In today’s high tech world, literally any information is at our fingertips. It makes life a ton easier when doing a car search. Car searches are now done from the comfort of your home, but with information overload, sometimes it’s hard to decide which site is best for what you are looking for. In this article we break down the top 6 sites; what they’re best used for, the quality, the pros and cons of each.
#1 AutoTrader
Autotrader is best used to search dealerships and private sellers. They have a small charge to list private cars for sale, so you would get quality sellers that obviously want to sell it, since they have to pay for their listing. The downside is they don’t provide phone contact of private sellers; it is email only (as of 2/2019), this causes waiting period versus calling the seller on the spot.
This is the biggest website so it is ad central, they’re everywhere; ads on the sides, on top, while your scrolling. It slows down the page and makes it looked cluttered. But it is a good option for both buyers and sellers.
Pros: Well known, Plenty of filters, Good for Private party and dealerships, known nationwide, Quality sellers, best used on desktop (laptop)
Cons: Ads everywhere (slows down the site), Email only to private party, not very mobile friendly
#2 Cars.com
Cars.com is similar to AutoTrader; it is ad central as well. This is how this company produces their revenue while being able to list your car for free. They have plenty of filters to choose from to narrow your car search. There are plenty of people using it nation side to get a nice selection of cars. Cars.com offers you to list your car for free as a private party seller. This is a great site for buying from dealership, it has decent quality sellers from private parties.
Pros: Well known, Plenty of filters, Good for dealerships, nationwide search, best used on desktop (laptop), mobile version is decently friendly
Cons: Ads everywhere (slows down the site), not quality private sellers, email only to private parties, some ads require a Blinkr account to message private sellers
#3 Craigslist
Craigslist is known for scams, and there are some, but there are some great deals also. Craigslist is the easiest site for private sellers and buyers since its free and you get the option to only communicate by email, or include phone number also. There are no ads running so the site is fast and it’s private party based.
Pros: Well known, Free to post, No ads, good for private parties Buying and selling, desktop (laptop) and mobile friendly.
Cons: Suspect sellers, not good for dealership search, can only search within 200 miles of location.
#4 Cargurus
Cargurus is creeping on in popularity as well as user friendliness. It does have a nationwide search, plenty of filters (including deal rating). To us the deal rating is key, it gives you an idea if it’s a great price or overpriced. Its best used for dealership search, there aren’t that many private party listings. Cargurus, like AutoTrader, doesn’t have phone numbers to private listings, they require you to email or message within the website. They have a fee to the seller, if sold through the Cargurus website.
Pros: Plenty filters, Nationwide searches, Dealership friendly, Somewhat well known
Cons: Not private party friendly, Has some ads, Slow at times
#5 Facebook Marketplace
Facebook marketplace is relatively new, but fast emerging as a good car search and sell website. The best part of this, is you see the Facebook profiles of people you are messaging so it makes you feel more safe. There are limited filters and the searches are unorganized, as well as limited to searching within 100 miles. It is great on desktop and very mobile friendly.
Pros: Well Known, Free to post, Not that many ads, Safe messaging, can view Facebook profile
Cons: Not enough filters, Not dealership friendly, Not organized.
#6 Offerup App
OfferUp is new, but a good tool to search locally. This is good for private party searches within about 100 miles or less. There is few advertisements so the site runs smoothly. This is a very mobile friendly search (mobile app) that is okay to search on desktop. It isn’t that organized, there isn’t that many filters, but it does offer secure messaging as well as seeing the profile of those you are messaging.
Pros: Free to post, Great for local private party, Safe messaging (profiles), Not that many ads.
Cons: Not well known, Not that many filters, Not dealership friendly, Not organized
Like anything else, it is best to play around with the sites and see which you like. AutoTrader, Cars.com and Cargurus is best used for dealerships, while Craigslist, OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace is best used for private parties.
We all buy a handful of cars in our lifetime. You can do everything on your own if you choose to. Know it takes energy, and you can save money.
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