To sell your car through Edmunds, you run its free appraisal tool, and if the car qualifies, an instant offer from CarMax, which owns Edmunds, appears at the end. Edmunds buys nothing itself. You take the offer to a CarMax store within 7 days, CarMax checks the car against what you entered, and you leave with a check.
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Edmunds’ help center is direct: “Edmunds.com is not a dealership and we do not directly sell or purchase vehicles” (Edmunds help center). The number at the end of an appraisal is a partner’s bid, and Edmunds names the partner: “We have partnered with CarMax to provide an instant cash offer for eligible vehicles” (Can I sell my car through Edmunds?).
CarMax owns Edmunds. CarMax’s latest annual report says that on June 1, 2021, “we completed the acquisition of Edmunds Holding Company” (CarMax 10-K for fiscal 2026), and Edmunds’ sell page calls it “a wholly owned subsidiary of CarMax, Inc.” (as archived on October 8, 2026). For questions about a CarMax offer, Edmunds’ help center points you to CarMax: “the offer originates from CarMax, so you will need to contact them directly with any questions about the offer” (Edmunds help center).
Edmunds’ appraisal page adds that it “partners with other car-buying services to provide more options for people,” and that those offers “must be redeemed at those participating dealerships” (appraisal page, as archived on September 28, 2026).
Edmunds answers “How much is my car worth” with its appraisal tool, which starts with a license plate or VIN. Edmunds then asks for the trim, options, color, mileage and condition, and its help center tells you to enter them “as accurately as possible,” since the offer rests on them. Edmunds says you can run the tool “at no charge” (Edmunds help center).
The report, once called True Market Value or TMV, shows an offer section when the car qualifies, then three values: trade-in, private party and dealer retail. Edmunds says the appraised value rests on “the car’s year, make, model, trim, mileage, features, condition level and depreciation” (appraisal page, as archived). Its sales data, per the TMV page, is “downloaded weekly from a dealer management system of 5,000 dealerships and dealer groups across the country,” roughly a quarter of all U.S. dealers (TMV page, as archived on October 11, 2026). CarMax supplies some of that data, but Edmunds says it “does not participate in or otherwise influence the manner in which Edmunds computes those values.”
| Number on the report | What Edmunds says it is | Can you sell at that number? |
|---|---|---|
| Instant offer | “one or more real trade-in offers from our partner dealerships” | Yes, for 7 days, if the in-person check agrees with your answers |
| Trade-in value | “what you can expect a car dealership to offer for your current vehicle” | No. It is an estimate to hold dealer bids against |
| Private party | a price target “for people who prefer to sell the car on their own” | Only to a buyer you find yourself |
| Dealer retail | “an average of used car selling prices for that model at dealerships in the area” | No. It is a shopper’s number |
Edmunds’ advice is to be honest about condition, and its numbers show why: of its five levels, used vehicles typically split about 5% outstanding, 38% clean, 45% average, 9% rough and 3% damaged. A minor accident fixed with factory parts can still rate clean, though Edmunds says “that decision is often made during the final in-person inspection of the vehicle.”
The trade-in value is a forecast; the offer is a bid. Edmunds says its appraisal report “is not an offer. It is an estimate of the car’s value based on current market conditions,” and warns that a $25,000 trade-in value “doesn’t mean you’re going to be offered that amount by a dealership.” The trade-in figure “will typically be the lowest of the values since the dealership needs to factor in reconditioning, lot fees and profit margin.”
Edmunds’ advice is that if a dealer’s trade-in offer beats the Edmunds trade-in value, “you’re in the best-case scenario and should take it.” Selling doesn’t tie you to buying, either. “Unless otherwise specified, you can sell directly to one of our partners without purchasing another vehicle,” the sell page FAQ says. What Edmunds won’t do is match a competing offer: “We do not have a matching policy.”
If you sell privately, price from the private party figure; Edmunds’ selling guide says that route “has the potential to yield the most profit, but it can also be the most complicated.”
