You can sell a car in Ottawa both online and in person. In this guide, we break down popular options for selling a car online with various buyers, including online dealers, car bidding sites, automotive marketplaces and professional car-buying companies. Compare features of different platforms to find out where to sell your car in Ottawa.
We searched for automotive places in Ottawa that have a solid online presence, mostly positive reviews and a hassle-free selling process with fair pricing. We excluded general marketplaces that aren’t dedicated to vehicle sales and take more effort to sell a car, such as Kijiji, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.
1. Clutch
Clutch is an online dealer that lets you sell a car in Ottawa hassle-free, with instant offers for eligible vehicles.
How it works: Go to Clutch.ca and select Sell or Trade. Fill in your VIN and car details, and send in proof of ownership. If you qualify, wait for an offer and then arrange for delivery/pick-up and online payment.
Car eligibility requirements: The car must be 2012 or newer with 150,000km or less and in good to excellent condition.
Car pick-up from home: Yes (for a fee) if the car’s value is over $10,000 and you live less than 200 km from a Clutch facility. Otherwise, you’ll have to drive to a nearby facility.
Accepts cars with an outstanding loan: Yes
How much it costs: It’s free to get started on the platform, but Clutch charges a delivery fee.
Funding method: Payments are made via electronic funds transfer (EFT). Funds are often received by the next business day, although it could take up to 3 business days.
Turnaround time: As soon as you submit proof of ownership and organize a delivery/pick-up date for your car (usually within 2-3 days).
CarDoor is an online dealer that buys cars in Ontario. Enjoy at-home pickup and get paid via certified cheque or Interac e-Transfer.
How it works: Select Trade your car or Trade In on the CarDoor website. Input your name, phone number, car pictures and details. Buyers compete for your car, and CarDoor picks your car up when you accept an offer. Get paid by Interac e-Transfer ($5,000 or less) or certified cheque.
Car eligibility requirements: None, but if your vehicle is in poor condition, you may not get any offers.
Car pick-up from home: Yes
Accepts cars with an outstanding loan: Yes
How much it costs: Free
Funding method: Payment is made by cheque or e-transfer before your vehicle is taken away.
Canada Drives is an online dealer that lets you sell your car in Ottawa quickly and easily by giving you an online appraisal and an instant offer.
How it works: Select Sell My Car on the Canada Drives website. Fill in an application with your vehicle details, and wait for Canada Drives to make you an offer if you qualify. Agree to your offer, arrange for car pick-up/delivery and wait for online payment.
Car eligibility requirements: The car must be 2013 or newer with 160,000km or less and in good to excellent condition. Rebuilds are not accepted.
Car pick-up from home: No
Accepts cars with an outstanding loan: Yes
How much it costs: Free
Funding method: In most cases, payments are made via electronic funds transfer (EFT).
Turnaround time: Under 48 hours
4. Autozen
Autozen is an online bidding site that gives you a free valuation and many bids to choose from when you sell your car in Ottawa.
How it works: Get a free car valuation on the website. If you like the price, list your car with Autozen and the company will come out to inspect it. Buyers compete for your car if it passes inspection. Accept an offer and arrange pick-up and payment.
Car eligibility requirements: The car needs to be 2011 or newer and have less than 150,000km.
Car pick-up from home: Yes
Accepts cars with an outstanding loan: Yes
How much it costs: Free
Funding method: Receive payment via direct deposit into your bank account before parting ways with your car.
Turnaround time: Typically between 48 hours and a week
5. AutoTrader
AutoTrader is an online automotive marketplace that lets you post an ad to sell privately or sell to a dealership through its “Instant Cash Offer” service.
How it works: Open the AutoTrader website and post a free ad to sell to a private buyer, or choose the second option to get an instant offer from a dealership. If you choose the latter, you can drop your car off at the dealership on the same day and collect a cheque.
Car eligibility requirements: There are no eligibility criteria to post ads, but you might only get dealership offers for newer vehicles in good condition.
Car pick-up from home: Not usually, but it can be arranged with some dealers.
Accepts cars with an outstanding loan: Yes, if you’re selling to a dealer.
