How to sell a car: compare offers and keep more of the sale
The best price for a car is the highest net you can actually collect, not the highest number someone mentions. Instant online offers, dealer trade-ins, private sales and auctions each have different fees, timelines and risks. Collect written offers, compare them on net, and decide.
Step by step
1. Prepare documents
Title (or lien payoff details), registration, service records and VIN. A clean, ready title speeds every channel.
2. Collect written offers
Request written or online instant offers and a trade-in appraisal. Note each offer's expiry and inspection conditions.
3. Estimate private-sale net
Use sold comparables, then subtract listing fees, prep, your time and payment-safety steps.
4. Compare net, not headline
Subtract fees, deductions after inspection and transport for each option.
5. Close safely
Use verified payment methods and complete title transfer and release-of-liability paperwork.
Checklist
- Title and lien payoff ready
- At least two written offers
- Offer expiry dates noted
- Inspection-adjustment terms read
- Private-sale fees and time counted
- Secure payment method
- Release of liability filed
Common mistakes
- Accepting a verbal number that changes at inspection
- Ignoring trade-in tax credits where they apply
- Unsafe payment methods in private sales
Where Have It Sold helps
- Log each written offer with expiry and deductions
- Compare offers on net received
- Record what you actually received afterward
What Have It Sold does today
- ✓ Organize buyer evidence (written offers, standing orders, buyback quotes) in a Buyer Book
- ✓ Total every cost and calculate a Max Safe Buy before you commit
- ✓ Grade deals NEON GREEN / GREEN / YELLOW / RED and show what is UNKNOWN
- ✓ Track sourcing candidates, deals, payouts and actual results versus projections
- ✕ Host listings or a marketplace — you buy and sell through your own channels
- ✕ Execute purchases, place bids, or contact buyers or sellers on your behalf
- ✕ Guarantee a buyer, a price, or a profit
A direct marketplace for buying and selling is not available today. If one is ever offered, it will be announced on this site; nothing here should be read as a current listing service.
Questions
- Will Have It Sold buy my car?
- No. Have It Sold does not buy vehicles or connect you with buyers automatically. It helps you compare offers you collect.
- Are instant offers final?
- Usually not — most are subject to inspection. Read the adjustment terms.
- Is private sale always higher?
- Often higher gross, but after fees, time and risk the net can be close to a written offer.