Autotrader vs Carvana Comparison: Where Should You Sell Your Car?

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Which is Better for Selling the Car?

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Carvana is a better company to sell your car to compare to Autotrader. First, it’s completely free to sell your car to Carvana, while it may cost you $49 to list it on the Autotrader platform. 

Next, Carvana’s offer is valid for seven days or an additional 1,000 miles. It also offers more payout options – check and direct deposit. Carvana also offers free pickups while Autotrader doesn’t. Alternatively, you can drop off your car at Carvana’s vending machine.

However, if you don’t mind selling your car privately, you should choose Autotrader. Since it lets you sell your car privately through its platform, you can expect to get a higher value for your used car. Note that this option entails a $49 listing fee though.

Autotrader vs. Carvana Comparison

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	Autotrader	Carvana
Cars accepted	New and used cars	In good condition, 1992+
Fees	$0 for instant cash offer, $49 for listing fee	$0
Requesting quotes	Online application	Online application
Offer validity	7 days or an additional 50 miles	7 days or an additional 1,000 miles
Payments offered	Cash or trade-in value	Cash or trade-in value
Payout	Check	Check, direct deposit
Car pick-up	Drop-off	Free pickup or dropoff
Physical locations	Participating dealers across the US	33 Car Vending Machines
Turnaround time	Up to 48 hours	Up to 72 hours
Customer service	Phone, email	Phone, email, online form
Reviews	1.6	2.7

Cars Accepted

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Autotrader accepts used and new cars as long as it meets their eligibility conditions. On the other hand, cars are considered ineligible due to the following reasons: 

• Title issues, such as salvage, gray market, taxis, and limousines
• Lack of market data
• Unresolved recalls
• Vehicle modifications
• Market volatility
• The vehicle was in an auction within the last 45 days

As for Carvana, your vehicle must meet the following requirements before you can sell or trade it in:

• Newer than 1992
• Have a working odometer
• Can safely perform as a test drive

Fees

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When it comes to getting instant quotes and selling your car, both Autotrader and Carvana have zero fees. However, Autotrader has another option where you can list your car on their website and sell it. This option charges a $49 listing fee, which also gets you free ad renewals until your car sells.

Requesting Quotes

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Both Autotrader and Carvana allow you to sell your car through an online process. With Autotrader, you’ll need to go through their website first and click on the Instant Cash Offer option. 

From there, you’ll need to provide your vehicle’s VIN or license plate number. It allows the website to know the make, model, and year of your car. After that, you only need to provide details on the following:

• Color
• Features and equipment
• Whether you have 2 or more keys
• Any vehicle modification

The website will generate an instant quote based on the valuation of the Kelley Blue book or KBB. 

Quite similar to Autotrader, Carvana lets you initiate the selling process by requesting an offer through their website. You’ll also need to provide the following details:

• License plate number or VIN
• Zip code
• Make and Model
• Mileage
• Color
• General condition
• Mechanical issues
• Accident history
• Premium features

Offer Validity

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For both companies, you have 7 days to claim the instant offer. Once you do, they’ll need to inspect your car to confirm the information you provided on the online application. 

Note that these offers are also dependent on the additional readings. For Autotrader, you can claim the instant offer for up to 50 additional miles. Meanwhile, Carvana still allows you to claim the offer even after an additional 1,000 miles. 

Payments Offered

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Whether you choose to sell with Autotrader or Carvana, you’ll have the option to get cash or trade in the value for your next car. Suppose you prefer to get cash, both companies pay a check within the same day of inspecting your vehicle. 

Payout

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Besides check payments, Carvana also pays out through direct deposit and direct debit. Unlike with check payment, this depends on your bank’s processing time, which can take up to 5 business days. 

Autotrader, meanwhile, doesn’t have this option. It only pays through a check which you can get within the same day of accepting their offer. 

