Where to sell your car in Ontario: every option compared
A private sale on Autotrader, Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace usually brings the highest price, if you have time to handle buyers and paperwork. Clutch, Canada Drives and Carnex are the quick route: you get an offer online and hand the car over within days. If you’re buying your next car from a dealer, price the trade-in after tax first, because in Ontario it saves you 13% of the trade-in value.
The short version
- No single buyer pays the most for every car. Get a few numbers before you decide.
- An instant offer makes a good floor, even if you plan to sell privately.
- A trade-in saves HST. On a $15,000 trade-in in Ontario, that’s $1,950.
- An online offer can still change at inspection. Read how each company words it.
- A private sale also means a $20 UVIP and paperwork you handle yourself.
On this page
The options side by side
| Option | Who buys the car | What you do | Cost to you | Suits you if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private ad: Autotrader, Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace | A member of the public | Write the ad, answer messages, host test drives, handle payment and paperwork | $20 UVIP, plus any paid ad upgrades | You want the top price and have the time |
| Instant offer: Clutch, Canada Drives, Carnex | The company | Enter your plate or VIN, then hand the car over at a drop-off or pick-up | No seller fee listed | You want it gone this week |
| Autotrader Instant Cash Offer | A participating dealership near you | Get a valuation, book a visit, take the car in for inspection | Free | You don’t mind one dealership visit |
| CarDoor | CarDoor, which says its offer reflects dealer demand | Profile the car online, then CarDoor picks it up | No seller fee listed | You want one offer and a pick-up |
| Swapt | Whichever dealership you agree a price with | Profile the car on your phone, then talk to the dealerships that call | Free | You’d rather take calls than visit dealerships |
| Trade-in at a dealership | The dealership selling you the next car | Bring the car when you buy | No fee, and you pay less HST | You’re buying from that dealer anyway |
Private ad
You set the price and deal with the public. Autotrader says its basic ad is free, with paid upgrades. Kijiji charges a listing fee once a household or business has more than two vehicles posted at a time. Facebook Marketplace is the other common choice.
You also take on the work: messages, no-shows, test drives, checking payment, and the paperwork Ontario requires. You’re on your own if something goes wrong, too. OMVIC, Ontario’s dealer regulator, says plainly that it doesn’t regulate private vehicle sales.
Instant-offer companies
These companies buy the car themselves, usually to resell it. Each one words its promise differently, so read the detail.
- Clutch calls its price firm. It lists 22 Ontario drop-off locations and home pick-up, a 15-minute inspection, and payment when you hand over the keys. It pays off loans and buys out leases on some makes.
- Canada Drives says its offer is valid for 7 days. It contacts you to verify the car’s details and can change the offer if it finds undisclosed damage or the automated value doesn’t match the market. You drop the car off and are usually paid by electronic transfer.
- Carnex says its offer is valid for 7 days, with the final price confirmed after a 15-minute inspection at its Mississauga location. It pays by Interac e-Transfer or cheque.
The appeal is speed and no strangers. The trade-off is one buyer naming one price.
Services that put you in front of dealers
Autotrader Instant Cash Offer: you enter the car’s details and see a valuation, then choose a nearby dealer and book a visit. It’s free, and you can walk away if you don’t like the offer. The dealership inspects the car and pays you.
CarDoor: you profile the car and get what it calls a MarketCheck, an offer it describes as driven by hundreds of dealers. CarDoor handles the paperwork, picks the car up and pays you on the spot.
ListYourCar.ca: you set a reserve and a closing time, and dealers and private buyers compete in the open. If the top offer clears your reserve, you deal with that buyer directly.
Swapt: you profile the car on your phone and see an estimate. It goes out to dealerships across Ontario once it has at least 4 photos, and a limited number of them get your name, phone and email and call you. You agree the price with them directly, or you say no.
Swapt differs from the others in good and bad ways. It costs you nothing because dealerships pay us for your contact. You won’t see a firm price online, because the price comes from the dealership when it calls. Several dealerships can call about the same car, which means you can compare them, and it also means more calls. Dealerships sign up on their own and we don’t check them, so look one up on OMVIC’s public search before you hand over a car. If you want one firm number today, an instant-offer company suits you better.
Trade-in, and the tax saving
If you’re buying your next car from a dealer, the trade-in allowance comes off the price before HST. The Canada Revenue Agency’s rule is that when the person trading in isn’t a registrant, the dealer charges GST/HST on the price minus the allowance.
Say you buy a $35,000 car and the dealer allows $15,000 for yours. HST applies to $20,000, not $35,000, which saves you $1,950 at Ontario’s 13%. So a private buyer would have to pay you $1,950 more than the trade-in allowance just to break even, before you count the $20 UVIP and your time.
Compare the whole deal, though. A generous trade-in number means little if the discount on the next car shrinks to match it.
How to choose in an afternoon
- Get a reference value. Autotrader, Carfax Canada and Canadian Black Book all have free tools. Treat the result as a range.
- Get two or three instant offers. They’re free and give you a floor.
- Check live ads for your year, trim and mileage. That’s your likely private price, and asking prices tend to run above selling prices.
- Work out the gap. If private beats the best offer by a few hundred dollars, it may not be worth weeks of messages. If it’s a few thousand, it might be.
- If you’re buying next, add the HST saving to any trade-in number before you compare.
Questions people ask
What is the best site to sell a car in Canada?
It depends on what you want most. Autotrader, Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace reach private buyers. Clutch, Canada Drives and Carnex buy the car themselves. Autotrader Instant Cash Offer, CarDoor, ListYourCar.ca and Swapt involve dealerships. Get a number from at least two of those groups before you decide.
Is it better to trade in or sell privately in Ontario?
A private sale usually brings a higher price, while a trade-in saves 13% HST on the allowance if you’re buying from that dealer. On a $15,000 trade-in that’s $1,950, so compare the private price against the trade-in number plus the tax saved.
Who pays the most for used cars?
No one buyer pays the most for every car. It depends on the model, its condition and what each buyer needs that week. The only way to find out is to compare real numbers for your car.
Can an instant offer change after I accept it?
It can with some companies. Canada Drives says it may change an offer if undisclosed damage turns up, and Carnex confirms the final price after inspection. Clutch calls its price firm. Read each company’s FAQ before you rely on the number.
Is Swapt an instant-offer site?
No. Swapt doesn’t buy cars or give you a firm price online. It gives your contact to a limited number of dealerships that want the car, and they call you to talk price.
Sources
- Clutch: Sell or trade
- Canada Drives: Sell my car
- Carnex: Sell your car
- Autotrader: Sell my car
- CarDoor: How it works
- ListYourCar.ca
- Kijiji: Cars and vehicles listing fee
- OMVIC: Curbsiders
- Canada Revenue Agency: RC4022, Trade-ins
Swapt wrote this guide, and Swapt is one of the options in it. We took other companies’ details from their own websites in November 2026 and have not tested their offers. Check their sites for current terms.