DoneDeal vs Carzone: Which Is Better for Sellers?

The Core Problem

You've listed your car on both platforms. It's been three weeks. You've had one viewing. The buyer knocked €2,000 off your asking price before even seeing it in person. You're wondering: am I on the right platform, or is my listing just bad?

The answer is usually both — but the platform matters more than most sellers realise. DoneDeal and Carzone aren't equal in Ireland. One has 10x the traffic. One attracts serious buyers. One charges you differently. And one will sell your car faster, almost every time.

If you're selling a car in Ireland right now, you need to know the difference between these two platforms — and more importantly, why DoneDeal is where your car actually sells.

DoneDeal: The Reality

DoneDeal is Ireland's dominant car-selling platform. Full stop. It's where Irish buyers go first, second, and third. On any given day, DoneDeal has roughly 30,000–40,000 active car listings. Carzone has around 8,000–12,000.

That's not a small difference. That's a 3–4x traffic advantage.

If you're selling a common car — a Toyota Yaris, a Ford Focus, a Volkswagen Golf — DoneDeal is non-negotiable. This is where 70% of Irish car buyers start their search. Dealers know it. Private sellers know it. And Irish buyers expect to find what they want on DoneDeal within minutes.

Listing on DoneDeal costs money. A basic listing runs €4.99. A featured listing (which gives you a slot at the top of category searches) runs €14.99–€19.99 depending on the car category. If you want your listing to stay visible for the full 30 days without manual renewal, you'll pay more. This adds up, but it's the cost of being where the buyers actually are.

The DoneDeal audience is also more serious. These aren't tyre-kickers. Irish buyers use DoneDeal because it's trusted, it's comprehensive, and it has filters that actually work. They filter by price, mileage, fuel type, transmission, body style, and engine size. They expect NCT status to be clearly listed. They expect to see the Motor Tax band. They cross-reference on Cartell.ie before they even call you. DoneDeal buyers are pre-qualified before you ever hear from them.

Carzone: The Alternative That Isn't

Carzone exists. It's been around for years. But it's not a viable alternative to DoneDeal for private sellers. Here's why:

Carzone's traffic is a fraction of DoneDeal's. Irish car buyers don't start on Carzone. They might check Carzone as a second or third stop, but the volume isn't there. A car that gets 40 genuine enquiries on DoneDeal might get 4 on Carzone, and half of those will be time-wasters or dealers fishing for cheap stock.

Carzone's pricing is also opaque. There's no clear "this is what a basic listing costs" — you have to contact their sales team. For a private seller with one car to shift, that friction is a dealbreaker. DoneDeal lets you list, pay, and publish in 90 seconds. Carzone makes you jump through hoops.

Carzone also attracts more dealer traffic and fewer retail buyers. If you're selling a private car, you want retail buyers — people buying for themselves. Dealers will lowball you, waste your time, and tie up your listing with test drives they never complete.

The truth: Carzone isn't a competitor to DoneDeal. It's a backup option for cars that don't sell on DoneDeal. And if your car didn't sell on DoneDeal, the problem isn't the platform — it's the listing, the price, or the car itself.

What Most Sellers Get Wrong

Most private sellers think the platform is the problem when their car doesn't sell. It rarely is.

Here's what actually kills a DoneDeal listing:

Bad photos. You took them on a grey day, from the driver's side, without cleaning the car first. Irish buyers see this and assume you haven't maintained the car either. On DoneDeal, your first two photos determine whether someone clicks into your full listing. Bad photos = no clicks. They'll never see your description, your service history, or your honest asking price.

Vague descriptions. You wrote "Good condition, well maintained, must go." That tells a buyer nothing. An Irish buyer checking DoneDeal wants specifics: When was the last service? Any receipts? Is the NCT current or expired? Any known issues — even small ones? If you don't answer these questions, they assume you're hiding something. And they move on to the next listing.

Asking too much. You bought the car for €15,000 four years ago and you want €12,000 back. But the market has moved. Comparable cars on DoneDeal are selling for €10,500. Your listing sits there, gets views, but no enquiries. After three weeks you get frustrated and drop the price to €11,000. You just left €1,500 on the table because you didn't price correctly from day one.

