Autotrader Reviews 

Over 80 quid to advertise my car and what do they give me in return? 200 views and 2 scam callers. It's just not worth the price tag. They only seem interested in car show rooms and not the private sellers these days. I will stick to marketplace or the bay. One is 20 quid the other is free. And both get more viewers anyways.

My experience listing my vehicle on Autotrader was extremely poor. Instead of connecting with legitimate private buyers, I was inundated with scam messages and automated lowball offers from dealerships. Given the lack of quality leads and real buyers, this was a total waste of time and money, and I definitely won't recommend Autotrader to other private sellers.

This is a good company. Selling a car can be a nightmare. By staying on the Autotrader platform and ignoring all the "text me", "call me i have cash" scam offers you'll be safe. Be advised you'll get many such offers at first. IGNORE THEM. Real buyers are willing to stay on Autotrader platform. They made selling my car easy quick and safe!

Unfortunately, AutoTrader just isnt the place to post or sell vehicles any longer. Every contact I recieved was a scam. 3 months of posting. They just dont compete anymore with Facebook Marketplace and Ebay Auto. Not worth the investment to run and sponsor an add.

I would give zero stars if it let me. Charged me $49 for an add and the chat feature never worked. I could see people had sent me messages, but when I tried to read them I would get an error message. I emailed them and they sent me a one line comment and that’s it. It never worked and I couldn’t see the messages. Terrible customer service and a horrible experience. I am trying to get my $49 back but I doubt that will ever happen. If you are thinking about using Auto Trader and see this before spending money, then I suggest looking for another service. Such a scam!

The AutoTrader platform made it very easy to list our vehicle but resulted in no legitimate interest. In contrast, Facebook Marketplace led to several people who were willing to communicate on the platform, show up in person and ultimately by her vehicle. Almost everyone on your platform wanted me to purchase a scam vehicle history or text them off the platform, two red flags. I'll be seeking a refund.

Easy to work with, and safe and secure for the buyer and me along the way. Using the APP to communicate is definitely the way to go.

On the other hand, many "non-ID-verified" people were contacting me (Scam) asking me to buy a vehicle report, etc. So, make sure you only deal with AutoTrader ID Verified people, period.

I ultimately found a good buyer and the transaction went really smooth.
That said, there was way too many scam or spam contacts then real. The majority of contacts wanted me to use text messages to get away from the platform's system. One other tried to get me to purchase an added vehicle history report.
You have to be aware of scams, but otherwise it worked.

Very disappointed with my experience with Autotrader. I paid $49 to list my vehicle because I expected a reputable platform that would help connect me with serious buyers. Instead, nearly every inquiry I have received has been a scam or extremely suspicious. I understand that scams can happen anywhere online, but when you PAY to advertise on a platform like Autotrader, you can expect better screening and protection form this type of activity. I've spent more time trying to determine whether messages are scams that actually communicating with legitimate buyers. For $49, I expected much better. Based on my experience, I would not recommend paying to list a vehicle with Autotrader.

I listed my car, paid the $50, and during the week it was listed I received about 20 inquiries by scammers, who wanted to get off the site right away and asked me to purchase bogus vehicle reports. The site advises against getting off the platform and no purchasing scam reports, but still, to not have ANY LEGITIMATE INTERESTED BUYERS and ONLY GET SCAMMERS is terrible. I sold my car through FB Marketplace, which was cheaper and actually produced a buyer.

If you want multiple scam calls, texts and messages when selling your used car then this is the place for you. Everyone out of state wanting to pay by check asking for all your personal information. Shame on Autotrader

Fraud fraud fraud..I listed 3 cars and only buyers that run a scam call..they send you fake cashiers check then over pay you for the car wanting you to pay the " transporter' $5000 in cash..then the check bounces and you are out $5000. Want proof, list a vehicle then wait and see what happens..after all who sends a cashiers check to somebody they do not know and buys a car sight unseen

The private seller platform is nothing but a forum for scammers. I place a a premium ad and for over a week got nothing but scammers trying to get me to contact them off platform which Autotrader acknowledged is a scammer. After a week of exclusive scam messages and not one legitimate buyer inquiry, I asked for a refund and they refused after escalation to management they offered a 30% discount which is not acceptable since the platform is completely useless and nothing but scammers trying to rip you off. I used to have trust in this brand but after this experience I will NEVER trust or use this platform again. Not only is the platform useless the customer service experience is apathetic and uncaring. Autotrader and the all the scammers on their platform belong together as they both share the same objective scam you out of your money. Very disappointing that this company and brand has degenerated to this level. I thought this would be a better more secure way to sell a car than Facebook but it is actually far worse and will cost you $69 for zero value.

Of 16 potential buyers, all were scammers trying to establish contact off platform and also sending me to phishing "Fake VIN Report Scam sites".

