Edmunds Review

Tuesday, March 28th

2023 Used Car Site Reviews

Edmunds

• "A+" rated and accredited by the BBB
• In-depth car research
• 50+ years of experience

Edmunds knows cars. You'll have a hard time finding any other site for buying used cars that goes the extra mile (pun intended). For example, their editorial team test drives more than 300 vehicles a year, driving a half-million miles to provide in-depth reviews (even videos). You can put Edmunds' 50+ years of expertise to work for you as you decide which car is best for you.

Straightforward vehicle search

Ready to find your next vehicle? Click on the "Used" tab and then choose how you want to search: by make/model, type, or price. Next, click the button to indicate if you prefer listings of vehicles that are in-store or that can be purchased online for home delivery (or don't click either one if you'd like to see results for both). Once you've entered your zip code you'll see all of the matches near you.

The filters you'd expect

From there, feel free to use the filters button if you've got further preferences. You can choose color, safety features, vehicle history, package options, and more to help narrow down your search. Finally, the "sort by" dropdown is helpful for prioritizing whatever you want to see first: lowest price, lowest mileage, year, date listed, or value.

Not as much detail provided

There's not a ton of information in the basic results list. You'll see price, distance from the zip code you entered, mileage, value assessment, and a photo. But, once you click on a used car that interests you, you'll be able to see more - some of the features and specs, detailed analysis of the price, how long the listing has been on Edmunds and any price changes in that time, and so on. We would have liked to see greater details in the features/specs department, and we were disappointed that prospective car buyers only get a limited vehicle history through AutoCheck unless they pay for a full history report. Many of Edmunds' rivals offer complimentary reports from CARFAX right on their vehicles' listings, so this drops Edmunds in our rankings.

See consumer reviews on dealerships and car makes/models

We like that used car listings on Edmunds incorporate both dealership and vehicle ratings/reviews from customers. We thought it was interesting that those didn't necessarily line up with buyer feedback in other places, but that's not something we'd worry about.

Terrific reputation as a research tool

You won't find too many negative comments about Edmunds. The Better Business Bureau gives this platform an "A+" and accreditation, with only three complaints filed there in the three years prior to this evaluation. Most people say that Edmunds is an excellent option for researching cars prior to purchase: they're informative, detailed, and accurate without being pushy.

Cars listed might not be available

Besides the lack of a free, comprehensive vehicle history report, Edmunds also comes up a little short when it comes to vehicle availability. You'll either have to fill out the online form on the Edmunds site to send in an inquiry, or you'll have to visit the site using the dealer's link waaaaaaaay down at the bottom of the listing. That's not uncommon, but on one vehicle we liked we saw that right in the featured photo, the dealer had attached a "pending sale" banner. Buying a used car can be frustrating, and having to take that many extra steps to then find out it wasn't actually available for purchase? Not our favorite.

Great for research, just okay for car-buying

Edmunds is a world-class resource for learning more about any cars you're considering for your next purchase. No matter where you buy your used car, we recommend you stop here to get the most in-depth information out there. But, should you rely on this service to actually connect you with your car once you've chosen? It's not the worst thing you could do by any means, but other platforms do a better job of giving you up-to-date listings and thorough vehicle histories too.