Nowadays it seems as if everywhere you look, there’s a new site popping up offering help with buying and selling cars. So we here at KBB decided to explore a few of them and see what kinds of services each offers car buyers and sellers. Here we look at Autotrader.com (a KBB.com partner) and Autolist.com.
What Is Autotrader.com
Auto Trader first launched in 1992 as a print publication, showing ads for cars, although the print version ceased publishing in 2017. Autotrader.com, with much more comprehensive tools, reviews, and vehicle history reports, launched in 1997.
With a commitment to being your ultimate solution for buying and selling new, certified, and used cars,” Autotrader.com offers a number of benefits. It boasts the largest selection of vehicle inventory from dealers and private sellers; a comprehensive selection of buying and selling tips; research and comparison tools, including reviews, photos, and videos; vehicle pricing, including seller specials and dealer discounts; safety information and vehicle history reports; and even help with finance, insurance, and warranty programs. We at KBB.com provide pricing information in our partnership with Autotrader.
Autotrader.com gives the shopper tools to research and compare cars by body type, mileage, price, and other criteria. Autotrader has more than 3 million vehicle listings from 40,000 dealers and 250,000 private owners, with more than 14 million buyers per month.
One unique feature on Autotrader.com is “At Home Services” which allows shoppers to limit their search to only those new or used cars where the dealership offers a video walkaround, at-home test drive, and vehicle delivery. This is particularly useful for people who are intimidated by dealer showrooms.
What is Autolist.com
One of the newest entries in the online car-buying sphere, Autolist was founded in 2011 and acquired by CarGurus.com in early 2020. The San Francisco-based company is relatively small, with less than 50 employees. Autolist does not generate its own listings, rather acts as an aggregator. It pulls both new and used car listings from Carmax, CarGurus, Edmunds, Truecar, and other search engines.
Its claim to fame is something it calls Listmate, where it categorizes the listed price by showing its price in comparison with other listings for a similar car. Under “Buyer Intelligence,” it includes how long the vehicle has been on the market and by what percentage its price is higher or lower than the average.
Unlike some other sites, Autolist does not have separate tabs for searching new and used cars. Rather, once you select a make and model, you then have the filter the search a few different ways, including Year (Newest First).
Autolist also has various articles for buyers and sellers, such as how to buy a new or used car and what to look for when inspecting a used car. It also offers different buying guides, such as used car warranties, and buying guides for particular cars. There is also a section with editorial reviews of newer cars.
Autolist also offers a mobile app that works with either Apple or Android phones.
Autotrader listings for Car Buyers
Autotrader.com allows buyers to search for new cars by everything from make to style, price, location, and even more.
Each new car listing includes information provided by the seller, including the vehicle’s VIN (vehicle identification number) and often the dealer stock number.
What you will see on Autotrader.com
At the top of the page, you have the option to search by make, model, or style. An “Advanced search” button allows you to broaden your search terms, with such things as location, condition, and style.
Next, you come to a page that shows a photo of the car and the dealership, including MSRP. It also includes information on the dealership and KBB’s dealer rating. Boxes appear with Dealer Home Services options, such as whether a video walkaround or at-home test drive is available. You also have the option to expand the search radius from your zip code.
Once you click on a particular car, the mileage, engine, transmission, mpg, exterior, and interior colors, and the VIN are included, including seller comments. Lower down the page is warranty information.
Below that is pricing information provided by us here at KBB.com. This includes the MSRP and how it relates to what we believe the fair market range is for the vehicle. We update this information frequently as it changes depending on things like season (convertibles are more popular in the summer) and desirability or popularity of a particular new car.
If you need to finance the vehicle, below this is the “Calculate Payment” tool where you can input the number of months and down payment and (if relevant) the trade-in value of your current vehicle. It will then tell you your monthly payment and what the APR is.
Autolist listings for Car Buyers
Autolist’s home page uses a search button at the top where you input your city and then whether you want to search via Body Style or Make & Model. There is also a View All option for the truly undecided.
The top of the page also includes a tab for Research and another where you can save Favorites, which require a sign-up through Google, Facebook, or e-mail.
Further down the page is a list of Trending Searches, such as “Pickups under $10,000” or “Sedans under $5,000”. Below that is a list of prices, offering searches from Under $1,000 up to Under $20,000. Further down is a list of cities and top models. It should be noted that Autolist does not include listings in every city and state.