Car Pick-up

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To claim the instant offer, you can drop off your car at any Autotrader participating dealer. You don’t need to worry about locating one near you since they’ll provide you a list after completing the instant quote process online. 

Carvana, on the other hand, offers a free pickup option. This means you need not drive anywhere to sell your car. You can just schedule a time for them to pick up your car. 

Quote: You’ll also get the payment in check if you prefer before their team takes your car.

Besides the free pick-up, you can also drop off your car at a nearby car vending machine. This option might be preferable if you can’t set up a schedule to have them pick up your vehicle.  

Physical Locations

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Both Carvana and Autotrader have physical locations for you to bring your car. You can check our Carvana’s list of 33 vending machines nationwide to locate the ones near you. 

Autotrader, in contrast, has a long selection of dealers nationwide. You can search the ones near you through their all dealers pages. Just enter your zip code and filter based on distance. 

Turnaround Time

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Selling with Autotrader can take only 48 hours from the time you request an instant offer online to getting your check. This, of course, depends on how soon you can drop your car to their partner dealership for inspection. 

Carvana, in contrast, can take up to 72 hours. This is due to the availability of their team that will pick up your car. 

Customer Service

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Autotrader offers two ways to contact their support team. For general inquiries, you can call them at 1-866-288-6872 (1-866-AUTOTRADER). 

If you have questions about instant offers, you can also contact the Kelley Blue Book at 866-559-5268. This line is available every Monday to Friday, from 8 AM to 8 PM, and every Saturday, from 9 AM to 6 PM. 

You can also send them an email at [email protected].

Carvana, meanwhile, offers customer support through their hotline at 1-800-333-4554.

Reviews

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Autotrader has a 1.6 rating on Trustpilot while Carvana has a 2.7 rating. On Better Business Bureau or BBB, Autotrader received a 1.25 rating while Carvana has no ratings. As shown on the website, the latter’s information is being updated.

Looking over the positive reviews on these websites, Autotrader customers liked that they received better prices for their cars. Others also complimented the quick selling process, with one customer mentioning they were able to sell their car within 24 hours.

Carvana also received praises from their customers, particularly for the offers they received. Some also complimented the seamless process of car-selling. 

As for complaints, both had their fair share from sellers. At Autotraders, sellers complained about not getting connected to customer service when they need them. 

Some Carvana customers had issues with the low instant offers they received. Although, noticeably, the customer service team replied to some of the one-star ratings at Trustpilot. 

Autotrader & Carvana Alternatives

Peddle

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Sites like Autotrader and Carvana make it easy to sell cars these days and enable you to get cash for your car within 48 hours. You only need to go through their website and provide some details about your car. Another company you should check out if you’re looking to sell cars this way is Peddle. 

Peddle also gives instant offers through their website and offers free pickup like Carvana. But compared to Carvana and Autotrader, Peddle purchases vehicles in all kinds of conditions. 

After all, the latter is not buying for their inventory, whereas Autotrader and Carvana are looking to sell the vehicles they purchase. 

Wheelzy

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Similar to Autotrader, there are two ways you can sell your car to Wheelzy. First is through an instant offer where you’ll be selling your car to the company within 72 hours. Another is by listing your car on the Wheelzy website and private buyers can contact you for offers. 

What sets Wheelzy apart from Autotrader, and Carvana for this matter is that you can sell any car to it. It basically operates in a way that helps owners dispose of old and junk cars. 

Considering this, Wheelzy is also a great alternative to Peddle if you’re looking to sell vehicles that don’t pass the Autotrader or Carvana’s requirements. 

CarBrain

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CarBrain is a company that specializes in buying damaged vehicles from individuals.

Fill out a form with accurate information about the vehicle, receive an instant offer or a guaranteed offer shortly after, accept the offer, and the company arranges for a local partner to come and pick up the vehicle. Payments are made within 24 to 48 hours. 

CarBrain offers fair prices based on the car’s make, model, and current condition.