How much it costs: Free, but you can pay to boost ads for private sales.
Funding method: Sellers must privately arrange payment with buyers.
Turnaround time: Dealers can give an offer within a few hours. You can arrange to deliver the car on the same day you accept.
If you want to sell a used car in Ottawa, MyCar provides an easy online appraisal process and fast, fair offers. The company runs dealerships in Ottawa, Kingston and North Bay. It also supports local community programs like the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), veterans initiatives and fire departments.
How it works: Get your vehicle appraised online by submitting photos. MyCar will provide you with a trade-in value and CARFAX Canada report to complete the process.
Car eligibility requirements: All makes and models accepted.
Car pick-up from home: Yes
Accepts cars with an outstanding loan: Yes
How much it costs: Free
Funding method: Not disclosed online.
Turnaround time: Bring your car in and get a same-day offer.
Should I sell a used car in Ottawa to a dealer or privately?
Use the following information when deciding if you should sell a used car in Ottawa to a dealer or a private buyer.
When to sell privately
You may want to sell your car in Ottawa privately if you’re looking to get a higher price and you don’t mind taking extra time to make a sale. You may also need to sell it privately if it’s older than 2012 or has more than 150,000km on it.
Selling a car privately can involve meeting prospective buyers in person and organizing test drives. It can also involve people no-showing, rescheduling appointments or lowballing. You’ll need to complete all the paperwork to sell the car yourself and you have a higher chance of running into scammers when collecting payment.
When to sell to a dealer
You may want to sell your car in Ottawa to a dealer if you’re short on time and want to make a quick sale. Selling to a dealer also makes sense if you want to sell a car that you still owe money on or you want to trade your car in for a new dealership vehicle.
Most dealers will give you an instant offer for your car and some will even pick the car up from your home. Most will also deal with all of the paperwork, and you can feel safer with the payment aspect if you’re working with a reputable company. The main downside is that some dealers will try to lowball you and you may get less for the car than it’s worth.
Popular general marketplaces to privately sell a used car in Ottawa
If you don’t want to use an online service or in-person dealer to sell your car in Ottawa, you can use general marketplaces such as Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace. Just make sure you always receive payment before you hand over your keys and transfer documents.
Kijiji Autos
Sign in to Kijiji Autos, and create a listing by selecting Post ad at the top of the screen. On the My Ads screen, select Create new ad. Enter your vehicle information and select Continue at the bottom of the screen. Provide other required information, select Finish and review your ad details. If everything looks good, click Publish & Continue.
Post your ad and communicate with prospective buyers to organize test drives, arrange payment and finalize the deal.
Facebook Marketplace
Open Facebook Marketplace and tap Sell at the top. Input a title and price, and select the Vehicles category. Add photos and a description of your car, and click Publish to make your listing go live. Once you get a few offers, book time for test drives and organize payment and transfer if someone wants to buy the car.
Frequently asked questions
You can sell a junk car to various junk and salvage yards in Ottawa, some of which will even pay cash for your vehicle. A few examples include Scrap My Car Ottawa, Greely Auto Recycling and Kenny U-Pull. All you need to do is schedule a pick-up.
Sellers might look at car valuation databases like the Canadian Red Book, Canadian Black Book or Kelley Blue Book to determine your car's worth. They may also consult your CARFAX report and do a physical inspection before deciding on your final price.
You can sell your car to an online dealer or through an automotive bidding site if you'd like a quick offer and a virtual sale. For in-person sales, you can go through a local dealer, an automotive marketplace (like AutoTrader) or a general marketplace like Kijiji Autos or Facebook Marketplace.
Claire Horwood is a writer at Finder, specializing in credit cards, loans and other financial products. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies from the University of Victoria, and an Associate’s Degree in Science from Camosun College. Much of Claire’s coursework has focused on writing and statistics, with a healthy dose of social and cultural analysis mixed in for good measure. In her spare time, Claire enjoys rock climbing, travelling and drinking inordinate amounts of coffee.
It can be tough to convince a buyer that a financed vehicle will be theirs free and clear if they choose to buy it. Here’s what you should know beforehand to help make the sale a success.
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