Sell It Yourself Car Seller's Guide

Frequently Asked Questions: General Information

• Why should I sell my vehicle on Cars.com?
• Do used car buyers search online?
• How many people search for used cars on your site?
• How many ads do you have on your site?
• How many prospects search for lower-value used vehicles?
• How many leads does the average ad generate?
• What types of cars do visitors shop from on your site?

• How does Cars.com work?
• What are the steps?
• What are the packages you offer?
• What's the 90-day guarantee and how does it work?
• Can I do this by fax or phone?
• How long does it take to sell a car? Do you help with the sale?
• What is your refund policy? Who should I contact?
• What if I am a dealer?

• How do I get my ad seen? What information do I need to place an ad?
• When will my ad appear on Cars.com?
• How do I know if shoppers are looking at my ad?
• How long will my ad run on the site?
• Do I need to do anything so that my ad appears on all sites in the Cars.com network?
• How do I get my ad in the newspaper?
• What geographic regions does your service cover?
• How does your partnership with Yahoo! Autos benefit me?

• I want to make changes. How much does it cost to edit or renew my ad?
• How can I upgrade my ad package?
• Can I post multiple ads at once?
• Can I reuse my ad to sell a second car?

• How do buyers contact me?
• How do I protect my identity?
• What safe selling practices should I follow when selling my car?

• Help!
• What can I do if I am having trouble with my VPN or wireless connection?
• What can I do if I am having trouble signing in or placing an ad?
• Who can I contact if I have additional questions about my ad?

• Include a current photo of your vehicle. Ads with actual photos (instead of a manufacturer's photo) generate a greater number of leads, as these ads allow buyers to see the actual car advertised.
• Include your car's vehicle identification number (VIN). This shows prospective buyers you have an actual vehicle you're selling and allows them to run a Carfax Vehicle History Report on your vehicle.
• Include an honest, detailed description in the Additional Selling Points and Condition Description sections. The more information you provide about your vehicle, the more buyers will trust your ad and the more likely they will be to contact you. Shoppers won't expect a used car to be in perfect condition, so be honest.
• Be realistic in your asking price (check resale values). If you ask near the top of the estimated resale value and don't receive any inquiries, you may be asking too much. In this case, you may want to lower your asking price.

1. Enter the ZIP code for the location of your vehicle.
2. Select your desired ad package.
3. Enter your vehicle's information and your contact information.
4. Add your own photo(s), or use one of Cars.com's photos from our library.
5. Preview your ad to ensure that everything looks accurate.
6. Enter your login information or create a new account.
7. Pay for your ad through our secure server.

When you purchase an ad that includes Cars.com's 90-Day Money Back Guarantee, you will be doing so with confidence. These ads include free renewals and edits to ensure that you will sell your car. If you are an individual seller and your car remains on Cars.com continuously for 90 days without being sold or traded in, you may be eligible for a refund of your listing fee. Your refund request must be postmarked within 14 days of the 90-day guarantee date.

Your 90-Day Money Back Guarantee date is 90 days after the start date of your ad. You can find the 90-Day Guarantee date on the email receipt you received with your order. You can find the start date of your ad on your My Ads page.

To be eligible for the Guarantee, each of the following conditions must be met:

a) Your ad choice must include the 90-Day Money Back Guarantee. Not all Cars.com ads include the guarantee; those that do are noted as such. Check the Package Selection page to make sure. The Guarantee does not apply to any listings that are purchased from one of Cars.com's newspaper or other affiliates or partners as part of a print/online bundled package, even if the listings appear on Cars.com.

b) The listing must have been on Cars.com for 90 consecutive calendar days without interruption following the ad start date. You must activate at least one renewal (at no charge) to accomplish this. If you upgrade to a listing that includes the guarantee, the 90-day period commences on the date that the upgraded listing first appears on the Cars.com site, not the date the original listing went live on the Cars.com site.

c) The advertised vehicle must still be for sale as of the date the refund request is submitted and the vehicle's title must be in your possession or the possession of a lien holder on your behalf. Listings for vehicles that have been sold (as the result of the listing or any other online or offline source) or traded in, or for vehicles that are otherwise no longer available for sale, are not eligible.

d) The listing must have been purchased by an Individual Seller and not a Dealer, as defined above in the Sell It Yourself Rules.

e) The listing must satisfy all provisions of the Cars.com Sell It Yourself Terms and Conditions.

f) Only one Guarantee refund per household per calendar year.

Individual Sellers who meet the Guarantee Eligibility/Limitation requirements may request a refund by following the process described below. Refunds will be granted only if all of the instructions below are followed.


a) Refund requests must be sent via postal mail to Cars.com, Attn: Money Back Guarantee, 175 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60604. No requests via email, fax or in person will be accepted.


b) Refund requests must be postmarked no earlier than 91 days after the listing first appeared on Cars.com and no later than 104 days after the date the listing first appeared on Cars.com.


c) Refund request must include a completed and signed copy of the Cars.com Refund Request form. Incomplete or unsigned refund request forms will not be accepted.


d) The refund will be credited to the credit card used for the ad purchase.


e) The listing will be removed from the Cars.com site when the refund is issued.

Cars.com shall, in its sole discretion, determine whether all requirements for the Guarantee have been satisfied and may terminate or modify the Guarantee program on a prospective basis at any time. The act of submitting a refund request does not ensure that a refund will be issued.


Note: Adobe Reader is required to view and print the Refund Request form. Download it for free here.

Additional conditions apply. Read the full 90-Day Money Back Guarantee Terms and Conditions here.

Our full refund policy can be found here.

Please review our Refund Policy prior to placing your ad. Cars.com does not generally provide refunds for Sell It Yourself listings more than 24 hours after the listing is purchased. If you wish to submit a refund request, please use our contact customer service form to submit your request for review.

Sellers who meet the 90-Day Money Back Guarantee eligibility requirements may request a refund following the process described in the Money Back Guarantee Terms and Conditions. 90-Day Money Back Guarantee refund requests must be made via postal mail using the Refund Request form. (Note: Adobe Reader is required to view and print the Refund Request form. Download it for free here.)

• Your vehicle's make, model, style and production year.
• Your vehicle's mileage, condition, exterior color and transmission type.
• A list of standard and optional equipment on your vehicle. You can research your vehicle's standard equipment on Cars.com.
• Your asking price (check resale values).
• (Optional) A digital picture of your vehicle. We have a library of photos that you can use if you don't have one.
• (Optional) Your VIN number to generate a CARFAX Vehicle History Report.
• If you need to change something in your ad later, no problem. You can come back and edit your ad if it's necessary. (Note: You will not be able to edit the make, model, year, and style unless you made a mistake when you originally entered it.)
• Your credit card and billing address.