526 buyers RSVP'd Next event date coming soon
Starts in --Days : --Hrs : --Min : --Sec
Register to Sell
526 buyers RSVP'd Next event date coming soon
See reviews

Public Used Car Buy & Sell EventPublic Used Car Buy & Sell Event

Drop your car off in front of 100s of serious buyers.
They call you with offers. You sell in hours. Skip the listings, dealers, lowballs, and risky meetups.

Harper College Lot 10 · Palatine, IL
Date TBD 10 AM – 5 PM
Join the Seller Waitlist Early bird pricing · ends Monday night

Flat Fee From $59 · We don't take commissions

Date TBD·10 AM – 5 PM
Next event
Harper College, Lot 10
Palatine, IL · not affiliated with the college
Date TBD
10 AM – 5 PM

Not a dealership. Not an auction.

Think flea market, but for used cars.

A Simpler Way to Get More for Your Car

Buyers here aren't browsing. They came to buy a car.

Hundreds of local buyers walk the lot comparing privately owned cars in one place. You set the price, we display your car for you, and interested buyers contact you directly. No chasing messages or meeting strangers one at a time. You keep 100% of your sale.

$2–4K more
than a dealer trade-in.
Dealers offer you wholesale. Private buyers pay retail. The gap on a typical used car is $2,000 to $4,000 — money that belongs in your pocket, not the dealership's margin.
Based on KBB private-party vs. trade-in average gap, 2024 national data.
650+ buyers
walk the lot at every single event.
Everyone who walks this lot came specifically to buy a car — they're pre-qualified by the simple act of showing up. Park once, and 650+ of them walk past your windshield in a single weekend.
Peace of mind
No more sketchy meetups, online listings, or haggling with dealers.
Stop inviting people you've never met to your driveway. CAF is held in a public, secure setting in Palatine with professional security on-site. You sell in public, protected, on your own terms.
The Process

How It Works

We don't buy your car, and we don't sell it for you. We put it in front of hundreds of local buyers. You set the price, take the calls, and keep 100% of the sale.

Register your car online in 3 minutes
Step 01
See if your car qualifies

Clean-title, privately owned cars only. Tell us about your car and we'll confirm if it's a fit for the fair. Once approved, reserve your spot for $99.

Drop off your car Saturday morning
Step 02
Drop it off. Go enjoy your weekend.

Bring your car Saturday morning, hand us the keys, and you're done. We supervise the showings while you enjoy your weekend. No strangers at your house, no meetups to schedule. Buyers call you after they've actually seen your car.

For Sale By Owner window sticker on a car windshield at the Auto Fair
Step 03
Take the calls. Set your price. Keep 100%.

Buyers who are interested call you directly after seeing your car in person. You negotiate the deal yourself, decide what you're willing to take, and keep 100% of the sale.

Questions? Give us a call
coming soon · Harper College, Palatine

Hundreds of local buyers are coming to shop for cars.

When buyers RSVP, we ask what they're shopping for and what they plan to spend. Here's what they're telling us.

526
local buyers registered for coming soon
Live

What they're shopping for

Registered buyers are looking for all types of vehicles.

  • SUV170+ buyers
  • Sedan150+ buyers
  • Truck130+ buyers
  • Minivan100+ buyers
  • Coupe / Sports100+ buyers

What they're planning to spend

Buyer budgets span a wide range of price points.

  • $2k–$5k110+ buyers
  • $5k–$10k150+ buyers
  • $10k–$20k170+ buyers
  • $20k–$30k130+ buyers
  • $30k+100+ buyers

Based on preferences submitted during buyer RSVP.

Your car could be exactly what someone is coming to find.

Register Your Car

Early bird pricing · ends Monday night

Register to Sell

Save time.
Skip the hassle.
Get more for your car.

A seller standing with her car at the Chicagoland Auto Fair after selling it in one weekend.

Early bird pricing in effect. Ends Monday night,   left.

Day rate
$59 Early bird
Goes to $79 after Monday night
One day on the lot. Saturday or Sunday, you pick.
  • Reserved spot for the day you pick
  • Printed window sticker with your price and phone
  • Buyer marketing before the event: social and email
  • Security and police patrols on site
  • Drop off 8 to 10 AM, pick up by 5 PM the same day
Register for $59 Early bird pricing · ends Monday night

Both days draw buyers. Pick the one that fits your weekend.

★ Most popular
Full weekend
$99 Early bird
Goes to $119 after Monday night
Both days on the lot. Every buyer that weekend sees your car.
Sign-ups for our next event open soon — join the waitlist to get notified
  • Reserved spot Saturday and Sunday
  • Printed window sticker with your price and phone
  • Buyer marketing before the event: social and email
  • Security and police patrols both days, campus security overnight
  • Drop off Saturday 8 to 10 AM, pick up Sunday by 5 PM
  • We keep nothing from your sale
Register for $99 Early bird pricing · ends Monday night

One drop-off, one pickup. No sitting with the car.

