Buying a car online can now mean much more than scrolling through your local dealership's inventory before heading out for a test drive. Depending on the site, shoppers can compare thousands of vehicles, research pricing, get preapproved for financing, find out the value of a trade-in and, in some cases, complete nearly the entire purchase without even setting foot in a dealership.
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This important thing to know is that car shopping sites don’t all work the same way. Some have their own vehicle inventories you can shop, while others act as marketplaces, bringing together listings from many different sellers. Still others are geared more toward research, helping you learn about the history of a used car you might be considering buying.
That's why it's a good idea to know all the different sites and what they offer, based on your needs and where you are in the buying process. Here's what you need to know if you're shopping online for a car.
Carvana is an online automotive retailer that lets you purchase a used car without having to visit a traditional dealership. Shoppers can browse Carvana’s inventory, view vehicle details online, get prequalified for financing, arrange a trade-in and even complete the purchase online. You can finance through Carvana, pay cash or get a loan through another financial institution.
The vehicles listed on Carvana are sold by Carvana rather than independent dealerships. They're inspected and reconditioned when Carvana acquires them, and every purchase includes a seven-day return period and a limited 100-day/4,189-mile warranty. Depending on location and vehicle availability, shoppers can have their car delivered or go pick it up, including from Carvana's vending machines.
CarMax offers both online car buying and a large network of physical stores, making it a helpful middle ground for shoppers who want online convenience, but aren't quite ready to give up the in-person experience. Pricing is upfront and nonnegotiable, a departure from the haggling that's usually customary when buying a used car, and nationwide inventory can be transferred between different CarMax locations (though shipping fees may apply).
The buying process can be completed online, including financing and trade-ins, with cars delivered to your home or picked up. Every vehicle CarMax sells is CarMax Certified after an inspection and comes with a free vehicle history report, 10-day money-back guarantee and limited warranty.
CarGurus is primarily an online marketplace, not a retailer. It offers listings for both new and used vehicles, and can help shoppers evaluate whether the asking price for a particular car is competitive using CarGurus’ pricing analysis, which categorizes listings and rates deals. This makes it easier to spot cars that are well-priced or overpriced relative to the market.
CarGurus also offers context that can be difficult to know just from the sticker price, including price changes, accident history, days on the market and certain fees. You can shop by budget, prequalify for financing and compare offers when selling a vehicle. CarGurus isn't a one-stop-shop for online buying and selling, but it's a great place to research and price compare.
Autotrader is a huge automotive marketplace with listings for new, used and certified vehicles sold by both dealerships and private sellers. You can search for cars by make, model, price and other specifications, and there's also a Smart Search feature that allows conversational queries (for example, "Show me hybrids with less than 50,000 miles").
Autotrader also bridges online research and shopping at a dealership. Its My Wallet tools let shoppers search around a budget, and eligible vehicles from participating dealers can be purchased online and delivered. You can also research listings before arranging a test drive, research Kelley Blue Book pricing resources or get an Instant Cash Offer on a car you want to sell or trade.
Edmunds offers a vehicle marketplace, but its major strength is as a place to do extensive car research. Its resources include expert reviews, vehicle rankings, first drives, long-term road tests, buying guides and detailed specifications, plus tools for comparing vehicles and estimating factors like ownership costs and financing.
Once you're ready to browse inventory, Edmunds lists both new and used vehicles and assigns deal ratings to help add context to the asking prices. Its used car search can also separate traditional dealership, private party and online listings. For some cars, the whole purchase can be done online, followed by vehicle delivery (with a seven-day return window). Edmunds also provides appraisal and trade-in tools.
AutoNation is a nationwide dealership group with a website where shoppers can browse both new and pre-owned inventory across multiple car brands. You can also use this site to research different vehicles, start the financing process and value or sell a current car. Because AutoNation operates physical sales and service locations, it's possible to move between its online tools and physical stores.
AutoNation is a particularly good place to go for used car shopping. AutoNation 1Price pre-owned vehicles have fixed, no-haggle pricing, and all used vehicles include a Carfax vehicle history report and a five-day/250-mile money-back guarantee. Certain vehicles are Quality Certified, meaning they receive a more extensive inspection and warranty. For shoppers who want to compare new and used vehicles while still buying directly from a large dealership network, AutoNation fills a different niche than both online-only retailers and marketplaces.
Carfax is best known for its vehicle history reports, and that historical data is also the defining feature of its used car marketplace. Every used vehicle listed for sale on Carfax includes a free Carfax report, which allows shoppers to check information such as previous damage, service history and number of owners while they browse inventory, rather than purchasing a report separately.
Carfax also incorporates that information into its History-Based Value, which considers each vehicle’s history alongside other factors when estimating its value. Searches can be filtered by price, vehicle type and other criteria, and the site includes research resources for comparing models and understanding the used car buying process.
Kelley Blue Book, also known as KBB, is as much a pricing and research resource as it is a place to find cars for sale. Its shopping tools include new and used listings, local dealer information, reviews and vehicle comparisons. Its Fair Purchase Price data also helps shoppers evaluate what they might reasonably expect to pay for a particular vehicle.
In fact, KBB is the place to go to figure out the value of a vehicle. Its valuation tools provide trade-in and private-party estimates based on vehicle details, and it now also has an Instant Cash Offer program that can generate an actual offer that can be redeemed at a participating dealer after the vehicle is inspected. The site also provides loan calculators, ownership cost information, depreciation data and expert reviews
Car.com is a vehicle search and research site that doesn't sell cars itself, but aggregates dealer inventory for shoppers to browse new and used vehicles by make, body style, price and location, with filters for specifications including mileage, fuel type and drivetrain.
One thing that makes Car.com useful is how shoppers can search by affordability rather than sticker price alone — you can enter your preferred down payment and loan term to explore vehicles based on your monthly budget, and listing searches display estimated payments. The site can also surface vehicles from retailers that offer delivery. Aside from shopping, Car.com provides tools for researching models, plus car buying guidance.
Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.
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