Choosing the wrong listing type. You put your car up as a "basic" listing and it gets buried on page 5 of results. A featured listing costs an extra €10–€15 but puts you on the first page, in front of 95% of buyers. That's not an expense — that's an investment that pays for itself the first time you sell the car faster.

Ignoring the NCT. Your car's NCT expires in three months. You listed it anyway. Irish buyers see "NCT expires March" and move to the next car. Don't make them think about when they'll have to pay for an NCT test. Either get the NCT done before you list, or be explicit: "NCT not included, will pass test" — and price accordingly (€200–€400 lower).

Quick Wins You Can Do Today

You don't need to delist and restart. You don't need to move to Carzone. You need to fix your DoneDeal listing. Here's what actually works:

Retake your photos. If your listing is already live, most DoneDeal packages let you edit photos. Pick a dry day. Clean the car inside and out. Take photos from all angles — front three-quarter, rear three-quarter, driver's side, passenger's side. Take one interior shot of the dashboard and one of the seats. Take a photo of the odometer. Take a photo of the service book if you have one. Upload them in order. First photo is the most important — make it perfect.

Rewrite your description in bullets. Delete the old description. Start fresh. Use bullet points. Be specific:

2015 Ford Focus, 1.6 diesel, manual, 92,000 km
NCT: January 2026 (valid)
Service history: Full at 60k, 80k — receipts available
New tyres (6 months old), new brakes (1 year)
One owner from new, non-smoker
Minor scratch on rear bumper (visible in photos)
Asking €9,500

That's 30 seconds to write. It answers every question an Irish buyer will ask before they call you. Half your time-wasters will self-select out, and the serious buyers will know exactly what they're getting.

Check your price against real comps. Go to DoneDeal right now. Filter for your exact car — same year, fuel type, transmission, and mileage range (±10,000 km). Look at the cars that are listed. Look at the cars that say "Sold" next to them — these are what your car actually competes against. Price 5–10% below the lowest asking price of unsold cars. That's your price. Not what you want to get. What will actually sell.

Upgrade to featured for one week. Costs €14.99. Gets you to the top of search results for seven days. If your car is solid and your price is right, you'll get 5–10 calls in that week. One will turn into a viewing. One viewing turns into a sale 60% of the time. That €14.99 is the cheapest marketing you'll ever buy.

Respond to every enquiry within two hours. DoneDeal buyers expect fast replies. If you take 24 hours to respond, they've already called three other sellers and test-driven two other cars. You've lost the sale. Turn on DoneDeal notifications. Reply fast. Be honest. Be friendly. You'll convert 3x more enquiries into viewings.

Should You List on Both?

Yes. But DoneDeal first, and only.

Get your DoneDeal listing perfect. Keep it active for two to three weeks. If it's not working after that, the problem isn't the platform — it's the car, the price, or the photos. Fix those first.

Once you've had some viewings and you understand what the market thinks of your car, then consider a Carzone listing as a secondary channel. But treat it as backup, not primary. Your energy should be on DoneDeal.

Carzone is useful if: you have a niche or older car that hasn't moved in a month, you want extra visibility, or you're the type of seller who wants to cover all bases. But it will never be your primary sales channel.

Summary: DoneDeal Wins. But Only If You Do It Right

DoneDeal is where Irish cars sell. It has the traffic, the buyers, and the infrastructure. Carzone exists, but it's not in the same league. The difference between the platforms is real, but it's much smaller than the difference between a great DoneDeal listing and a bad one.

Fix your photos. Be specific in your description. Price correctly. Respond fast. That's the playbook. That's what sells cars on DoneDeal.

If you want to know exactly what your car is worth based on real DoneDeal data right now — comparable sales, asking prices, days-on-market for your exact model — run a CarIQ valuation report. It costs €19.99 and takes two minutes. You'll see the exact asking price that will get your car sold in two weeks instead of two months. See exactly what your car is worth right now.