Best value
Second Weekend Free
$149 Early bird
Goes to $169 after Monday night
The full weekend, plus a free second weekend if it doesn't sell.
Didn't sell? Bring the same car back to the next event at no charge.
  • Everything in the full weekend
  • A free re-display at the next event if your car doesn't sell
  • Same car, no second fee
  • Priority spot as a returning seller
Register for $149 Early bird pricing · ends Monday night

Most cars sell in one or two weekends.

Avg. seller nets $3,200 more than trade-in — based on KBB private-party vs. trade-in gap data.
Why This Works

Online: months of meetups with strangers and lowball offers.
Auto Fair: 1 weekend of serious buyers on 1 lot.

For decades, weekend car fairs have been the proven way to sell a car private-party in cities across the country. It's finally in Chicago.

The headache of selling online

The usual months

Day 3
The ghosting begins.
Is this still available?
Yes! When did you want to come see it?
Seen 2:41 PM · no reply
Day 9
The lowball arrives.
would u take half if I come today? cash
Day 14
A stranger wants your home address.

He'll “swing by sometime tonight.” You're deciding whether someone you've never met should know where you live.

Day 21
Renew. Repost. Repeat.

The listing's gone stale — and the car is still in your driveway.

At the Auto Fair

coming soon

7–9 AM
Drop off your car.

Hand our staff the keys at Harper College. That's your whole job for the day.

9:00 AM
Gates open. You're at brunch.

100+ buyers walk the lot. Every showing is staff-supervised, and your car stays locked in between.

12:10 PM
Your phone rings.

They saw your window sticker — price, specs, your number. You take the call from wherever you are. Nobody gets your address.

Incoming call
Buyer at the fair
Sunday
Sign the title. Keep every dollar.

A real local buyer, a public lot — and we take nothing from the sale. Your only cost was the registration fee.

650+ buyers walked the lot at our last event

Skip the months of waiting, register for the fair →
Chicagoland Auto Fair co-founder photographing a couple who just sold their Toyota at the fair
Selling Your Car Made Simple

The Smarter Way to Sell Your Car.

We bring serious buyers to your car. They contact you directly. You make the deal and keep every dollar. Just live, straightforward deals so you can skip the hassle.

Common Questions

Seller FAQ.

Register online, drop off your car between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. on the day of the event, and go enjoy your weekend.

We professionally display your car with a custom window sticker (price, key details, and your contact info), while our staff is on-site to safely assist buyers with viewing and starting vehicles.

Instead of dealing with one-off messages and no-shows, your car is seen by dozens of serious buyers in one place — creating real demand and competition.

You stay in control — set your price, talk directly with buyers, and negotiate on your terms. No middlemen. No commissions.

Pick up your car by 5 PM on the last day of the event — no pressure.

Most sellers benefit from having multiple interested buyers viewing their car over the weekend — not just one or two conversations online.

If it doesn't sell, you'll be first to know about the next event, and returning sellers receive a discounted display fee.

Our turnout guarantee only applies if fewer than 50 buyers attend.

You handle everything. We don't touch the deal.

CAF simply brings the buyers to you. You set the price, negotiate directly, and complete the sale on your own terms.

No commissions. No hidden fees. You keep 100% of the sale.

With multiple buyers seeing your car, you're in a stronger position to negotiate.

No — clean title vehicles only.

Every car is VIN-checked before approval to maintain a high-quality marketplace buyers can trust.

If a salvage or rebuilt title vehicle is found on-site, it will be removed without a refund.

  • Your vehicle (clean and ready to show)
  • Car keys
  • Valid driver's license
  • Registration confirmation

We handle the rest — including all signage and display materials.

Have more questions?

View all seller FAQs
Trust & Safety

Safe. Verified. Organized.

Chicago's entire market: serious buyers and verified sellers gathered in one secure, convenient public lot.

Large public lot
Established campus in Palatine with built-in security, clear access, and free parking for all attendees.
Security on-site
Regular support staff, security personnel, and police patrols on-site all day. Your vehicle is never left unattended or unlocked.
Staff-supervised showings
A staff member accompanies every buyer who views a vehicle. Cars remain locked at all other times. Your keys never leave our staff.
Title transfer paperwork
Illinois RUT-50 forms and step-by-step title transfer instructions provided on-site. No guesswork after the sale.
A seller and buyer closing a deal at a Chicagoland Auto Fair event
Next event date coming soon

Save your time. Skip the hassle. Sell your car.

One weekend. $99 to list. The average seller walks away with $3,200 more than any dealer would have paid them. That's the deal.

Register to Sell Early bird pricing · ends Monday night