The lack of any sort of vetting is just lazy and is indicative of poor cybersecurity practices overall.

All in all AutoTrader has been a waste of time and money.

This appears to be the most secure way to sell a car, privately. Stay within their ecosystem, as Autotrader recommends. Do not connect with people directly through text/messaging on your phone, even/especially if they request it, and do not buy anything, like an auto survey/evaluation, requested by a potential buyer. Those are likely attempts to scam. I experienced many of those and just rejected those potential "buyers." Also ensure the buyer is verified through Autotrader before proceeding. I will certainly use Autotrader again! Very efficient and resulted in a sale to an excellent buyer at a reasonable price.

I took out an ad and all I got was scammers trying to get me to buy vehicle reports similar to Carfax, by no name companies. This is a scam that auto trader even tells you to look out for. I had 50 scammers and I had no legitimate leads. I would definitely not recommend spending any money on this website. I was able to sell my truck on Facebook marketplace.

Paid for a Premium Listing — Received Nothing but Scam Messages

I was selling a vehicle and purchased AutoTrader’s six-month upgraded listing because I viewed AutoTrader as a premium platform and expected it to provide a better selling experience. Creating the listing and uploading photos was simple and straightforward. Unfortunately, that is where the positive experience ended.

The listing process itself was easy to navigate, and my vehicle was quickly posted on the site. However, every single inquiry I received through AutoTrader showed warning signs that AutoTrader itself identifies as indicators of a potential scam. People immediately wanted to move the conversation off the AutoTrader platform, and others directed me to purchase vehicle history reports from specific, unfamiliar websites. I did not receive a single legitimate buyer conversation through my AutoTrader listing.

After five days of receiving nothing but suspicious messages, I contacted AutoTrader hoping for assistance, advice, or even some tips on improving the quality of the responses I was receiving. Instead, I was essentially told that AutoTrader is a website and there is nothing they can do to prevent scammers from contacting sellers.

That response was particularly disappointing because AutoTrader promotes safety measures and user verification. As a paying customer, I expected more than simply being told there was nothing they could do.

We chose the upgraded paid listing because we believed AutoTrader offered something more than the free alternatives. Ironically, my experience with Facebook Marketplace was completely different. I received legitimate inquiries there, no one tried to convince me to purchase a suspicious vehicle history report, and no one immediately tried to move the conversation off the platform. Ultimately, the actual buyer came through Facebook Marketplace.

I understand that no online marketplace can eliminate every scammer. What disappointed me most was paying for what I believed was a premium vehicle-selling platform, receiving exclusively scam-like inquiries, and then finding very little interest from AutoTrader in helping when I contacted them.

I paid for six months of advertising, but within days I had learned that, for my vehicle, the free marketplace provided the legitimate buyer while the paid platform provided nothing but suspicious contacts. Based on my experience, I would not pay to list another vehicle on AutoTrader.

I placed an ad for my 2004 pickup truck on July 11. Their system identified my truck as a 6'4" bed instead of the actual factory 8' bed. I notified Auto Trader (AT) and was advised that the problem would be corrected by the I.T. team. A few days later I was advised that the I.T. team would not correct it without an original window sticker indicating it was made with an 8' bed. I just happened to still have the original window sticker, but it did not have any indication of the bed length. I then contacted the dealer who sold me the truck and they sent me a detailed options list for my truck with the matching VIN that indicated it was made with an 8' cargo box (bed). I sent this to AT three weeks ago and they still haven't corrected my ad. Every time I call, they say it's being reviewed by the I.T. team. Today they said they sent a request to the manufacturer of the truck to have them change the information --- WHAT? My ad has been running for almost a month and I have had nothing but scam responses, due largely to the conflicting information in my ad regarding the bed length (pictures don't match description). Their (AT)system also won't accurately keep track of read and unread messages. Even after reading, some still show as unread. AT says they can't fix this either. I will be cancelling my ad and requesting a refund of my $49.

Scammy website run by scammers and infected with scammers. Tried to place and ad to sell my vehicle and got quick results, only thing was it was trolls and swindlers. Used the provided chat function but still not able to filter the grifters from anyone serious. Wait, sorry I never received a serious inquiry.Auto Trader never made any attempt to help sellers, I believe they are likely in cahoots with the fraudsters. One sly scam was asking for a specific vehicle information specs from a website i could not find. I could not find it because my ISP had blocked the site due to fraud. Tried to get help from customer service, but I guess they were to busy and were not contactable, Took the ad down the same day after 13 fraudulent contacts. Asked for my money back plus 1 day of lost time billed at $100 per day. They are not based in the US and use their ill-proficiency in English as cover. They are not for independent sellers and only seem to cater to dealers... so stay away

100% scam buyer offers from out of state. A complete waste of money. Shame on me for not reading reviews. I thought because of the KBB connection it was legit. Nope!! Use FB marketplace. Sold my car there.