AutoNation’s Sell My Car program buys your car outright, and you don’t have to buy one from it. You enter the plate or VIN online, get an offer valid for 7 days or 500 miles, then take the car to an AutoNation store, which inspects it against your answers and typically pays by check or Zelle.
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AutoNation’s Sell My Car page is where it begins: type in the license plate and state, or the VIN, then answer questions about the car’s condition and equipment. The offer that comes back is, in AutoNation’s words, “valid for 7 days or 500 miles, whichever comes first” (quoted from its page on October 25, 2026). We are not affiliated with AutoNation.
What to bring, from AutoNation’s own list: a government-issued photo ID, the title, your current registration and proof of ownership, every key, fob and remote, and the offer itself. If a loan is still open on the car, AutoNation says it calculates the payoff and deducts it from the offer, so bring the lender’s details as well.
Mind the 500 miles if you still drive the car every day. A long commute can use up the offer before the seven days do.
No. AutoNation’s FAQ calls the program We’ll Buy Your Car and says: “We’ll buy your car and you don’t have to buy one from us.” That is the main difference from a classic trade-in appraisal, which comes as part of buying the next car.
Trading in is still on the table. AutoNation’s sell page says that once the store has verified the car’s condition, you can put the offer value toward your next purchase, new or pre-owned. One of its store pages adds that a trade-in “reduces the amount of sales tax that’s collected,” which a straight sale doesn’t. Whether your state gives that credit, and how much, varies; our trade-in vs. private sale guide names the states with no credit or a cap.
AutoNation’s annual report for 2025 shows what the program does for the company: it lets AutoNation “self-source a significant portion” of its used-vehicle inventory. Put simply, the cars it buys this way stock its own used lots.
For the used cars it sells, AutoNation says no. Its FAQ describes the AutoNation Price on used vehicles as “a no-haggle, one price approach.” For the car you are selling, its pages don’t say whether the offer can be negotiated. They present it as a number built from your answers and confirmed at the store; nothing on them invites a counteroffer, and nothing rules one out.
Here is what AutoNation’s pages say can move the number:
A competing written offer is the other tool. AutoNation’s pages don’t say it will match one, but a second number tells you whether its figure is in line, and the 7-day window leaves room to get it.
The offer is redeemed at AutoNation stores, so their locations decide whether the program works for you. AutoNation’s 10-K says that at the end of 2025 it operated stores in 20 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
The same filing counts 245 franchised dealerships and 26 AutoNation USA used-vehicle stores, and just over half of the 271 sit in Florida, Texas and California. Its sell page says “250+ locations.” If none is within a reasonable drive, the program is hard to use, because its pages describe no pickup service, so ask the nearest store how it would handle the inspection.
AutoNation’s pages don’t say. Its sell page says it “provides fair and competitive offers for vehicles in all conditions,” yet each step it describes has you bringing the car to a store, and the same page invites you to “make an appointment and drive on in.” Before paying for a tow, call the store and ask whether it will buy the car as it sits.
A car that won’t start has buyers who come to it, and our guide to non-running cars compares them. Non-runners are something our buying partner takes on: its site says they “can still receive a cash offer,” and it arranges and covers the cost of pickup. If AutoNation passes, get a second offer on the car as it sits.
AutoNation’s national pages don’t say outright. The sell page lists the title among the documents to bring, and one AutoNation store’s We’ll Buy Your Car page answers the question head-on: “you’ll need to acquire one before transferring ownership to a dealership or another person.”
A lost title is usually fixable, because your state’s motor vehicle agency issues duplicates; our table of duplicate title costs by state shows the fee. If the paperwork can’t be sorted out, our no-title selling guide covers who may still buy. Our buying partner’s help page says: “We have many buyers that buy cars without a title.”
AutoNation’s pages set no age or mileage cutoff. The same store page says “age, mileage, and condition are all important factors” in what AutoNation pays, and the national sell page says it makes offers on vehicles in all conditions. Nothing on its pages turns a car away for years or miles alone; they are factors in the price.
For a car near the end of its life, put AutoNation’s number next to what a scrap or junk buyer pays. Our pages on how to get rid of an old car and junk car values give you the other side of that comparison.
An offer isn’t a sale. If the store won’t buy the car, or the inspected number comes in lower than you expected, you can keep the car and decide later. Three things are worth doing next:
Where AutoNation is likely the better deal: a clean, late-model car with service records, near one of its stores, especially if you plan to buy your next car there and your state gives a trade-in tax credit. For that car, AutoNation’s number is the one to beat, and an as-is offer is only a backstop.
Yes, through a lease buyout. Its sell page says “we are authorized to conduct lease buyouts with approved companies,” so ask whether your leasing company is one of them before the visit, and bring the lease payoff details. Our guide to selling a leased car shows when a buyout leaves you money.
Damaged cars, yes: AutoNation’s sell page says it makes offers whatever the condition, and the store inspection sets the final number. Salvage and rebuilt titles are a separate question that AutoNation’s pages don’t address, so ask the store before you go.
AutoNation’s sell page says sellers typically get a check or a Zelle payment when the sale is completed, and it also mentions direct deposit.
Yes. After the store verifies the car’s condition, AutoNation says you can apply the offer value toward a new or pre-owned car from it, or take the payment and buy your next car somewhere else.
Yes. Its 10-K describes the We’ll Buy Your Car offer as “honored for 7 days or 500 miles at any of our locations,” and its FAQ says you can bring the offer and the car to any AutoNation store.