Sell your car your way

A local dealer cash offer is a guaranteed purchase offer for your vehicle. Sellers fill out their vehicle details, including photos and any damages, and provide their contact information. They are then presented with a guaranteed offer on their vehicle. The offer is good for 3 business days and subject to inspection by one of our participating dealers. Assuming the dealer's inspection matches the Seller's, a check for the cash offer value is provided to the Seller with no obligation to purchase a replacement vehicle - making it extremely fast and easy to sell your car!

Your local dealer cash offer is valid for 3 business days; subject to a dealership buyer's verification on your physical inspection details. Your dealership buyer will be provided with the cash offer. Sellers will bring their vehicle to their participating dealership within 3 business days for the inspection verification. Once verified for complete accuracy, you will receive a check for the cash offer amount from that dealer. If you would prefer to trade in the car instead, you are free to do so.

To provide the most accurate local dealer cash offer, we require sellers to complete a physical vehicle inspection on their own Sellers can use the Cars.com app or website directly from their phone for ease in taking photos of their vehicle. Otherwise, use the Cars.com website from your desktop and upload saved images of your vehicle. The physical inspection will be verified by a local dealership buyer so accuracy is very important to ensure your original cash offer value.

Although nearly all cars submitted for a cash offer will receive a dollar value, the more accurate you are on vehicle details (damage, tires, photos, etc), the more accurate your cash offer will be. Keep in mind that a dealership buyer will verify your inspection so it's best to be as detailed as possible in order to honor the original cash offer.

Yes! You can redeem your local dealer cash offer and sell your car to a dealership buyer with no obligation to purchase a replacement vehicle.

After receiving your cash offer, schedule time with your participating dealership buyer for an inspection verification within 3 business days.

Once your physical inspection has been verified for accuracy by the dealership buyer, you will receive payment for your vehicle from that dealer.

If a customer is selling their car and not buying a new or used car from the dealer then the difference between the local dealer cash offer and the payoff with be the amount given to the customer and if the payoff is more than the cash offer, the consumer will have to pay that difference (negative equity). If the consumer is buying a car while using the local dealer cash offer then the positive or negative equity will be factored into the deal.

A local dealer cash offer has no relationship to money owed on that car. They are unrelated as we do not know how much you owe on the car. If there is a balance owed on the car, it will need to be paid off as part of the transaction.

When visiting the dealer for your inspection verification, make sure to bring all available car keys, your vehicle's registration, title (if applicable) and any outstanding loan details (if applicable).

This is state by state but there is, in most states.

The vehicle will need to have a current valid tag and any state taxes that are due will need to be paid. These would be registration fees and taxes, not sales taxes. However, if the car is a lease in most states sales taxes on the leased car will need to be paid by the customer.

In most cases, a customer or dealer with call the finance company that is financing the car to determine payoff amount. In some cases, the original dealership that the customer purchased the car will need to be called for the payoff.

The following vehicle types are not eligible for Instant Offer:

1. 1. Commercial Vehicles
2. 2. Government, police, fire, or livery history
3. 3. Motorcycles
4. 4. Recreational vehicles
5. 5. Reconstructed or Salvage
6. 6. Vehicles without a VALID VIN
7. 7. Grey Market vehicles
8. 8. Older than 17 model years
9. 9. Vehicles with altered drivelines, bodies, or illegal or non-functioning emissions equipment
10. 10. Flood, Hail, or Fire damage
11. 11. Vehicles with substantial mechanical or electrical damage
12. 12. Vehicles that have been registered at an auction or offered on a wholesale platform/website 45 days prior to submitting an Instant Offer
13. 13. Vehicles that are valued at less than $1,000; and any other category of vehicle that we, in our sole discretion, believe may adversely impact the operation of the IO Service (each, a "Restricted Vehicle").