Seven ways to sell a car

Everyone charges something. Here is exactly what, and what you get for it.

A flat $100 and a 5% commission look like the same kind of number until you put a car price behind them, and then they differ by a factor of fifteen. Every fee, every feature, and everything each one knows about the car — with the arithmetic already done.

$0To list on Carsido. eBay charges $34–$79 whether it sells or not

$100Flat when it sells, whatever the car costs

$1,599Bring a Trailer on the same $30,000 car

12Things a free Carsido report knows about any VIN

Start here

Which one should you actually use?

Three of these are noticeboards, one is a closing service you bring your own deal to, two are auctions, and one tries to be both halves at once. Which kind you need matters more than what it charges.

An ordinary car, title in hand

Carsido. Free to list, $100 flat only if it sells, $0 if the buyer pays cash. Nothing is charged for trying.

The car still has a loan

KeySavvy (+$99) or eBay, both of which pay the lienholder directly. Carsido needs a clear title.

A collector car with a story

Bring a Trailer. The 5% is real money, and it buys a room of people who will bid a good restoration to where it deserves to land.

You want a guarantee behind it

eBay Secure Purchase. Up to $500,000 of protection and a 30-day engine and transmission warranty. Nothing else here offers either.

A $900 car for a friend’s kid

Facebook or OfferUp. Free, local, done in an afternoon. Run a free Carsido report on the VIN first.

Checking a car you found elsewhere

A Carsido report. Free on any VIN, wherever the car is listed. The one thing on this page nothing else does.

Fees and charges

Pick a price. Watch the fees rearrange themselves.

Everything that leaves the deal, both sides added together, on a clean sale with no loan payoff and no add-ons.

The car sells for

Facebook Marketplace$0
—Free to list a vehicle. No fee, and no transaction either.
OfferUp$0
SellerOne free vehicle listing a month, then $4.99–$7.99. Nothing on a local sale.
Craigslist$5
Seller$5 to post. Nothing at the sale, because nothing happens at the sale.
eBay Motors$59
Both$34 to list (charged sold or not) + $25 to close through Caramel. Add 2.8% of any deposit — on $500 that is $14, out of the seller’s payout.
Carsido$100
Buyer$100 flat, buyer side. $0 on an all-cash handoff.
KeySavvy$198
Split$99 buyer + $99 seller. Add $99 if the seller has a loan to pay off, and 3.19% if the buyer pays by card.
Bring a Trailer$699
Both$99 Classic listing + 5% buyer fee ($600), min $250, capped at $7,500.

Totals are what leaves the deal — both sides added together — on a straightforward sale with no loan payoff, no transport and no add-ons. The cheap end of this list is cheap because it stops at an introduction: no verification, no paperwork, no money moving anywhere near the platform.

The whole comparison

Everything, side by side

✓ does it · ~ partly, see the note · — does not. Where a competitor is genuinely better, it says so.

