AutoTrader Car Listings Scraper

AutoTrader Car Listings Scraper

Scrape AutoTrader car listings by ZIP code, make, model, or any search URL, up to a million per run. Every listing returns price, mileage, year, VIN, dealer info, and vehicle history. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

AutoTrader's website is built for manual browsing, not bulk data collection. This Actor reads the public search results directly, applying your exact filters for make, model, price, mileage, year, body style, and more, then returns each matching listing in one consistent row. You can also paste any AutoTrader search URL from your browser and the Actor will paginate through every result.

Who uses it	What they scrape AutoTrader for
Car dealerships	Monitor local competitor pricing and inventory for the same makes and models they sell.
Market researchers	Track used car price trends by region, make, and model over time.
Data analysts	Build datasets of vehicle listings for pricing models or market analysis.
Car buyers	Compare every listing matching their exact criteria across a wide radius.

What it does

This Actor collects AutoTrader vehicle listings from a ZIP code search or a direct URL and returns each car as a flat row with its full details.

• 🔍 Search by ZIP code and radius: center your search on any US ZIP and set a distance up to 500 miles, or use 0 for nationwide.
• 🔗 Paste a search URL: copy any filtered AutoTrader search URL from your browser and the Actor will paginate through every page of results.
• 🏷️ Full filter support: narrow by make, model, trim, year range, price range, mileage, body style, drivetrain, fuel type, transmission, exterior color, seller type, deal rating, vehicle history, and keywords.
• 📊 Structured output: each listing is a flat row with price, mileage, year, VIN, dealer name, address, phone, and more, ready for analysis.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with AutoTrader data

📈 Monitor competitor pricing.

A dealership runs the Actor weekly for their ZIP code, filtered to the makes they sell, to track how local competitors price similar inventory.

🚗 Find the best deal on a specific car.

A buyer sets the exact make, model, trim, year range, and max mileage, then sorts by lowest price to see every matching listing within 500 miles.

🔋 Track electric vehicle inventory.

A researcher filters by fuel type Electric and body style SUV to count how many electric SUVs are listed in each major metro area.

📋 Build a clean vehicle dataset.

An analyst collects listings with a clean title and no accidents filter, then exports the data to CSV for pricing model training.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key or registration	Scrapes the public AutoTrader search pages directly with no app setup or rate limits.
Every listing detail	Returns price, mileage, year, VIN, dealer info, vehicle history flags, and more in one row.
Flexible input	Use the built-in filter fields or paste any AutoTrader search URL from your browser.
Scales to a million listings	Paid users can collect up to 1,000,000 listings per run with automatic pagination.

How it compares

This Actor scrapes AutoTrader.com (US) while the competitor below is built for AutoTrader.ca (Canada). They target different markets.

Feature	ParseForge	Autotrader Canada
US AutoTrader.com support	Yes	Not listed
Canadian AutoTrader.ca support	Not listed	Yes
Search by ZIP code and radius	Yes	Not listed
Paste a direct search URL	Yes	Not listed
Filter by deal rating (Good/Great Price)	Yes	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a ZIP code with search filters or a direct AutoTrader URL, and filters are applied as each listing is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "startUrl": "https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/used-cars?zip=90210&searchRadius=50",
  "maxItems": 10,
  "searchRadius": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
  }
}

A larger pull:

{
  "startUrl": "https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/used-cars?zip=90210&searchRadius=50",
  "maxItems": 200,
  "searchRadius": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
  }
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.03199 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$3.20
1,000 results	$31.99
10,000 results	$319.90

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the AutoTrader Car Listings Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to AutoTrader through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/autotrader-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check that your filters are not too restrictive. Try broadening the year range, price range, or search radius. Also verify that the ZIP code is valid and the make/model combination exists.

The Actor is returning fewer listings than I see on the website.

AutoTrader sometimes shows sponsored or featured listings that are not in the standard search results. The Actor collects the organic search listings. Also check that your Max Items setting is high enough.

I get an error about proxies or blocked requests.

AutoTrader requires US residential proxies. Make sure your proxy configuration is set to use Apify's residential proxy group with the country set to US. The default settings handle this.

My pasted URL is not working.

Make sure the URL is a valid AutoTrader search results page URL from autotrader.com. It should contain query parameters like zip, make, or model. Remove any personalization or session parameters.

How do I find the model code for a specific car?

Go to autotrader.com, select the make and model you want, run the search, and look at the URL in your browser. The model code appears as the modelCodeList parameter value.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need an AutoTrader account or API key?	No. The Actor reads the public search pages that anyone can view in a browser. No login, registration, or API key is required.
Can I scrape listings from a specific city or state?	Yes. Set a ZIP code and a search radius up to 500 miles. Use 0 for the radius to search nationwide.
How do I filter by a specific car model?	Select the make from the dropdown, then enter the model code in the Model code field. You can find the model code by running a search on AutoTrader.com and copying the modelCodeList value from the URL.
What if I already have a filtered AutoTrader search URL?	Paste it into the Start URL field. The Actor will use that exact URL and ignore the other filter fields. It will paginate through every page of results from that search.
Does this Actor work for AutoTrader Canada?	No. This Actor is for AutoTrader.com (US) only. For autotrader.ca, use the separate Autotrader Canada scraper.
How many listings can I scrape in one run?	Free users are limited to 10 listings as a preview. Paid users can set any number up to 1,000,000 per run.
What proxy settings should I use?	US residential proxies are required. The Actor is pre-configured with Apify's US residential proxy group, which works for most runs.
Can I filter by deal rating?	Yes. Use the Deal Rating filter to return only listings that AutoTrader marks as a Good Price or Great Price.
Does the Actor return the VIN?	Yes. The VIN is included in the output for each listing when it is available on the page.
Can I sort the results?	Yes. Choose from relevance, price low to high, price high to low, lowest mileage, newest year, oldest year, closest to ZIP, or newest listing.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by AutoTrader.com, Inc. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.