Cars.Com
Cars.Com is the joint venture among five leading newspaper companies: Belo Corp., Gannett Co. Inc., The McClatchy Co., Tribune Co. and The Washington Post Co. It clings to the antiquated notion that people still turn to newspapers for classified ads, even though the numbers don’t back that up.
However, what makes Cars.Com a good site is it doesn’t just draw its inventory from newspapers. Sellers can post their ads directly online and bypass the 200 affiliated print outlets. Plus, Cars.Com has a strong affiliation with dealers, which makes finding certified pre-owned that much easier.
Cars.Com has a good search component, but it would be better if you could search by year from the home page. It’s a two-step process. One nice touch is it’s possible with a couple of clicks to get the Kelley Blue Book value on the car. The site also provides NHTSA ratings.
Autobytel.Com
I would consider Autobytel.Com the weakest of the major used car sites. It didn’t provide as much inventory for my search of a 2005 Chevy Malibu as did the other sites.
Autobytel.Com should be considered largely a new car site. Like Cars.Com, it also offers Kelley Blue Book values for used cars. However, I’ve always found the Kelley Blue Book values a bit high. They should be used in conjunction with Edmunds.com figures and averaged out.
