CarBrain Review (2024)

CarBrain Review

We’ve awarded CarBrain an overall score of 8.7 out of 10. Our in-depth research into CarBrain’s reputation, costs, customer experience and quote process found that it’s a solid platform for selling your car. We like how it provides free towing with no hidden fees and offers an online marketplace for sellers. However, its instant offer was much less than what Kelley Blue Book (KBB) valued our car at.

See the table below for a breakdown of our CarBrain rating by methodology category.

Rating Category	Our Score
Industry standing	9
Platform	9
Cost	8
Support	8.9
Customer experience	9.4
Overall	8.7

About CarBrain

CarBrain.com evolved from DamagedCars.com, a site founded in 2007 to address the needs of car owners, insurance companies and automotive repair shops looking to sell cars that weren’t worth repairing. In 2017, DamagedCars rebranded to CarBrain.

CarBrain promotes both instant sales and a marketplace for less-than-perfect cars. If you have a used car that’s wrecked, broken down or has just seen better days, CarBrain will purchase it or help you list it through its website. It also provides free pickup without any hassle.

Pros and Cons

See the table below for the pros and cons of choosing CarBrain:

CarBrain Pros	CarBrain Cons
Free towing with no hidden fees	Prices are based on demand in your area
Nationwide pickup	Instant offers are less than marketplace estimates
Has an online selling marketplace

Is CarBrain Legit?

Yes, CarBrain is a legitimate company headquartered in Miami Lakes, Fla. The provider holds an A+ rating and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It also holds positive customer review ratings on the site, with an average score of nearly 4.9 out of 5, and on Trustpilot, where it earns 4.8 out of 5 stars. These are some of the highest review scores among car selling companies we reviewed.

How To Contact CarBrain

You can reach the CarBrain team and its associate buyers by calling the company’s customer service phone number at 1-877-877-7911. If you’d prefer not to chat on the phone, you can chat with an agent using the live chat feature on its website.

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How Does CarBrain Work?

CarBrain works similarly to its competitors and has a simple, hassle-free process. We’ll detail exactly how the process works in the sections below so you know what to expect from start to finish.

Selling a Car With CarBrain

Selling a car with CarBrain is done entirely online. Unlike selling a car with a dealership or through an online platform like AutoTrader, you’ll iron out all the details before a tow truck driver comes to pick up your vehicle. Learn more from the steps outlined below.

1. Provide Vehicle Details

You’ll start off using CarBrain’s instant offer tool on its website. You’ll need to enter your zip code first, as your offer will partially rely on the demand for your vehicle in your area. CarBrain lets you “Pick Your Lane,” which means you can choose to enter your vehicle information manually or use your vehicle identification number (VIN) to automatically load the details.

To get the most accurate offer for your car, you’ll answer specific questions about whether it:

• Has a clean title
• Is operable
• Has any body damage
• Has any mechanical problems
• Is missing any car parts
• Has suffered from flood or fire damage

2. Receive and Accept Your Offer

Once you’ve filled out the vehicle questionnaire, you’ll receive an instant offer and an estimated price of what you could get through CarBrain’s buyer network. Posting to the buyer network allows you to potentially sell your vehicle for more money. However, it’s not an instant sale and may take more time.

This leaves you to decide what’s most important — getting more money or getting rid of your vehicle quickly. It’s important to note that you must have your title to sell your vehicle with CarBrain.

3. Schedule Your Pickup and Get Paid

If you’ve decided to accept your instant offer, it’s time to schedule your pickup. CarBrain provides towing free of charge with no hidden fees, so all you need to do is be ready with your signed title and key in hand when the time comes.

CarBrain will typically have your vehicle picked up within 24 to 48 hours after you’ve accepted the offer. Once your car is loaded up, you’ll be handed a check for the offered amount if your car is determined to be as described.

Can I Buy a Car From CarBrain?

While some companies will both buy and sell cars, CarBrain only offers car selling services at this time. If you’re looking to both buy and sell a vehicle with the same company, it may be worth checking out other providers such as Carvana or CarMax.

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Will CarBrain Give Me a Good Offer?

While many customer reviews of CarBrain mention receiving a fair price, there were a few customers who felt like they received a lowball offer. To test this theory, we mystery shopped with CarBrain. See our offer and how it stacks up to our car’s market value in the section below.

CarBrain Offers vs. Market Value

We went through the offer process with CarBrain after valuing our car through KBB to find out our trade-in and private-party value. We also contacted Peddle and Cars.com to see what those companies would give us for our car.