The terms, from Edmunds’ help center: “Provided that the information you provide about your vehicle is accurate, the offer will be valid for 7 days, and the transaction may be completed at any CarMax location near you.” Then you book a CarMax appointment and bring the offer, the car and these (Edmunds help center):
CarMax then checks the car. Edmunds’ fine print says CarMax “will conduct an in-person verification of your vehicle and evaluate other vehicle use and history information prior to finalizing the offer,” and that gaps between your answers and the car’s “actual condition, use, and history may impact the offer you receive from CarMax.” The appraisal page sets the limit: “CarMax only adjusts online offers if a car’s condition, use, or history differs from the information provided.” When everything matches, the sell page’s last step is “Go home with a check.” Despite the word cash in its name, the offer is paid by check.
Let the 7 days lapse and you can appraise again, but “vehicles depreciate as time passes.” Edmunds’ sell and help pages mention no fee for the offer and list no states served; eligibility depends partly on “your location and proximity to participating dealerships.”
Edmunds’ pages don’t say whether a car that won’t start can draw CarMax’s online offer. The nearest they come is the lowest condition level, damaged, for a car with “major mechanical and/or body damage that may render it unsafe to operate,” and Edmunds “does not provide estimates for damaged condition vehicles.” Whether an online offer appears turns on “CarMax’s eligibility criteria, which includes a vehicle history check and other vehicle validation checks.” When none appears, “CarMax requires an in-person appraisal,” and every redemption step Edmunds lists begins with bringing the car to a store.
CarMax’s own rule for non-runners is on our page does CarMax buy cars that don’t run. If CarMax says no, look for buyers who send a truck; selling a car that doesn’t run explains who they are.
Not through the CarMax offer. Edmunds’ redemption checklist asks for the title “if it’s not with the lien holder,” and its fine print adds: “The title must be provided at the time of sale and all titleholders should be present.” A loan paid off long ago can still stop the sale: when an old lien is printed on the title, you need “both the title and lien release from the lien holder before CarMax can purchase your car” (Edmunds help center).
So a lost title means a duplicate first; what a duplicate title costs lists every state’s fee. If a replacement isn’t practical, selling a car without a title covers the routes that still work, and junking a car without a title covers scrap. Peddle, our buying partner, says “We have many buyers that buy cars without a title,” and if you answer “Not sure, I can’t find my title” on its form, the offer is recalculated (Peddle help center), so you can get a second offer before you pay for a duplicate.
Edmunds won’t price most of them. Its TMV page lists “Vehicles with salvage titles” among the cars it cannot appraise, and its help center says it gives no estimates for cars with major damage or a branded title, naming salvaged, flooded and frame-damaged titles as examples (Edmunds help center). Its rough rule is that a salvage title “decreases a vehicle’s value by up to 50%” against the same car with a clean title; for a damaged car it suggests the average-condition price minus the repair bill.
Edmunds’ pages don’t say how CarMax’s offer treats a branded title, beyond the “vehicle history check” in its eligibility rules. CarMax’s position is on does CarMax buy salvage title cars. Who else buys these cars, and what you must tell a buyer, is in selling a salvage or rebuilt title car; for crash damage see selling a damaged car, and after an insurance write-off, selling a totaled car.
A missing or reduced CarMax offer still leaves four routes.
Be fair to the CarMax number, though. For a clean, late-model car that qualifies online, it is likely the stronger offer: a written figure you can redeem at a store without listing the car or meeting strangers. Get it first, then compare. We are not affiliated with Edmunds or CarMax.
Edmunds’ pages set no mileage or age cutoff for the offer, but its eligibility factors include the car’s year, mileage and condition, and the appraisal tool only values cars back to model year 1990.
Usually. Edmunds’ sell-my-lease page (as archived on March 9, 2026) answers “Will CarMax buy a leased car?” with “Yes! In most cases,” but adds that “CarMax cannot purchase a leased vehicle from certain companies.” Its help center says a lease trade-in depends on how near the lease is to its end, your contract and the finance company, and some lessors allow only a same-brand dealer. Ask your leasing company first.
Yes. Edmunds now takes private-party listings: you enter the VIN and ZIP code, add at least one photo of the car, and pay $19.99 for a 90-day listing, charged for good once the listing is approved. Buyers’ offers and the payment run through Caramel, Edmunds’ transaction partner.
Edmunds pays nothing; CarMax does when you redeem the offer, and Edmunds’ sell page says you go home with a check once the car has been inspected.