When you’re looking for the fastest way to sell your car, the real trick is to find a method that’s fast, without giving your car away for a price that’s far below its actual value. 

As you’ll see, there are several options that let you sell your car quickly and still get a fair price. 

In this post, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of 4 different options that let you take control of the selling process and sell your car the way that makes the most sense for you. 

Classic Classified Ads

The time-honored tradition of taking out a classified ad to sell your car is still alive and well in the digital age. Obviously, fewer and fewer folks are paying for print ads in the physical newspaper, but some people still do. 

Today, many papers allow you to purchase print ads and online classified ads separately or together as a package. As you would expect, the vast majority of your responses will probably come from the online ads. 

The biggest drawback of using classified ads is that they require a lot of work. And while you can get a good price for your car through the classifieds, it’s not usually the fastest way to sell your car. 

Another drawback of classified ads is the hassle of coordinating test drives and communications with the strangers who show interest in your ad. This comes along with certain risks around personal safety and security, as well as the risk of problems with the final payment. 

Listing Your Car in Online Marketplaces

Using an online marketplace like Facebook Marketplace is a relatively convenient way to sell your car. The sale could be very fast, or it could be very slow. It really just depends on the car you’re selling and the local market at that particular point in time. 

The biggest benefit of online marketplaces is that they give you access to a very large audience with a lot of potential buyers. The biggest downside is that there will likely be vehicles very similar to yours already listed, and that direct competition can drive your price down. 

“We Buy Used Cars” Services 

One of the fastest ways to sell your car is through a local or regional “We Buy Used Car” service. While some of these companies provide a respectable service, others could be considered borderline predatory due to the low prices they offer. 

When you accept the company’s offer, they either come pick up your car or ask you to bring it to a dropoff location. 

If you decide to go this route, be cautious of lowball offers that are well below the actual value of your vehicle. Simply reaching out to a competing service might get you a significantly higher offer. 

The Best of All Worlds: The Online Appraisal 

The fourth option is a brand new approach, and it’s still a relatively new concept in the automotive industry. 

Mobile technology now allows you to connect directly with a team of live appraisers who can evaluate every detail of your car and give you a guaranteed offer for the exact value of your car. 

The result is a way to get a fair market price for your car with the convenience and speed of a “We Buy Used Cars” service. 

The Appraisal Lane invented this method, and we continue to lead the way in online vehicle valuation. You simply upload photos of your car and answer a series of questions, and our appraisers will give you a guaranteed offer in 30 minutes or less. 

Final Thoughts on the Fastest Way to Sell Your Car

There are many different ways to sell your car. Some will likely bring a higher price than others, some are more convenient than others, and some are especially fast. 

As a seller, your job is to identify the method that works best for you. For many people, this means finding a compromise between the fastest way to sell your car and the highest price. 

If that sounds like you, we think you’ll have a great experience with The Appraisal Lane. Submitting your car takes less than 30 minutes, but our guaranteed offer is good for 7 days.