Driveway and Carvana are the two buyers in our comparison that value the car online, come to your house and pay when the car leaves. Driveway is the Lithia-affiliated online platform; Carvana's Sell/Trade page runs through its own hubs and vending machines as well as home pickup. The difference is how much each page commits to in writing. Carvana states the offer window, the pickup fee rule, the payment methods and the inspection condition. Driveway's sell page states no fee or pricing details, so some rows below are blank. Everything here comes from each company's own sell page, verified for Driveway on 2026-10-22 and for Carvana on 2026-10-23.
| Driveway | Carvana (Sell/Trade) | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting the offer | Instant offer, started from a license plate and registered state, or a VIN | Real offer in 2 minutes |
| Offer window | Not stated on the sell page we verified | Valid for 7 days |
| Fee to get an offer | No fee or pricing details stated | Free, no fee stated |
| Handover | Valet home pickup: 'We Come to You' | Drop-off at Carvana hubs and vending machines 'always free', or home pickup |
| Cost of pickup | No pricing details stated | 'For an additional service charge, for customers in specific locations' |
| Payment | On the spot, check or digital payment | On the spot at the appointment, check or ACH |
| Cash or trade | Same offer usable as trade credit toward a delivered replacement | Sell/Trade page |
| Tracking the value while you wait | Not mentioned in the details we verified | Value Tracker monitors your car's value over time |
| What the offer depends on | Not stated in the details we verified | Final payment at the appointment after an inspection confirms the car matches the appraisal info |
Where they match: paid on the spot, and an offer that can become trade credit
Both pay you when the car changes hands, by check or electronically: Driveway says check or digital payment, Carvana says check or ACH at the appointment. Both let the same number stand as trade credit instead of cash, Driveway toward a replacement vehicle it delivers and Carvana through a page that is explicitly a Sell/Trade page. Neither states a fee to get the offer. That puts both on the same shortlist; the choice comes down to the handover and the fine print.
Getting the car to them: a valet by default, or a free hub and a possible charge
Driveway's whole pitch is 'We Come to You': a Driveway valet picks up the car and you are paid on the spot, and valet pickup is the only handover method on the page we verified. Carvana offers two routes. Drop-off at its hubs and vending machines is 'always free'. Home pickup exists, but 'for an additional service charge, for customers in specific locations', and the page states neither the size of the charge nor which locations qualify. If you need the car collected from your driveway, Carvana is the one where that may cost extra and may not be available where you live, while Driveway treats it as the default. If you are happy to drive to a Carvana location, Carvana's handover is free in writing.
What Driveway's page leaves out, and what Carvana's spells out
Driveway's sell page states no fee or pricing details, and that cuts both ways: no stated charge for the valet pickup, but also no 'always free' promise, no offer window in days, and no inspection clause saying what could change between the online number and the payment. Carvana's page answers all three: the offer is valid for 7 days, final payment happens only at the appointment after an inspection confirms the car matches the appraisal info, and the Value Tracker keeps watching the car's value if you are not ready to sell. Two practical Driveway details: the offer flow needs a license plate number plus the registered state, or a VIN, before it starts, and the old /sell-my-car URL now returns a 404, so start from /sell-your-car. Before booking the valet, ask Driveway what Carvana already states: how long the offer holds, whether pickup is free, and what happens if the car does not match.
Which one to start with
- You want pickup from home as the default: Driveway, whose only stated handover is a valet coming to you.
- You want the handover free in writing: Carvana, whose hub and vending-machine drop-off is 'always free'.
- You want to know how long you have to decide: Carvana states 7 days; Driveway's page states no window, so ask.
- You want to know what could change the number: Carvana ties payment to an inspection matching the appraisal; Driveway's page states no conditions.
- You want the offer to double as trade credit: both, Driveway toward a replacement it delivers and Carvana through its Sell/Trade page.
- You are booking Driveway: have the plate and registered state, or the VIN, ready, and ask what the valet pickup costs first.