Selling your car online is a great way to increase exposure to potential buyers well beyond your neighborhood or zipcode. Gone are the days of putting an ad in the newspaper or sticking a for sale sign on your car in hopes of landing a private sale based on passersby. There are so many buyers out there and geography or proximity are no longer limitations in finding them.
To get started, head over to Cars.com and begin creating a listing. If this is your first car listing on the site, you’ll need to start by creating an account. Once your account is created, click on the build new ad link. The basic package for selling your car on the site is free. This package includes up to five photos of the car, an active ad for one month with renewals for free and reports available to gauge how potential buyers are interacting with your ad. There is also a plus package on the site for $20 which includes 10 photos and a two month run, and premium package which runs for 150 days and includes 15 photos and a free CarFax report.
Once you’ve chosen the right package for you, enter the basic information about your car including the year, make, model, body style, mileage and more. There are also special features options that you can select to give potential buyers a full picture of what the vehicle offers. These optional features include comfort features, safety features, entertainment features and more. You’ll then need to enter an asking price. If you aren’t sure what price you should ask, you can also use the site’s valuation tool which estimates the private sale value of your vehicle based on information that you provide. You will need to provide contact information for buyers. The site includes your first name and preferred contact method on the listing only. Finally, upload your images and publish your ad. Hopefully you’ll have plenty of potential buyers before you know it and on your way to buying your own new car.