To sell a car to Driveway, you get an instant offer online, photograph the car with your phone, and a Driveway valet collects it from you. The offer is valid for 7 days. Driveway doesn’t negotiate or match other offers, and the number can change once it checks your photos and the car’s history report.
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Driveway is the online store of the Lithia Motors dealer group: its FAQ says “Driveway and GreenCars are both part of Lithia Motors, Inc.” Its sell page says “Driveway buys your car directly” rather than passing your details to a string of dealerships. We are not affiliated with Driveway.
The steps, as Driveway’s how-it-works page lays them out:
Driveway says the offer stays good for 7 days “as long as all that information was accurate.” In most cases you can sell a car that still carries a loan or lease, and Driveway can look up the payoff amount for you.
There is no lot visit. Driveway’s inspection FAQ describes a web app, with nothing to download, that guides you through “about a dozen specific pictures,” and it warns that the offer “may change once we’ve reviewed the inspection photos.” Its tips: shoot in daylight, line each photo up with the on-screen guide, keep the whole car in frame, and check your signal before you start; switching off Wi-Fi and using mobile data can help.
Driveway’s answer on changed offers names three reasons a number moves:
So describe the car the way the photos and the history report will. Pulling a report yourself first helps; our free history report guide lists where to get one. A number built on the car’s real condition is easier to plan around than a higher one that drops at the last step.
No, on both counts. Driveway’s FAQ: “No, we don’t negotiate when buying, selling, or trading vehicles.” Asked whether it will price-match another company, it answers “No, Driveway does not offer price-matching.”
Driveway says it prices with valuation sources including Kelley Blue Book, Carfax, the National Automobile Dealers Association, AutoCheck and Black Book, then compares your car with similar ones in your area. The inputs it lists are your plate, VIN or make and model; trim and features; condition; and your location and how many similar cars are available nearby.
That leaves two levers. Report every feature the car really has, since trim and options are priced in. And collect competing offers in the same week: Driveway won’t move, so if someone else pays more, take the higher number.
Driveway buys nationwide. Its FAQ says you can sell to it “definitely anywhere in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii,” and the pickup is free, at a place you choose.
Payment starts when the pickup appointment is complete. Driveway pays by bank transfer: RTP, a real-time payment, where your bank accepts it, or otherwise ACH, which it says “takes 1–3 business days to reach your account.” You set this up through an email from its banking partner, U.S. Bank. If you would rather have a paper check, Driveway says its agents can arrange one.
Driveway says its offer is good “for either cash or trade-in credit, and you’ll receive the same value no matter which you choose.” You don’t have to buy from it: asked whether you can sell without buying a new car, its FAQ answers “Yes.” And if you start a trade and change your mind about the new car, Driveway says it will still buy yours for cash.
On a trade, the valet takes your old car when the new one is delivered, and the offer is applied to your order at checkout. Whether a trade-in lowers your sales tax is set by your state, not by Driveway; our trade-in vs. private sale guide has the state-by-state rules.
Driveway publishes its own list under “Are there any cars Driveway won’t buy?” It gives “a few examples of cars we may not purchase” (quoted October 25, 2026):
The last line matters: a “no” can be about Driveway’s stock rather than your car. The list also says “may,” so for a borderline car the offer tool, or a call to Driveway, gives the real answer.
Not as a rule. The list leaves out cars its valets can’t drive safely, and the pickup itself includes a test drive. A car that won’t start, or isn’t safe on the road, doesn’t fit that process.
Non-runners sell to buyers who bring a truck, and our guide to selling a car that won’t run lays out who they are and what each pays. Our buying partner says it buys cars in any condition, non-running ones included, and covers the cost of pickup, so get a free offer on the car as it sits before you spend money on repairs.
Age has a stated line: vehicles over 20 years old are on the list. Mileage doesn’t. Driveway may pass on “high total mileage or high annual mileage” but gives no figure, so the offer tool is the only way to see where your car lands.
The list also names “major damage history or title issues,” which is where salvage and rebuilt titles usually fall, though Driveway’s pages never name them. For lighter damage, Driveway’s FAQ talks about adjusting the price rather than refusing the car: if the photos show damage you didn’t report, it may adjust the offer “to reflect the vehicle’s value.”
For cars that miss the cut, our guides on retiring an old car, selling a damaged car and salvage and rebuilt titles cover the buyers that take them.
Nothing is final until you sign the documents Driveway mails you and hand over the keys, so a lower number after the photos is a decision point, not a done deal.
Driveway’s offer is probably the one to take for a clean, recent car well inside its age limit, with ordinary mileage, especially if you want pickup and a bank transfer without visiting a store. On a car like that, an as-is offer is mostly a way to check Driveway’s number.
Yes, when the lease allows it. Driveway’s FAQ says “some leasing companies and lease agreements don’t allow an early buyout,” and that it is keen on captive leases, the ones billed by your car brand’s own finance company. It buys leased cars without a trade, too. The buyout math is in our leased-car guide.
Driveway’s pages don’t answer that for a sale to Driveway. Its paperwork guide opens with the general rule, “To sell a vehicle you’ll need to have a title,” and asks Driveway sellers for “your vehicle title, if you have it,” without saying what happens when you don’t. Its list of cars it may not buy also includes “title issues,” and every offer is pending verification of ownership. If your title is lost, get a duplicate from your state before you start.
Someone 18 or older, Driveway says, with the keys, a photo ID and the vehicle’s registration. The pickup can be at a place you choose, not only at home.
None of the Driveway sell pages or FAQs we read lists a fee for selling, and they describe the pickup as free.