California Bay Area Car Lot Martinez · Private-party sales
Sunday · 6 December 2026

Your car. Your price. Your buyer.

A one-day used car fair in the parking lot at Alhambra High School. Owners bring the cars, trucks, motorcycles and boats they want to sell, with a limited number of spaces for RVs. Buyers walk in free and deal with each owner directly.

I have a car to sell I’m looking to buy
When Sunday 6 December 2026 Open to buyers 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM (proposed hours). The date is confirmed on this page once the school district approves it.
Where Alhambra High School parking lot 150 E Street, Martinez, California 94553
Admission Free for buyers Sellers pay one flat fee per vehicle. No commission.

For sellers

The reality of selling a car in today’s economy

With inflation and a large inventory of available options, prices for a private seller are very competitive.

A good asking price sits between the buy-now offer you can get from a dealership such as CarMax and the Kelley Blue Book value. Look up your Kelley Blue Book value.

The strategy to sell

Expose your vehicle to as many buyers as possible, make it easier for your buyers to buy, and find a way to show your car to potential buyers. And even though this is obvious, make your car look and feel as new and as good as you can.

The quality of clean is a good detailing.

You may want to share the CARFAX report to show there are no accidents, or only minor ones. And if there was a major accident, it is a sign of respect to disclose the things your buyer may discover, and it protects you.

Why we built this

For all these reasons and more, we want to make it easier for sellers and buyers to meet. Seeing, hearing and testing are often the last and most essential steps for a buyer deciding to buy your vehicle. So we give you a neutral, safe space where multiple buyers can meet you and see your vehicle.

Yes, we do have spaces for boats, and limited spaces for RVs.

Standard lot space

$149

Motorcycles $89 · Boats $149

  • Put your vehicle in front of local buyers.
  • No commissions.
  • You deal directly with the buyer.

Reserve early and we’ll promote your car before the event.

Reserve your spot with a credit card

Cancel by 11:59 PM on Friday 4 December for a full refund.

If your car sells before the fair: if our ad brings you your buyer, we refund all but $49. If you sell to a friend or to a buyer you find yourself, we refund your whole payment.

You pay $149 by card when you reserve, or $89 for a motorcycle. One payment holds one display space for one car, truck, van or motorcycle, or one boat on its trailer that fits a standard parking space. By paying you agree to the seller terms.

Limited · RV spaces

$149 · only 10 spaces

For a motorhome, a camper, a travel trailer, or a boat too long for one parking space. An RV space is two spaces wide.

Reserve an RV space

Same cancellation promise: cancel by 11:59 PM on Friday 4 December for a full refund.

When the 10 are taken, we keep a waiting list and offer any space that opens in the order people joined. Join the RV waiting list.

How selling works

  1. Reserve your spot Pay $149 by credit card, or $89 for a motorcycle. Cancel by 11:59 PM on Friday 4 December and you get a full refund.
  2. Send photos, get promoted After you reserve, email up to five photos, your mileage, your asking price and what you based it on, such as the Kelley Blue Book value or a dealer’s offer. You get your own page to share. See an example. Send them here. Your car goes on this page before 6 December.
  3. Make your window card Type in your car’s details and print a sign with your price, your phone number and a code buyers scan to text you. Make your card
  4. Check in that morning Bring your title, your registration card, your driver’s license, and a smog certificate passed within the last 90 days if your vehicle needs one. Motorcycles need no smog certificate. Selling a boat? Bring its title and registration, and the trailer’s too. Staff match the name on the title to your license, record what California law asks of the fair, then show you to your space.
  5. Meet your buyers You keep your keys, ride along on every test drive and make your own deal. The fair takes no part in the sale.

Promoted before the fair

Cars coming Sunday, 6 December

The first cars appear here as sellers reserve.

Example — how your car will appear

Year · Make · Model

Price set by the seller

______ miles

See it Sunday at space A___

Proposed hours for Sunday 6 December

7:00 to 8:30 AM Sellers arrive and check in
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Open to buyers
By 4:00 PM Sellers leave the lot

These hours are proposed. Final hours will be posted on this page.

Buying a car

Buyers get in free.

Walk the rows, look as long as you like, and talk with each owner directly. Nobody at the fair works on commission.

Not only cars. Motorcycles and boats are bought and sold here too, and a few RVs.

Planning a test drive? Bring your driver’s license and proof of insurance. The owner rides along and photographs both before the car moves.

Paying on a Sunday

No bank or credit union branch near Martinez opens on a Sunday. If you plan to pay by cashier’s check, get it on the Friday or the Saturday before the fair.

A seller who takes a cashier’s check checks it by calling the bank that issued it, on the number published on that bank’s own website, never a number printed on the check.

If you may want a loan, ask your own credit union to pre-approve you before the day.

See the cars before Sunday

Cars appear on this page as sellers reserve. See the cars coming Sunday.

Want a reminder before the fair?

Email me a reminder

Your email app opens with the request already written. Press send.

How the fair works

The Bay Area Car Lot rents display space to private owners for a flat fee. It never buys, sells, brokers or negotiates a vehicle, and it takes no commission. Every sale is between the seller and the buyer.

Only private owners may sell. At check-in, staff match the name on each vehicle’s title to the seller’s driver’s license.

What would make selling or buying a car easier, better, or more likely for you? Tell us in three short answers.