What a dealer pays depends far more on which car you have than on how well you negotiate. These are the models we see most, and what actually moves the number on each one.
Not listed? The value check works on any VIN — it reads the configuration from the 17 characters and prices against live retail listings near your ZIP.
There is no single "value" for a used car. There is what each potential buyer will pay, and those numbers are further apart than most people expect.
An instant-offer company, a franchise store in your city, a franchise store in another state, and a buyer who collects non-running cars are four different businesses with four different reasons to want your car. The same vehicle can be worth a four-figure difference between them, and it is not because one of them is cheating you — it is because they do different things with it afterwards.
So the question worth answering is not "what is my car worth". It is "which of these buyers should be looking at my car". That is what the model pages above are for.
If the car is here, there are state-specific rules that change the transaction — smog certification on change of ownership, the release of liability, title situations that need handling before a sale can complete.
The car is in a different state to you? That is a separate situation with its own paperwork — see selling a car that is in another state.
By metro: Los Angeles · Orange County · San Diego · Riverside · San Jose · Sacramento · Bakersfield
This is the half of the market the big instant-offer sites decline. They retail cars to consumers, so a car that needs work either absorbs a full retail repair bill in the offer or gets refused outright. Different buyers want these cars — rebuilders, dismantlers, dealers with bodyshops, exporters — and they do not advertise.
No title? That is a paperwork problem, not a condition problem, and it has four different answers depending on why the title is missing — selling a car without a title.
One rule across all of them: do not repair it first. You pay retail, the buyer values it at trade, and the gap comes out of your pocket.
Peddle is national and our dealer network reaches well beyond California, so the best buyer for your car is often not the nearest one. These guides cover what actually moves the number in each market — hail in Denver and Dallas, road salt in Chicago, flood history in Houston, PCS timelines in San Antonio.
Denver · Chicago · Phoenix · Houston · Dallas · San Antonio · Orlando · Las Vegas
By state: Texas · Colorado · New Jersey · California
Also: New York City · Oklahoma City
Still in California? See the California guide and our seven metro pages there.
Get a free instant offer first. It costs nothing, it is usually binding for a few days, and it gives you a floor that no amount of negotiation can take away. Then find out whether a dealer who actually wants your specific car will beat it.