that the latest “e-commerce tools are streamlining the process for consumers and dealers.”
Searching for the Holy Grail
Talk is cheap, though. To see if these 21st-century vehicle-sales tools actually offer the cash and convenience they promote, two C/D editors channeled their inner Hunter S. Thompson and sought out quotes for personal vehicles they were looking to sell—a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro V-6 1LS and a 2013 Chevrolet Spark 1LT, both with manual transmissions, naturally.
However, before we could evaluate the quotes we received, we needed to determine the cars’ market values. In finding this, we relied on two well-respected sources: Black Book, a common vehicle-valuation tool used by dealerships, and Kelley Blue Book. The breakdown for our near-mint-condition cars is below. Mean value is shown and marked by an asterisk when services offered an estimated range.
Kelley Blue Book Private Party Value
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$19,973
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$8573
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
Kelley Blue Book Trade-In Value
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$16,878–$18,677
(Mean: $17,778)
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$6134–$7315
(Mean: $6744)
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
Black Book Trade-in Value
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$14,705–$17,330
(Mean: $16,018)
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$5080–$6885
(Mean: $5983)
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
We set our baseline for a Holy Grail offer at Kelley Blue Book’s private-party value; however, as pragmatists, we were content to chalk up any offer above the mean of KBB’s trade-in value as a win.
The Dealership Option
After learning our cars’ market values, we first got a quote from an established dealership group. This led us to AutoNation’s We’ll Buy Your Car feature, an online tool that requires little more than answering a handful of questions about the vehicle, which can even be done from the comfort of one’s couch. This is a good thing, too, because, despite its name, AutoNation does not operate dealerships nationally. Regardless, the company doesn’t prevent anyone in the 48 contiguous states from using We’ll Buy Your Car, since AutoNation will purchase a car even if it doesn’t have a store in your state. After we submitted our answers, AutoNation sent us the following rather underwhelming offers via e-mail less than 30 minutes later:
AutoNation We’ll Buy Your Car
Accepted Market Location of Vehicle Being Sold
Nationwide (48 continuous)
Time to Accept Offer Estimate
7 days
Maximum Miles Allowed Before Accepting Estimate
No more than 250 miles
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$16,800
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$5500
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
We then moved to another dealership-based option: TrueCar. Although TrueCar does not sell cars, its app, TrueCar Sell (which is still in its beta stage but available to the public), allows vehicle owners to answer questions and upload images of their car from specific angles into a database that local dealers certified by TrueCar can access. These stores then bid on these cars and trucks. Approximately 24 hours after you submit a vehicle, the best offer is sent over.
TrueCar Sell
Accepted Market Location of Vehicle Being Sold
Nationwide
Time to Accept Offer Estimate
5 Days
Maximum Miles Allowed Before Accepting Estimate
None stated
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$14,700
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$6500
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
While interest in the Spark was strong, garnering an extra $1000 compared with AutoNation, the Camaro failed to appeal to the Midwest dealers bidding on it, and the winning bid ultimately came in $2100 behind AutoNation’s.
New Kids on the Block
After hitting the established players, we turned our sights to the five market newcomers: Beepi, Carvana, Roadster, Shift, and Vroom.
Beepi
Although buyers nationwide can use Bay Area–based Beepi, sellers can use the service only if they live within a reasonable distance (Beepi spokesman Jason Sparks says an hour or two away is a good benchmark) of Phoenix or Tucson, Arizona; Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, or San Jose, California; South Florida (think Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties); Tampa, Florida; Austin, Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio, Texas; New York City (all five boroughs plus Westchester); Seattle, Washington; and the Washington, D.C., metro area (which includes parts of Maryland and Virginia). The limitation didn’t stop our two Michigan-based editors from getting a general idea of what the peer-to-peer car-selling and -buying platform was willing to offer for their vehicles. Mind you, the numbers we got from Beepi were not offers but initial estimates. They were strong, though, compared with the AutoNation and TrueCar options. To get an official offer, sellers need to be located in one of the aforementioned states and schedule an appointment for a Beepi inspector to complete a 240-point inspection. Afterward, an offer is made that can be collected once the vehicle is purchased online. A bonus is that you’re allowed to continue driving it during the sale period, provided the additional mileage isn’t unreasonable. (Sparks noted the company doesn’t specify an exact mileage, but he clarified that it should be less than 1000 miles.) If the vehicle does not sell within 30 days, Beepi will purchase it at the price quoted by the company after the inspection. Beepi also provides another option for those who don’t want to wait up to 30 days to get paid: The company will write a check immediately, although choosing this option costs $500.
