Frequently asked questions.

PCG (Pixar Cars Garage) is a free, independent platform built for Disney Pixar Cars die-cast collectors. It helps you:

• Catalog your collection with photos, details, and notes
• Check estimated values from over 2,114 real eBay sold prices
• Complete year-by-year checklists from 2006 to 2026
• Build a wishlist and get alerts when wanted cars appear
• Trade and sell with other collectors

Think of it as your personal garage plus a collector community, built by a collector who got tired of buying duplicates.

Yes, completely free: unlimited cataloging, value estimates, checklists, wishlist alerts, the Mattel-number scanner, and trading. No paid tiers, subscriptions, or hidden fees.

No. PCG is an independent fan community and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Disney, Pixar, or Mattel. All trademarks, character names, and imagery belong to their respective owners.

• Click Sign Up on the homepage
• Enter your name, email, and a password
• Verify your email
• Start adding cars to your garage

The whole process takes under two minutes.

Quick Add (recommended)

• Click the + in your catalog
• Search the Masterlist by name or Mattel number
• Select the match, add your photo and notes, save

Manual Entry

• Click + then Manual Entry, fill in the details, upload a photo, save

Scan

• Tap Scan and point your camera at the Mattel number on the package or the base of the car
• PCG reads the number and finds the match - confirm and save

In Settings, open Privacy Settings and toggle Public Catalog on or off. Public lets other users browse your collection; private keeps it visible only to you. Cars you list for trade or sale still appear in the Community Garage.

Open the car in your catalog and click Edit to change its details. To remove it, open the car and click Delete, then confirm.

Trading uses a structured 6-stage process:

• Offer - one user proposes a trade
• Accepted - the other user accepts
• Lock In - both commit and a 5-day shipping countdown starts
• Address Exchange - both submit addresses privately
• Shipping - both ship and enter tracking
• Completed - both confirm receipt, cars swap, reviews are left

Addresses are revealed only after both submit; tracking only after both ship.

• Open the car and click Edit
• Set the Availability dropdown to For Trade, For Sale, or Both
• If selling, enter your price; if trading, describe what you want
• Save

Your car appears in the Community Garage with a badge showing it is available.

Protect yourself

• Start small and build trust with lower-value trades
• Check trade count, rating, and reviews
• Request current, timestamped photos
• Always ship with tracking; insure valuable items
• Save all conversations and agreements

If a partner does not ship, the 5-day deadline passes and the trade is flagged overdue. Report the user through Contact - repeat offenders can be suspended or banned.

Packaging

• Wrap each car in bubble wrap
• Use a sturdy rigid box, not a padded envelope
• Fill empty space; double-box rare items

Shipping

• Always use tracking, no exceptions
• Insure valuable items
• Ship within the 5-day lock-in window

• Find a car listed For Sale and click Buy Now
• Review the price, shipping, and total, then enter your address
• Pay through PayPal secure checkout
• The seller is notified and ships; confirm delivery when it arrives

Payments run through PayPal secure checkout. PCG never sees or stores your card, bank, or PayPal password - only a transaction reference so both sides can track status.

Buyer protection is provided by PayPal, not PCG. Pay with PayPal Goods & Services and you may be eligible for Item Not Received or Significantly Not as Described claims. To file, use Report a Problem in your PayPal Activity. PCG cannot issue refunds or resolve disputes.

Set up PayPal

In Settings, enter your PayPal email and save.

List your car

Open the car, click Edit, set Availability to For Sale or Both, enter your sale and shipping price, and save.

Payment is sent directly to your PayPal. PayPal charges its standard receiving fee (about 2.9% + $0.30 for US sellers), deducted before it reaches you. PCG adds no fees.

No. Listing, buying, and selling are free - no commission, no subscriptions, no hidden charges. PayPal charges sellers its own fee; that is PayPal, not PCG.

The Wishlist tracks cars you are looking for. When another user lists a matching car for trade or sale, you get a notification so you can make an offer before someone else does. Matching prioritizes exact Mattel number, then partial name, then movie, year, and rarity.

Open Wishlist, click Add to Wishlist, search the Masterlist or enter details, set your maximum price and whether to be notified for trades, sales, or both, and save.

The Price Calculator is built on over 2,114 real eBay sold prices and uses a 6-tier cascading lookup - not AI, not category averages, not guesswork:

• Tier 1: exact eBay match by Mattel number and year
• Tier 2: same Mattel number, different year
• Tier 3: same character and packaging
• Tier 4: same series and packaging
• Tier 5: packaging by year grid
• Tier 6: multiplier-chain fallback

Every price traces back to a real transaction. The higher the tier that matches, the more precise the estimate.

They are based on real market data but are still estimates - useful for gauging what your collection is worth, comparing cars, and judging trade fairness. They should not be used for insurance, appraisals, tax, or legal purposes. Actual value depends on what a buyer will pay on a given day.

It is the short alphanumeric code Mattel prints on every package and car base - usually two or three letters followed by two or three digits (for example FLL72, DKG44, GKB85). It uniquely identifies the exact release. Find it on the back of the card, on the base of the car, or by searching the Checklists.

Series is the number-one price driver, not the character name. The same character across series can vary widely - for example Radiator Springs Mater near $10 versus Monster Truck Mater near $60. PCG gives each Mattel number its own lookup instead of a generic average.

Go to Settings, open the Profile tab, scroll to Change Password, enter your current password, then your new one, and click Update Password.

In Settings, open the Account tab and click Download Data. You get an Excel file with your account info, collection, wishlist, and offers - opens in any spreadsheet app.

You have full control: access your data (download anytime), correct it, delete your account and all data permanently, and export it in a standard format. These rights apply to all users, including those in the EU under GDPR. See the Privacy Policy for details.

In Settings, open Account, click Delete Account, type DELETE to confirm, enter your password, and confirm. This permanently removes your catalog, messages, trade history, and all other data.

On the login page click Forgot Password, enter your email, and check your inbox for a reset link. If it does not arrive, check spam or contact us.

PCG works best on current versions of Chrome (recommended), Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Samsung Internet. Keep your browser updated for the best experience.

• Images must be under 10MB
• Use JPG, PNG, or GIF
• PCG blocks images containing human faces for privacy
• Check your connection and clear your cache, or try a smaller image

Not yet. PCG is a web platform optimized for both desktop and mobile browsers. You can add it to your phone home screen for an app-like experience: on iPhone use Safari Share then Add to Home Screen; on Android use the Chrome menu then Add to Home Screen.

Go to the Contact page, choose Bug Report, describe what happened and what you expected, add screenshots if you can, and tell us your browser and device. Bug reports genuinely help - thank you.