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Depending on how long you’ve had it and its condition, you may be thinking about replacing your current vehicle with a new or used one. You can do this by selling your car outright or trading it in.
In either case, one of the first things you’ll need to know is the answer to this question:
Money expert Clark Howard says going through the car-selling process with both CarMax and Carvana are great ways to get a good sense of what your vehicle is worth.
“The reality is that those two players have changed the game so much that what I recommend is that you start by getting a price from both of them,” Clark says. “Once you have that, then you know how much additional money you would want to make selling it yourself [to determine whether] it’s worth the pain points of doing that.”
In this article, we’ve researched how to find out your car’s worth with some of the best car-selling websites and have laid out the steps so that you can follow along:
Of course, if you’re thinking about putting your car on the market, you’ll want to use the highest estimate you get on your vehicle’s worth. As you’re about to see, the estimated value can be all over the place.
Note: Many of these online car valuation sites act as referral services, so once you enter your information into the forms on the respective websites, you may get contacted by local dealers looking to purchase your vehicle.
To find out how much your vehicle is worth with CarMax, head online to Carmax.com.
Then you’ll have to fill out a questionnaire that asks you the mileage, whether your car has had hail or rust damage and other specific questions. After that, you’ll give them your email address and in seconds, Carmax will show you your car’s estimated value.
Screenshot via carmax.com
CarMax valued my used car at $700.
Note: Edmunds’ True Market Value feature also uses CarMax’s vehicle appraisal tool, so if you go there, you’ll see CarMax’s valuation for your car.
Go to carvana.com/value-tracker to fill in information about your vehicle including:
“It will give you an instant quote of what they’ll buy your vehicle for, for a seven-day window and that will be a pretty good indicator of what the average trade-in would be for your vehicle,” Clark says.
Screenshot via carvana.com
After completing all the questions, I was only offered $500 from Carvana for my car.
Want to learn more about the car-buying platform? Read our Carvana review.
If you’re involved in an accident, your insurer may tell you what your car is worth based on their calculations. Find out your car’s value with Kelley Blue Book to double-check the insurance company’s valuation.
Screenshot via Kelley Blue Book email
Kelley Blue Book valued my vehicle at $1,518. (We’re getting somewhere!)
Here’s a look at all three quotes for my 2013 Nissan Leaf:
| Site | Quote |
| CarMax | $700 |
| Carvana | $500 |
| Kelley Blue Book | $1,518 |
As you’ve seen, the valuations you get for your vehicle can cover a wide range. It’s up to you to use the highest one to your advantage.
Along with using car-selling websites to appraise your vehicle, Clark says you should also go to a local dealer that sells the same brand as your used car. “They will make an offer to you,” he says, and then you can take the best offer overall.
Taking a little time to get multiple quotes, can make a big difference on your bottom line.
This post was last modified on September 19, 2023 3:08 pm
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