We used a 2011 Honda Civic LX Sedan with 124,000 miles on it and slight damage to the front left bumper of the vehicle. The car also has a clean title and is in operable condition. Compare the offers from CarBrain and competitors below:

Sell My Car Provider	Estimated Value
CarBrain	$1,230
Peddle	$1,325
Cars.com	$3,225 to $5,375
KBB*	$4,416 to $5,909

While Peddle offers slightly more than CarBrain for an instant offer, we found that Cars.com offered significantly higher prices for our Honda Civic in alignment with our vehicle’s KBB value. However, if we used CarBrain’s selling marketplace, it estimated that we could sell our car for up to $3,350.

CarBrain’s online marketplace will likely produce a selling price comparable to what Cars.com estimated. You may also avoid the hassle of bringing your car to a dealership with CarBrain, as Cars.com works with dealers to help sell your car.

If you’re looking to get rid of your car quickly, though, you should expect to take a hit on price. Ultimately, we recommend getting quotes and instant offers from various providers to find the best price and process for your needs.

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CarBrain Customer Reviews

CarBrain has an excellent customer service reputation across several review platforms. It currently holds an “Excellent” rating on Trustpilot, with 95% of its 5,600+ reviewers leaving four or five stars. It also holds a customer rating of 4.9 out of 5 with the BBB, from over 500 reviews.

Positive CarBrain Reviews

Many CarBrain reviews praise the company’s transparency and how it follows up with customers throughout the sales process. Customers report great communication from the company and being surprised by how good the offer was for their junk car. Others love how quickly the company facilitated a sale and how helpful and respectful the tow truck drivers were.

Negative CarBrain Reviews

While negative reviews are few and far between on the BBB and Trustpilot, we did manage to find a few. The biggest complaint from most customers was that CarBrain didn’t honor the offer that was originally provided. Others claim that they were unable to receive an offer on their vehicle, as it was turned down during the quote process.

Keep in mind that while many car selling companies claim their offers are guaranteed, nothing is truly set in stone until a company representative inspects the vehicle. CarBrain is no exception to this. If a customer doesn’t report the condition of a car accurately during the quote process, the company may lower its offer after inspecting the car in person. 

We reached out to CarBrain for a comment on its negative reviews and did not receive a response.

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CarBrain Review: The Bottom Line

While we appreciate how CarBrain offers instant quotes and free towing without fees, other companies may provide more competitive offers for your vehicle. However, its online marketplace could fetch you a higher price for your vehicle. Overall, it provides a strong customer experience and is a company worth considering. Of course, we encourage you to compare offers from several car selling companies to find the best price for your vehicle.

CarBrain Competitors

We recommend looking into Peddle or Carvana as well in your search to sell your car, as both providers scored highly in our comprehensive industry-wide review.

Carvana: Most Seamless Process

We named Carvana as the provider with the most seamless process. You can buy or sell a car from the comfort of your home, making it ideal for those wanting a fully online experience. We also appreciate how its instant offer is good for seven days, leaving you with plenty of time to gather and compare other offers. However, Carvana doesn’t offer a pickup service like CarBrain, so you must bring your car in to sell it.

Read more in our comprehensive Carvana review.

Peddle: Good Choice for Older Vehicles

If you’ve got an older car that’s better off in the junkyard, consider Peddle. It works with a network of car dealers and salvage yards to buy vehicles other providers won’t consider, such as damaged cars. While we like how it doesn’t ask you for any personal information before sending an offer, we’d like to note that Peddle won’t buy a car with an outstanding loan.

Learn more about this provider in our Peddle review.

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CarBrain: FAQ

Here are some frequently asked questions about CarBrain:

Is CarBrain a legit place to sell your car?

Yes, CarBrain is a legitimate company to sell your car. It holds an A+ rating and accreditation with the BBB in addition to high customer satisfaction ratings through Trustpilot and Google.

How long does CarBrain take to pay?

CarBrain will typically pay you 24 to 48 hours after you accept the company’s offer. The company pays at the same time it tows your car away.

How much does CarBrain pay?

What CarBrain pays for your vehicle depends on various factors. Your car’s make, model, year, mileage, general condition and operability will influence your final offer from the company. As quotes are free, we encourage you to get one and compare it to offers from other providers.

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Our Methodology

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best platforms to sell your car. We collected data on several providers to grade each company in five key areas. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the car selling platforms that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

• Industry Standing: Our research team considers ratings from industry experts and years in business when determining this score.
• Platform: Platforms that offer a variety of features, including instant offers and multiple sales options, are more likely to meet consumers’ needs.
• Cost: To compare providers’ average offer prices, our team conducted a secret shopper analysis for a variety of vehicle types. We also considered the fees companies charge to use their platforms.
• Support: Car selling companies that offer strong transaction support received the highest scores in this category. This includes offerings like free pickup service as well as how quickly you receive your payment.
• Customer Experience: This score is based on customer satisfaction ratings on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot as well as our team’s experience reaching out to each platform.

*Data accurate at time of publication.