There is a new way to sell a used car hassle-free

VANCOUVER -

Update: August 31, to include limits on accepted model years. 

If you are thinking of selling your used car, now might be a good time. There is a shortage of vehicles and you could get a good price. However, if you do not want to go through the trouble of doing it yourself, a Vancouver-based company is offering a hassle-free way to do it and get a good price.

Boris Bolshem of Port Coquitlam did it.

"Oh, the best selling experience ever," he said.

However, it did not start out that way when he first tried to sell his used 2015 Toyota Sienna.

He had tried selling it on his own by posting an ad on Facebook Marketplace and in Auto Trader.

He had hoped to get around $19,000 for it and although there were plenty of offers, he could not reach his price. Bolshem says most of the offers he got fell in the range of $15,000. He says he did get one offer for $17,500 but the potential buyer disappeared.

"I'm not very good in negotiating," he added. In addition, he was not happy with the lowball offer he got from a dealer when he tried trading in the vehicle – just $13,000.

Then he got a message on Facebook from a company called Autozen.

The Vancouver-based company launched about four months ago in B.C. Someone comes to your house, inspects the vehicle, estimates its worth, puts it out for bid among 100 auto dealers to find the best price, and handles all the paperwork, payment and delivery. You can have it all done without leaving your home. There's no cost to you. Autozen says the dealers pay a small commission. 

"You at least get a fair price, not the standard lowball offer that most people will give you," said Olivier Vincent, Autozen CEO.

And the market is hot right now because the computer chip shortage that has limited new vehicle production has also driven up used car prices with dealers hungry for inventory.

"The valuation of used cars has gone up," added Vincent. "We take care of every step of the process."

"I thought to myself, what do I lose, I have the car, and I have the keys. I do not give them the car before I get money, so I decided to give them a chance, "said Bolshem.

In two days, he had sold his car for $17,600.

"The process with Autozen was like the best worry-free process," he said.

The company is so new it does not have a profile with the Better Business Bureau but the company says it is working on getting accreditation. So far, the online Google reviews have been very positive from consumers who have used the service.

Autozen does not charge the seller. It gets a commission from the dealer who purchases the car. However, Autozen only is looking for fairly recent models, those made within the last the last eight years - currently 2014 to 2021 model years among 35 different brands. 

You may be wondering how Autozen it differs from Auto Trader, which offers consumers an instant cash offer for used vehicles.

Auto Trader's instant cash offer is a wholesale or trade-in value based on market data. You will still have to travel to a participating dealer to complete the sale after getting the vehicle verified and inspected. Whereas, with Autozen the price is bid up by dealers bidding against each other.

If you own a newer model used vehicle, like a truck, you could even end up making a profit because they are in hot demand.