Beepi
Accepted Market Location of Vehicle Being Sold
Available within a reasonable distance (an hour or so drive) of Phoenix, Arizona; Tucson, Arizona; Los Angeles, California; Sacramento, California; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; South Florida (think Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties); Tampa, Florida; Austin, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; New York City (all five boroughs plus Long Island and West Chester); Seattle, Washington; and the Washington, D.C. metro area (which includes parts of Maryland and Virginia)
Time to Accept Offer Estimate
None stated
Maximum Miles Allowed Before Accepting Estimate
None stated; though sellers can add a reasonable (less than 1000 miles) number of miles to their car during the sales period
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$17,184
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$7346–$8641
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
Carvana
Backed by DriveTime, a used-car dealership group that specializes in providing “bad credit auto loans,” Carvana works under a dealership model in the sense that it purchases its own inventory. Although there are a handful of “vending machines” where customers can pick up a car purchased from the service, there are no dedicated Carvana stores. All transactions are performed online.
Selling a car or truck to Carvana requires that customers answer a few questions about their vehicle before an offer is sent over. The vehicle is then picked up and inspected to confirm the information provided is accurate.
Unfortunately, if your vehicle isn’t currently located within 100 miles of one of its 14 hubs (Atlanta; Nashville; Richmond, Virginia; Charlotte or Raleigh, North Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama; Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, or Tampa, Florida; or Austin, Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio, Texas), then you’re out of luck, unless you’re willing to deliver it to (or near) one of the service’s hubs.
Carvana
Accepted Market Location of Vehicle Being Sold
Available within 100 miles of Birmingham, Alabama; Jacksonville, Florida; Miami, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Tampa, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; or Richmond, Virginia
Time to Accept Offer Estimate
7 days
Maximum Miles Allowed Before Accepting Estimate
None stated
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$17,285
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$6363
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
Roadster
The Roadster.com service is limited to California residents. After an owner submits basic information and images of his or her vehicle, Roadster shops the car or truck to its network of bidders. Within two days, the company provides an offer. Should an owner accept the offer, Roadster will schedule pickup of the vehicle as well as confirm the vehicle’s condition.
Roadster
Accepted Market Location of Vehicle Being Sold
California
Time to Accept Offer Estimate
3 days if selling outright; 7 days if trading in
Maximum Miles Allowed Before Accepting Estimate
None stated
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$15,800
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$6300
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
Shift
Like Beepi, Shift is a peer-to-peer network. Unlike Beepi, however, there’s no 30-day sales guarantee, and the vehicle needs to be brought to a Shift hub where it will go through a 150-point inspection and then sit until it sells. When a new owner is found, Shift cuts the seller a check. The service is currently limited to areas in or near California and Washington, D.C., and the online tool provides only an estimated price range for a vehicle.
Shift
Accepted Market Location of Vehicle Being Sold
Los Angeles, California; Orange County, California; Sacramento, California; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; Washington, D.C.
Time to Accept Offer Estimate
14 days
Maximum Miles Allowed Before Accepting Estimate
None stated
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$15,000–$17,900
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$5800–$8100
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
Vroom
An online dealership, Vroom’s basic model is almost identical to that of Carvana. It’s also much the same when it comes to submitting vehicle information—although you’ll need to submit photos of your car or truck. Unlike Carvana, however, Vroom is available nationwide. And Vroom also came back with some of the most compelling offers. We noticed that the company is actively seeking inventory, as a Vroom representative also responded to our Spark owner’s Craigslist ad, offering to buy the vehicle. Upon accepting Vroom’s offer, the company will pick up your vehicle from your residence and perform a quick visual inspection to make sure everything is as represented.
