Markets / Chicago

Private-party car market: Chicago, IL

498/day private-seller listings within 50 miles, Aug 29, 2026 – Sept 27, 2026 · updated Sept 28, 2026

14,952
Private listings (30 days)
498
Per day
16.2%
Listed under Manheim wholesale
$11,900
Median asking price
$2,217
Median spread on under-wholesale cars
2015
Median model year

Where the listings come from

Share of Chicago's 14,952 private-seller listings by source.

Facebook Marketplace10,866 · 72.7%
OfferUp2,104 · 14.1%
Craigslist1,344 · 9.0%
Cars.com438 · 2.9%
Autotrader135 · 0.9%
eBay65 · 0.4%

Most listed makes

Top makes by private-seller listing count, with the median asking price and the share asking under Manheim wholesale.

MakeListingsMedian askUnder wholesale
Chevrolet1,864$11,00023.0%
Ford1,719$11,00011.3%
Toyota1,245$11,30018.9%
Honda1,002$10,49922.5%
Jeep656$11,00015.0%
BMW604$13,9009.8%
Mercedes-Benz515$14,20011.1%
Nissan495$8,20016.1%
GMC425$11,90014.1%
Dodge392$10,85028.5%
RAM364$13,00020.3%
Audi360$12,5003.9%

Asking-price bands

How Chicago's private-seller listings split by asking price.

$500–5k1,917 · 12.8%
$5k–10k3,912 · 26.2%
$10k–20k5,812 · 38.9%
$20k–35k1,980 · 13.2%
$35k–60k807 · 5.4%
$60k+524 · 3.5%

Deal grades

Facebook Marketplace listings only, because those are the grades computed against Manheim MMR wholesale for the same year, trim and mileage: a steal is priced well under wholesale, a pass is priced above it.

steal 167
great 329
good 461
fair 841
pass 4,139

Method and caveats

  • These are asking prices, not sold prices.
  • Dealer-classified and duplicate cross-posted listings were removed before counting.
  • Wholesale means Manheim MMR for the listing's year, trim and mileage.
  • A make can show a high under-wholesale share where MMR runs rich on high-mileage cars; read the makes table against the metro average.
  • Radius is 50 miles from the city center; window is Aug 29, 2026 – Sept 27, 2026 (30 days).
  • Facebook Marketplace mileage is typed by the seller and is not verified.

Chicago private-party market: common questions