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Saturday, June 3rd
Sell My Car is a service offered by Internet Brands Automotive. This is not a service that specializes in all things cars, and we'll tell you right from the start that you'll want to avoid it when trying to sell yours. But, if you can get past the pages that load slowly and often fail to connect to the host, we can tell you what to expect from this service.
Create your own car listing
You'll have to create an account to list your car through Sell My Car, which requires your name, address and zip code, phone number and email address. From there, you'll fill out a very basic form with dropdowns and checkboxes: vehicle information, features, and a box to type in a description. Adding photos is optional, and once you click the "activate" button, your ad will be reviewed for listing within 24 hours.
100 major city zones?
Once your car is listed, it'll be displayed in "over 100 major city zones near you" . It sounds like they're advertising all of their listings nationwide, which could be a hassle if you're not interested in entertaining inquiries from buyers in Ohio when you live in Oregon, for example. But, evidently you can set your ad's search radius to narrow down the out-of-town buyers.
No cost for the service
Apparently there's no charge for selling a car here: we were never asked for credit card information, and we were told that our ad would expire after two months if we didn't extend the listing - but we could do that as many times as we wanted.
Lots of typos, little contact info
There's a lot on the Sell My Car site that comes across a little... off. We found more than a few typos that made this site look less-than-professional, like referring to "prospect buyers" (instead of "prospective" ) and talking about protecting our "personal informations" . The only way to contact Sell My Car is through an online form: no email, no toll-free number, no live chat on the site. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence, does it?
Horrible user reviews
It doesn't get any better. Not only does the BBB not have a listing for this business (though Internet Brands itself has a "D-" , not good), but any reviews we found elsewhere were awful. When the main word used to describe a service is "scam" , you know it's not where you want to sell your car - or offer any of your personal information for any other reason.
Literally any other platform is preferable
It's never been easier to sell your car online - so there's zero need to trust a sketchy service like Sell My Car. Save yourself the grief and use a platform with a decent reputation, and avoid this one like the plague.
Gone are the days of newspaper classifieds and putting a "for sale" sign in the dashboard window: most people today sell their cars online. It's usually easy, often fast, and there are lots of tools to help you set a competitive asking price. Generally speaking, you'll choose between two different methods of selling your car: getting a cash offer from a dealership (either online-only or one with a brick-and-mortar location near you) or creating a listing to sell it privately - like those newspaper ads but digital.
Which one is right for you? That depends. Cash offers often eliminate a lot of hassle: you don't have to screen prospective buyers, set up multiple appointments with interested customers, or verify the authenticity of their payment method. Many of the online-only services will pick up the vehicle at no charge, from any address you specify.
Of course, that convenience may cost you. Not every service with cash offers will take cars in any condition, and you may get more money for your car with a private buyer. After all, they're trying to avoid the markup that always happens after a dealership buys a used car and puts it on their lot, so you might be able to meet in the middle and start at a higher asking price. Many people selling cars try both at the same time: shopping around for the best cash offer while testing the waters with a private listing. It's up to you.
What will you need to sell your car? Either route you choose, you'll almost always need current, valid registration papers; any available key fobs/remotes and manuals; valid state-issued photo ID; and, typically, anyone named as an owner on the title needs to be present at the time of sale. Are you required to have a paper title in hand? That depends on the state where you live and the terms of the car-selling service you select.
There are quite a few sites out there for selling cars. Which one is the best for you? Keep these criteria in mind to help you decide:
To help you choose the right platform for selling your car, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked the most popular services currently available online. We hope this information makes it possible for you to sell your car quickly and get the most possible cash out of the deal!
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