Scroll the table sideways to see every platform →

Fee and feature comparison of Carsido, eBay Motors, KeySavvy, Bring a Trailer, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp
	CarsidoMarketplace + closing	eBay MotorsClosing by Caramel	KeySavvyClosing service	Bring a TrailerEnthusiast auction	CraigslistClassifieds	FacebookMarketplace	OfferUpAbsorbed letgo
What you are actually dealing with
What it is	Marketplace and the closing, in one place	Listing site. The closing is Caramel, which eBay owns — and Caramel still takes a deal you found anywhere	Closing service. Operates as a licensed dealer	Curated auction for enthusiast cars	Classified ads	Classified ads inside a social network	Classifieds app. Bought letgo and shut it down in 2020
Somewhere to find a car	Yes	Yes	NoBrings a deal you already found	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Handles the sale itself	Yes	YesSecure Purchase, powered by Caramel	Yes	NoYou settle up privately	No	No	No
Reach	Nationwide	Nationwide	Nationwide, on any listing	Nationwide, enthusiast buyers	One metro at a time	Local-first	Local-first
Fees and charges
To list the car	Free	$34 up to $15k, $79 above — charged win or lose	n/a	$99 · $429 · $2,500 by tier	$5 per post	Free	One free a month, then $4.99–$7.99
When it sells	$100 flat. $0 on an all-cash handoff	No final value fee. $25 buyer fee to close	$99 buyer + $99 seller	5% buyer fee, $250 min, $7,500 cap	Nothing	Nothing	Nothing on a local sale
Takes a cut of the price	NoFlat, whatever the car costs	No	NoFlat, plus 3.19% if the buyer pays by card	Yes5% of the hammer price	No	No	No
The other charges	None. The wire costs neither side anything	2.8% of any deposit, out of the seller’s payout. Through Caramel direct instead: $195 buyer document fee	+$99 to pay off a loan · 3.19% on card payments	10% with a $4,000 cap on bikes, ATVs and parts	None	None for a vehicle	None on local pickup
A $30,000 car costs	$100	$104, or $118 with a $500 deposit	$198	$1,599	$5	$0	$0
Money, title and paperwork
Checks the money is real before the keys move	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Identity verified on both sides	Yes	Yes	Yes	PartlyBidders are vetted	No	No	No
Ownership checked against the title	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Works when the car still has a loan	NoPay the lender off first	YesLien payoff handled	Yes+$99	No	No	No	No
Title transfer and DMV registration	PartlySupport, and DMV filing where it is available	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Temporary tag so the buyer can drive away	PartlyWhere the state allows it	Yes60–90 day permit	Yes	No	No	No	No
Digital contract with e-signature	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Financing	PartlyBring your own bank or credit union	YesPartner banks	YesPartner options	No	No	No	No
Transport to the buyer	NoMeet in person	Yes	No	PartlyQuotes from partners	No	No	No
What it knows about the car
Free report on any VIN, before you commit	YesA free account unlocks the full report	PartlyAutoCheck, on its own listings only	No	No	No	No	No
Title brands and salvage history	Yes	PartlyVia AutoCheck	No	PartlyWhatever the seller states	No	No	No
Flood risk (FEMA)	Yes	PartlyVia AutoCheck	No	No	No	No	No
Theft and stolen records	Yes	PartlyVia AutoCheck	No	No	No	No	No
Open safety recalls (NHTSA)	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Known issues for that year, make and model	Yes	No	No	PartlyIn the comments, not as data	No	No	No
Market value at your mileage and state	YesPrivate-party, trade-in and dealer	No	No	PartlyPast auction results	No	No	No
Sales and listing history	Yes	PartlyVia AutoCheck	No	PartlyIts own past auctions	No	No	No
Guided photo walkaround, read by AI	Yes	No	No	PartlyLots of photos, no analysis	No	No	No
What your state needs to transfer the title	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Sales tax estimate for your state	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Shows which sources it checked, and when	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Safety and what happens when it goes wrong
Your phone number stays yours	Yes	Yes	Not applicable	PartlyBidding is public	PartlyRelay email	NoYour profile is attached	Partly
Document and fraud checks	Yes	YesThrough Caramel	Yes	PartlyListings are curated	No	No	No
Someone to call after the sale	Yes	Yes	Yes	PartlyAuction disputes only	No	No	No
A money-back protection guarantee	PartlyDispute support, not a guarantee	YesUp to $500,000	No	No	No	No	No
Any warranty on the car	No	Yes30-day engine and transmission	No	No	No	No	No

Fees from each company’s own published pricing: eBay Motors fees · eBay Secure Purchase · Caramel fees · KeySavvy · Craigslist posting fees. Spotted one that has moved? Tell us.

What we know about the car

Six of these know the price. One of them knows the car.

On a noticeboard the vehicle data is whatever the seller typed. eBay does better, bundling an AutoCheck into its own listings — but only its own. A Carsido report runs on any VIN, on a car nobody here is selling you.

