by Andrew Rohrlich
Got a cool car you want to sell?
Or maybe you’re looking to buy an enthusiast car — a unique ride that turns heads and makes you feel great every time you drive it.
Cars and Bids could be the ideal place to get the best price from fellow car enthusiasts who appreciate cool, quirky, or fun rides just as much as you do. Let’s do a quick Cars and Bids review and then get deep into how you can get the most out of this site.
What Is Cars & Bids?
Car reviewer Doug DeMuro, who owns Cars and Bids, created this automotive auction platform to fill a significant gap in the ability of car enthusiasts to buy and sell outstanding automobiles in the U.S. and Canada. Now, car enthusiasts can use this well-organized car auction process to sell or bid on unique modern-era vehicles from the 1980s to the 2020s.
The site also provides help with the logistics and business details like shipping, insurance, and finance. Sellers list free, while buyers pay a 4.5% commission with a minimum of $225 and a maximum of $4,500. So if you’re bidding on a $200,000 Ferrari, you only pay commission on the first $100,000.
Each actual auction description provides a rich information set with:
- A high-quality photo gallery
- Doug DeMiro’s personal take
- Vehicle highlights
- Vehicle equipment
- Vehicle modifications
- Known flaws
- Recent service history
- Ownership history
- Seller notes
- Video
- Seller Q&A
- High bid
- Bid history and comments
Even if you’re not buying or selling, it’s highly informative and entertaining to browse through the listings and photo gallery to see what’s out there in the enthusiast car world.
What Are the Advantages of Cars & Bids for Private Sellers?
Because professional car enthusiasts created Cars & Bids, it has taken the best online car auction platform features and gone a step further to give users an exceptional experience. It’s easy and straightforward to buy and sell. Plus, each carefully vetted listing provides a wealth of detail that may not be available on similar sites. Here are the highlights of the Cars & Bids auction platform:
- Cars & Bids specializes in cool enthusiast cars from the ’80s on, so buyers will come to this site first when they’re looking for something outstanding.
- Free listings for sellers and low buyer commissions.
- Free vehicle history reports, including recent service records.
- Doug DeMiro often reviews cars in his writing, so you may get more eyes on your listing for free.
- The auction listing and bidding process are fast, and the Cars & Bids team helps you optimize your listing to get the best possible results.
- The site is user-friendly, making it easy to search, list, and bid.
- Excellent customer service is always available when you need help.
The Cars & Bids Auction Process for Private Sellers
The Cars & Bids auction process is simple and fair for private automobile sellers as you don’t pay any commission and can set a reserve price. Also, you don’t need to provide much detail to learn if the site will accept your car for listing, so applying is quick.
After approval, you should submit as many details as possible to encourage bidders and get the best possible price. You’ll also want to stay on top of the comments and Q&A sections once your listing goes live.
Auctions only last a week, and sales are complete within a week after bidding closes, so everything moves fast. Here’s a step-by-step guide to the Cars & Bids auction process for sellers.
1. Sign Up for Cars & Bids
Sign-up is easy. You can use a Google or Facebook account or your email. Once you’ve signed up, a popup asks if you want to buy, sell, or browse. When you click on sell, you’ll be asked to submit a few details about your car.
2. Submit Important Vehicle Information
It takes a few minutes to complete this step if you’ve got some excellent pictures ready. Be sure your car is clean, and the lighting is good before you take your shots.
You’ll also need to know your car’s vehicle identification number (VIN). It’s usually on a sticker on the driver’s side of the dashboard where it meets the windshield. You can best view it when standing outside looking in.
Next, you’ll provide your car’s make, model, and year of manufacture. There are several places to find this information:
- In your owner’s manual.
- The year of manufacture is usually on the same sticker as the VIN.
- The make and model are probably on the back of your car.
- The manufacturer’s logo is usually on the car’s front.
After filling in the answers to a few more easy questions, you’ll be ready to submit your car to be considered for listing. The vetting process is quick. You’ll have an answer in a few days. From submission to auction, time is under a week.
3. If Your Car Is Accepted, Provide Photos, Vehicle Features, and Vehicle History
All buyers have to judge your car is what you provide. The better your pictures are, and the more complete your information is, the better the selling price will be. Most listings have 100+ images, and a short video you can shoot on your phone is required. Cars & Bids has put together a photo guide to help you get the best visuals possible.
You can also submit images of any service logs. In the notable equipment includes section, mention any special factory equipment or customizations to help you get a better price. Knowing the vehicle’s ownership history gives buyers confidence.
This is also an excellent time to familiarize yourself with the title transfer process at your state’s DMV. If you have an outstanding loan on the car, you may also want to ask your bank how their process works.
4. Create an Optimized Listing With Cars & Bids Team
The live support team at Cars & Bids will work with you to build and optimize the best listing possible. After you’ve submitted all the necessary information, they will create the listing draft and send it for your approval.
Once you’re happy with the draft, the team will work with you to schedule your auction, and it will go live.
5. Listing Is Featured for a Week and Sold
Your active participation in the live auction can generate more interest and more bids and increase the price you get at the end. You can respond to comments and questions and add pictures and videos as the auction proceeds.
Bidders sometimes contact sellers directly by email using the “Contact Seller” option to arrange pre-purchase inspections or emissions testing at their cost or schedule test drives.
The last few minutes can be exciting. If a bidding war erupts, any bids received in the final minute will cause your auction to be extended for an additional minute to give bidders a last chance.
6. Seller Connects With Highest Bidder
After a successful auction, Cars & Bids will send you a checklist to complete the sale. You and the buyer can connect and work out details and logistics. Contact your buyer immediately to introduce yourself and send a copy of the title and registration as proof of ownership.
If you used a reserve auction price that wasn’t met, Cars & Bids will contact you and the highest bidder to see if you can make a deal.
7. Transaction Is Completed
Cars & Bids expects buyers to make full payment within a week of the auction close. If there is a loan on the car, talk about how you’ll handle paying it. If you don’t have funds to pay it off, you’ll need to make arrangements for the buyer to pay the outstanding amount directly to the lender before delivering the remainder to you.
You should create a Bill of Sale to be signed by both parties. You can find a template online, or your DMV office may have one.
There are many possible payment delivery options, but cashier’s checks or wire transfers are the most common. You should not make arrangements to have the car picked up or release the vehicle and title until you have received full payment.
If you’re doing a remote transaction, you can send the signed-over title by courier service using a tracking number after you have received full payment.
Finalize Your Private Party Car Sale With Caramel
This article was provided by Caramel, whose mission is to change the way people buy and sell cars from one another — making the entire experience safe, simple, and sweet. It's the first car checkout platform designed for private-party buyers and sellers. You can find or list your car anywhere and use Caramel to handle everything else. That includes DMV work, secure payment, identity verification, vehicle reports, financing, delivery, insurance, vehicle protection, and more.
Loan funding is available through Caramel after a credit profile review. Credit approval is usually granted quickly to those with excellent credit.
Caramel provides sellers with a link to include on your listing so buyers can finish their checkout process with peace of mind. When buyers click the link, they’ll be directed to your car, and the selling price will be displayed.
This article was written by Andrew Rohrlich. As a brand and product marketing expert, Andrew Rohrlich has crafted products, experiences and communications for household names like Gap and for multiple automotive technology businesses. For nearly a decade Andrew has studied automotive retail in depth from a customer point of view and aggregated the industry’s best research, thought leadership and know how to provide credible and important information to auto shoppers and sellers.
Start your transaction with Caramel, learn more about how the process works, or reach out to our Support team with any questions.
