Best Car Buying Apps, Expert Picks (March 2024)

1. Cars.com

Cars.com is one of the best car buying and selling apps out there. You can look at both new and used cars on the app, while many other apps only show used vehicles. Cars.com shines in the amount and types of filters you can use to find cars, including no accidents, clean title, one owner, entertainment features, convenience systems and more. You can also shop from dealers that offer virtual appointments and contactless delivery.

The car buying app has an expert review team that makes detailed video reviews of new models to help you shop from home. Cars.com also collects owner reviews from millions of drivers. This consumer review score includes comfort, interior design, performance, value for money, exterior styling and reliability.

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Cars.com offers a private sale option if you want to find a local buyer for your car. However, you’ll have to do this on the Cars.com website — the app doesn’t have private listing functionality at this time.

App Functionality

Here’s what you can do with the Cars.com app, which is available for both Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS systems:

• Browse millions of new and used cars and use advanced search filters to narrow down your picks
• Look at dealership reviews from customers and get directions to a dealer
• Estimate monthly payments while browsing vehicles
• Get an instant offer on your car to sell or trade it in
• Save favorites and get price drop notifications

2. Edmunds

Edmunds is a household name when it comes to comparing car values and shopping for new vehicles. The Edmunds app gives you plenty of control when searching for new and used cars in your area, including True Cost to Own^® ratings that show ownership costs over multiple years.

The website Edmunds.com has an instant cash offer tool, but this isn’t available in the app. That said, you can appraise your vehicle model in the app. You’ll see trade-in, private-party and dealer retail market pricing. The process in the app is a bit more manual than the appraisal process online because you can’t input your car’s exact vehicle identification number (VIN) or license plate. You’ll need to manually select the trim and features of the car.

One unique thing about the Edmunds car buying app is its augmented reality (AR) tool for visualizing your car in your garage. It’s called Can It Fit and it detects your garage’s dimensions and then puts a 3D image of the car you select in your garage.

App Functionality

You can do the following in the Edmunds car buying app, which is available through Google Play and for iPhones through the Apple app store:

• Browse and filter new and used cars
• Save favorites and research customer reviews, safety ratings, True Cost to Own and more
• Appraise your car with its make, model and condition
• Use the Can It Fit augmented reality car visualization feature
• Compare two cars side by side on features and more

3. Carvana

Carvana is one of the only apps with a buying process that’s 100% online. You can browse Carvana’s inventory, view 360-degree images of the interior and exterior, look at Carfax reports for each vehicle and apply for financing within the app. Depending on your location, you can get the new car delivered to your door or pick it up from one of Carvana’s car vending machines. 

You can also use the app to sell your car to Carvana. Just enter basic information about your car and you’ll get an instant offer you can use to sell or trade in your car. Selling your car is contingent on an inspection that a Carvana representative will perform when they come to pick up the vehicle.

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Since Carvana delivers cars, you can filter your search results by earliest arrival. In some areas, you could get delivery as soon as the next day. Carvana offers a seven-day money-back guarantee, so you can change your mind if you don’t like the car within a week.

Read more: Carvana review

App Functionality

Here’s what you can do in the app:

• Search and filter Carvana’s used car inventory
• Look at a Carfax report for each vehicle
• Prequalify for an auto loan and get financing within the app
• Get a cash offer to sell or trade in your car
• Track delivery and make loan payments

4. CarMax

CarMax is another great app for buying a car. With the CarMax app, you can buy a car online and pick it up in-store or get it delivered if you live within 60 miles of select locations. The car buying app will let you know what options are available in your area. 

When you sign in, the app will ask for your location to show you cars at your nearest store. But you can also shop for cars across the country and get a car shipped to your store. And when you make an appointment to pick up a car, you can let CarMax know you’re on the way in the app.

The CarMax app is focused on car buying, not selling or trading in. So, if you want to sell your car or trade it to get a lower down payment, you’ll need to set up an appointment outside the app or get a cash offer on the website.

App Functionality

Here’s what you can do with the CarMax app:

• Search used vehicles at any CarMax location
• Purchase a car in the app and get it shipped to your house or a nearby CarMax location for a test drive
• Notify CarMax when you’re on your way
• Save favorites and track changes
• Get free vehicle history reports
• Get prequalified for a loan and make financing payments

Read more: Carmax review

5. TrueCar

TrueCar works with thousands of dealerships across the country to list new and used cars for sale. It’s an online marketplace that lets you shop for cars on dealer lots in your area. The app has many useful features, including payment calculators to estimate auto loan payments or see your buying power based on your credit score and budget. You can also take a quiz to see what type of car would be best for your lifestyle. The TrueCar Price Curve shows prices based on nearby sales, so you know you’re getting a fair price.

Since TrueCar doesn’t own any inventory, you’ll work with a local dealership to finalize the sale. That means you can get financing from an online lender or through the dealer, but not TrueCar. 

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One nice thing about the TrueCar app is you can get a cash offer for your car. After verifying details about the trim and condition, you can redeem the offer at a dealer in your area to sell the car or trade it in. 

Read more: Truecar review

App Functionality

With the TrueCar app, you can:

• Shop new and used cars from dealers across the country
• Build and price your ideal new car
• Research vehicle reviews and rankings
• Compare cars side by side
• Take a car finder quiz
• Use buying power and auto loan calculators
• Get a cash offer for your car and make an appointment at a car dealership to sell it or trade it in

6. Vroom

Vroom is an online dealership that’s similar to Carvana. The difference is that Vroom doesn’t have any physical locations, so everything is done online. Vroom buys all its vehicles and inspects each one so you don’t have to deal with third parties when purchasing a car through the app. 

Vroom’s car purchase and selling app lets you do anything you can do on Vroom’s website. You can browse inventory, get prequalified, secure a loan from its lending partners, sign paperwork and schedule the car’s delivery. Vroom sells used cars only, though you can get some very lightly used vehicles with under 1,000 miles from the company.

Vroom can pick up or deliver cars anywhere in the country except for Massachusetts, Alaska and Hawaii. Selling or trading a car with Vroom is easy since you can do the whole process in the app.

App Functionality

Here are the in-app features you can take advantage of with the Vroom app:

• Shop from thousands of used vehicles
• Schedule a vehicle delivery
• Get prequalified for a loan without hurting your credit
• Get financing from a lending partner
• Get an offer for selling or trading in your vehicle

7. Carfax

Carfax can be an indispensable tool if you’re selling your car privately. The main benefit of using Carfax is you can get an official vehicle history report for your car, which will list the number of owners, previous accidents and major service records. Having a printed Carfax report can help bolster your sale price and give confidence to the buyer.

Besides purchasing Carfax reports, you can also search for used cars in your area with the app. The listings come from over 28,000 dealerships across the country and include free Carfax reports for detailed information. 

App Functionality

Here’s what you can do in the Carfax mobile app:

• Get Carfax vehicle history reports for any VIN or license plate
• Shop used cars across the country
• Filter search results in multiple ways including by vehicle history and Carfax value
• Save searches and contact dealers to buy a car