Vroom
Accepted Market Location of Vehicle Being Sold
Nationwide (48 continuous)
Time to Accept Offer Estimate
7 days
Maximum Miles Allowed Before Accepting Estimate
No more than 250 miles
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$18,000
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$6500
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
The Results
Although we received estimates for our two cars from all seven online vehicle sales tools we tried, we found that our Michigan location limited us to three options: AutoNation We’ll Buy Your Car, TrueCar Sell, and Vroom. For our Camaro-owning editor, this worked out for the best: Vroom’s $18,000 offer was by far the highest received. While it fell short of Kelley Blue Book’s private-party value by $1973, it did best KBB’s mean trade-in value by $222 and was $1397 above the average of all estimates received.
Our Spark-owning editor fared less well. Although Beepi came up with an impressive mean offer of $7994 for the diminutive hatchback, our Michigan location resulted in limited options that were significantly less lucrative. While Beepi did not inspect our Spark, we’re confident it would have passed the company’s scrutiny with flying colors and would have received top dollar. Nevertheless, the owner had no interest in driving across the country in the 84-horsepower minicar. Plus, with Beepi estimates lasting only approximately 24 hours, there was no guarantee that the little Spark actually would be valued so high by the time we made it to the West Coast with more miles on the odometer.
Offer range
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$14,700–$18,000
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$5500–$8641
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
Average offer; overall
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$16,810*
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$6843*
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
Average offer; established players
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$15,750
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$6000
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
Average offer; market newcomers
2015 Chevrolet Camaro
$17,234*
1LS 6-speed manual; 9000 miles
2013 Chevrolet Spark
$7181*
1LT 5-speed manual; 21,500 miles
The Conclusion
Although all of these online platforms had varying requirements for information and photos—and Beepi, Shift, Carvana, and AutoNation didn’t require any photos whatsoever—we found all of them easy enough to use that we wouldn’t hesitate recommending them to even semi-computer-literate folks. It’s also important to remember that we tested two specific vehicles at a particular point in time. Just because one service quoted us more (or less) for each of our vehicles compared with another service doesn’t mean that the difference in estimated offers among services would be universal to all vehicles at all times.
We all value our time differently, and our Camaro-owning editor valued his at $1973. After agreeing to sell his Camaro to Vroom, he got the necessary paperwork via FedEx. Vroom then arranged to have the car picked up for shipment to its facilities in Texas. A brief visual inspection confirmed the car was in excellent condition, as we’d represented, and that was it. Within 48 hours, the money was wired over. A few days later, Vroom listed the Camaro for sale on its site, priced at $21,980, giving the company the potential to clear just under $4000 (without accounting for the company’s costs, such as postage for paperwork, shipping of the car, sales prep, and overhead expenses).
Our Spark owner was a bit more stubborn, posting his car initially on Craigslist and then, after a lackluster response, spending $50 to list it on Autotrader. Interestingly, Autotrader subsequently emailed ads promoting Kelley Blue Book’s Instant Cash Offer service, which is very similar to those of TrueCar and AutoNation, netting a not very lucrative offer of $5741. But private offers of any amount were less forthcoming. It seems that, in today’s cheap-gas world, very few buyers are looking for a Spark. Both postings combined—priced at $8000, which was at the low end of similar listings—failed to generate more than a handful of leads over more than a month. Our seller even went so far as to post the Spark on Kijiji, which is essentially Canada’s version of Craigslist, because gas prices just across the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario, are nearly 25 percent higher than in Michigan. But still no luck. So he ended up resubmitting his details to Vroom and TrueCar. The Vroom offer was the same $6500, but TrueCar, at $6000, was $500 less the second time around. So off to Vroom the Spark went as well.
Technically, we didn’t find the Holy Grail, but we did come pretty close. If getting the most money for your car or truck is the ultimate goal—and you’re willing to wait it out—it seems a private sale probably still is best; however, if your aim is to waste as little time as possible while still getting good money for your vehicle, then one of these tools may be the solution. In our experience, the best answer was Vroom, with its combination of compelling offers and nationwide availability.
*Highest value used for services that offered an estimated range.
Let’s block ads! (Why?)
Powered by WPeMatico