Today, I sold my 2015 Toyota RAV4 to CarMax. I made up my mind last week after discussing it with Mitesh. We had a couple of private viewings and received offers from CarMax, Carvana, TrueCar, Capital One Auto Navigator, and others. CarMax offered the highest amount and Carvana the lowest. There was a difference of over $3,000 between the two. That made the decision to sell the car to CarMax straightforward.

One thing this process reinforced for me is the value of getting more than one offer. We often spend time trying to save smaller amounts on everyday purchases, but a single comparison on a larger transaction can make a substantial difference. In this case, accepting the first offer from Carvana could have meant leaving a few thousand bucks on the table.

There is also something slightly strange about selling a car. For years, it occupies a familiar place in your life. You know where everything is, how it feels to drive, and the little things that someone else would need time to learn. You make memories with the car. I still remember picking it up on Dussehra in October 2015. It has been eleven years. The family trips, the trips during COVID, the first accident: everything feels so fresh, as if it happened yesterday. Now, the sale is complete, and the car belongs to someone else.

I do not want to turn this into a grand farewell. Still, handing over a car feels different from replacing most other things we own. It has been part of our routine, and its absence changes that routine.

The RAV4 has now moved on. I hope it serves its next owner well.