History

Title brands & salvage
Flood risk (FEMA)
Theft records
Open recalls (NHTSA)
Sales & listing history

Condition

AI photo walkaround
Known issues for the model

Value

Market value at your mileage
Sales tax for your state

Paperwork

Your state’s transfer rules
Every source, status and date

One plain-English verdict and a 0–100 score, free while we are in early access. Run one on any VIN →

The verdict

Where Carsido wins, and where it plainly does not

eBay bought Caramel in 2025 and now closes vehicle sales with it, which makes eBay Motors the serious competitor here rather than another noticeboard. Below $15,000 it is also cheaper than we are. So here is the honest split.

Four things Carsido does better

Nothing up front. eBay charges $34–$79 the moment you list, whether the car sells or not. Carsido charges only when money actually changes hands.
$0 on a cash handoff. If the buyer pays cash when they collect the car, the fee is waived entirely.
Flat forever. $100 on a $6,000 car and $100 on a $60,000 one. Bring a Trailer would take $3,099 on the second.
A Verified Report on any VIN, free. Including a car listed on eBay, Craigslist or Facebook. Nothing else here will tell you about a car it is not selling.

Four times you should use something else

The car has a loan. Carsido needs a clear title. KeySavvy (+$99) and eBay both pay the lienholder for you.
You need it shipped. eBay arranges transport; Carsido expects you to meet in person.
You want a guarantee or a warranty. eBay Secure Purchase carries up to $500,000 of protection and 30 days on the engine and transmission. Carsido offers dispute support, which is not the same promise.
The car is under $15,000. eBay is $59 all-in against our $100, and it files the title for you. We would rather say so than hope you do not work it out.

Questions

The ones people actually ask

Why is Carsido more expensive than Craigslist?

Because Craigslist stops at the introduction. Five dollars buys a post; everything after that — proving the seller owns the car, proving the money is real, moving it, signing anything, transferring the title — is yours to organise with a stranger in a parking lot. The $100 covers the part that comes after the handshake.

eBay looks cheaper than Carsido. Is it?

Under about $15,000, yes. A $12,000 car costs $59 on eBay — a $34 listing fee plus the $25 Secure Purchase fee — against $100 on Carsido, and eBay files the title for you. Two things go the other way. The listing fee is charged when you list, so it is gone whether or not the car sells, while the Carsido fee only exists if it does. And the Carsido fee drops to $0 if the buyer pays cash. Above $15,000 the two are within $20 of each other, and the real difference stops being price.

Why is eBay and Caramel one column?

Because they are one company. eBay bought Caramel in 2025, and eBay Secure Purchase is Caramel — the identity checks, the title transfer and the temporary tag are all Caramel Dealer Services, an eBay subsidiary. Listing them separately would have counted the same product twice. Caramel does still work on its own for a car you found anywhere else, and that route costs a $195 buyer document fee instead of $25, which the fee row shows.

What happened to letgo?

OfferUp bought letgo’s US business and shut the app down in 2020, and US traffic has landed on OfferUp ever since. Only OfferUp is on this page because only OfferUp still exists.

Does Carsido work if the seller still owes money on the car?

Not today. The lender has to be paid off and the title clear before a Carsido sale can close. KeySavvy ($99) and eBay Secure Purchase both handle a lien payoff, and on that specific deal either is the better tool.

Is the $100 really the whole cost?

On a straightforward sale, yes — one flat $100, paid by the buyer, and nothing at all on an all-cash handoff. The seller pays nothing and receives the full price. A bank wire adds nothing beyond the $100; a card adds its processing cost, at cost. What Carsido does not cover is what your state charges you: registration, title fee and sales tax are the DMV’s, not ours, and the report tells you what they come to before you commit.

Sell your car to a real buyer for a flat $100.

Not a percentage. Not a trade-in.

Sell a car Check a VIN free