Both will buy your car without you buying one from them, both give you a number in minutes, and both are free. They are the fastest way to find out what your car is genuinely worth in cash today.
Side by side
| Carvana | CarMax |
|---|
| How you get an offer | Online, VIN or plate plus condition questions | Online, then in-person appraisal to finalise |
| Speed | Minutes, fully online | Minutes online, plus a store visit |
| Offer validity | Typically around 7 days | Typically around 7 days |
| Collection | They collect, or you drop off | You visit a store |
| Offer can change | Yes, at handover if condition differs from what you described | Yes, the in-person appraisal is the real number |
| Negative equity | Handled | Handled |
| Best for | Convenience, no store visit | Getting a firm number from a physical inspection |
Always get both
The offers frequently differ, sometimes by more than a thousand dollars on the same car, because each is pricing against its own inventory needs at that moment. If one is long on your model, the offer drops. Getting both takes about twenty minutes and it is the cheapest money you will ever make.
Then take the higher number to any dealer you are trading with. A written offer from a competitor is the single most effective piece of paper in a trade-in negotiation.
What an instant offer is not
It is not what your car is worth. It is what a large buyer will pay to take it off you today, at zero effort to you, knowing they must recondition and resell it. Expect it to sit meaningfully below what you would achieve selling privately.
That gap is the price of convenience, and for a lot of people it is worth paying. Just go in knowing it is a gap and not a valuation.
Check a VIN: you can run any US VIN on CarWorthIt for a free VIN report (specifications, open recalls, safety ratings and running costs), with an optional paid report that prices it against cars actually for sale near you and shows what it cost new.
If the offer looks low
- Check what you told them. Over-reporting damage in the condition questions costs you money; under-reporting it just gets corrected at handover
- Compare against local listings for the same trim and mileage. If private sellers are asking $4,000 more, that is the premium you are giving up for speed
- Try again in a few weeks. Offers move with their inventory, and the same car can be worth noticeably more a month later
- If it was in an accident, the deduction may be recoverable from the at-fault driver's insurer. See trading in after an accident
Related: Kelley Blue Book alternatives.
Check any car before you buy
Run a VIN free: specs, safety ratings, recalls and running costs in seconds.
The VIN is on the dashboard, door jamb, or title.