Which Online Car-Buying Service Will Give you The Best Offer?

Which Online Car-Buying Service Will Give you The Best Offer? New Data says Carmax

Selling a car in 2022 isn’t as isn't as easy a process as it used to be. With COVID-19’s lasting effects on manufacturing, low inventory in the auto industry is common. Additionally, the global shortage of semiconductors throws another wrench into the production of new vehicles. In some cases, there aren’t even any new cars available at local dealerships.

Cue the rise in demand for used cars, and the subsequent rise in prices of these vehicles. In the last year, the prices of used vehicles have soared. Prices are up 25% year over year in 2022 and 60% higher than they were before the pandemic. In May, the average price for a used car was $28,312. These days, it’s unlikely consumers would be able to find a used car below $10,000.

The demand for used cars has remained sky-high, encouraging lots of people to consider selling their vehicles. The need for a vehicle for a work commute has been greatly reduced due to the number of people who work remotely or work from home. Others consider selling their vehicles due to the record high gas prices - the average U.S. driver spends 2.57% of their monthly income on their gas tank.

The possibility to make a profit on your used vehicle, though, is a driving reason why Americans have been looking to find out where they’ll get the best offers for their cars. In the last year, google searches for “where can I sell my car for the most money” have increased over 300%.

To make matters even easier, most used car purchases are made online. In fact, 66% of people purchase their used cars online. Online dealerships and online car buying services like Carvana, Vroom, and Carmax have made the process much more accessible to people both wanting to buy and sell a used vehicle. So where can consumers expect to get the best offers for their used vehicles?

A new study by FinanceBuzz determined that Carmax offers the highest prices for used cars against its competitors. They compared offers on the three car-buying services for different makes, models, and years of 100 vehicles.

The average offer by Carmax was nearly $1,000 more than the offers by Vroom or Carvana. In 63% of the vehicles they analyzed, Carmax made the highest offer for each vehicle. The average offer price from Carmax was nearly $14,000. Conversely,offers from Vroom had the lowest average price of the three dealers. The average offer price from Vroom landed at $12,775.

Their analysis also revealed that the age, vehicle type, and mileage of the vehicle all affect the offer prices. Notably, Carmax returned the highest average offer price across all ages, mileage, and types of vehicles. The biggest difference in vehicle types and offers across the platforms is within the SUV category - Carmax offers more than $1,500 on average for an SUV than Carvana and Vroom.

For those looking to purchase a more affordable used car, it’s likely the mileage will be much higher. Cars with 50,000-100,000 miles returned an average offer of $16,810. Vehicles with 150,000 or more mileage amounts received a combined average offer of $2,957.

While the market for used cars continues to soar, owners looking to sell can take advantage of this trend, possibly even at a net profit. One tip for those looking to sell: always shop around online before agreeing to sell locally.