What you will see on Autolist.com
Once you click on a make and model, it brings you to a page with a number of listings, and a variety of search filters down the left side, including price range, year range, trim, body style, and vehicle category. The default setting is a seemingly random “best match” and both new and used cars are included. You can order the results in several ways as well, including Price (least expensive or most expensive), distance, year, mileage, and time on market.
If you pick Newest First, then the listings appear with the year and a photograph, the location, and either a price or “Accepting Offers.” There are also options to track the price over time or check availability. Once you click on the listing, the page includes more photos, contact information for the dealer, and more information about the car, such as equipment, transmission, trim, and VIN. Also included is the number of days on the market and (if a price is listed) how it relates to its competitors.
Contacting a seller through Autotrader
At the top of the listing is an e-mail click that says “confirm availability” if you like the car.
Then there are a number of ways to contact the dealership, including a private message with your name, e-mail, and (optionally) phone number. Or you can send an e-mail and ask questions about the car.
Contacting a seller through Autolist
Autolist contact is similar to that of Autotrader, with a Check Availability option as well as a basic form with your name, phone number, and zip code to contact the dealership. There is also a save feature for all searches. You also have an option to e-mail or call the dealer.
A checkbox offers to send an e-mail notification if the price drops or there are new listings.
Used Cars on Autotrader.com
Autotrader features used car listings from both dealers and private parties. The search options are similar to those for new cars and include such parameters as year, make, price, style, location, color, etc.
One key difference is that you can filter used cars by vehicle history (number of owners, any accidents) and mileage. Many listings also include a link to a free Carfax report.
Each listing includes information from the seller, features, and general model information such as reviews, where applicable. Information about the original warranty is also available, as well as KBB’s Fair Market value.
Similar to the new car listings, the used listings also offer a variety of ways to contact the seller, such as e-mail, chat, and of course a phone number.
Certified Pre-Owned on Autotrader
Some of the used cars are CPO (certified pre-owned) cars. CPO programs are run by the manufacturers and available at dealerships. A CPO car is one with low mileage that has been thoroughly inspected and includes a warranty from the manufacturer.
Used Cars on Autolist
As stated above, there is no distinction for searching either new or used on Autolist, with the only option being an ability to sort by year.
Used car listings are similar to those of new cars, except they include the mileage of the vehicle and not only the price but how that breaks down into an estimated monthly payment. The page for a particular car is much the same as that of a new one. It includes contact information for a dealer and how the price compares to similar listings.
There is nothing that indicates CPO cars on Autolist, although on a used car page, there may be an ad about the manufacturer’s CPO program. That link simply leads to the manufacturer’s CPO Web site, rather than calling up the particular car or dealer in question.
More Search Choices on Autotrader.com
Even beyond the conventional new and used car listings, Autotrader.com provides different classes of search on other pages. At the bottom of the home page, there are options to find classic and exotic cars, motorcycles, or even RVs. One category that may be handy for certain buyers is a special search for those with bad credit.
More Search Choices on Autolist.com
Lower on the left side of the search page, there are a number of different ways to search, including Muscle, Luxury, Classic, and even Supercar. But those listings are sparse, and not as comprehensive as other sites. Some smaller or defunct makes not even included.
Autotrader.com for Sellers
Since Autotrader.com exists to help not only buyers but also sellers, Autotrader offers a few different choices for private-party sellers. Listings are on a pricing scale. A basic ad goes for $25, a featured ad costs $50, and a premium ad $90. Due to Autotrader’s partnership with us at KBB, any Autotrader posting also appears on KBB.com.
Each listing includes the ability to display photos as well. Basic comes with three photos, featured gets 20, and a Premium ad includes 30. There is also the option to add 10 more photos to any package for an additional $20.
Sellers also get a counter to see how many people have clicked on their ad.
Seller Options
Sellers can include a vehicle history report, which costs $15 with a basic or featured listing but comes with Premium ads. Another $15 option is Spotlight Ad status, which bumps the ad up on the search results page from time to time. This is also free with Premium.
Premium ads include a Supercharger listing, which makes the ad stand out in search results. This costs $10 with a Basic or Featured ad.
KBB Instant Cash Offer
Yet another advantage to Autotrader’s partnership with us at KBB.com is that a seller can use the Kelley Blue Book instant cash offer. The feature provides a cash or trade-in offer from KBB at participating dealers. This eliminates a lot of the hassle of selling a car, which can take time and involves dealing with strangers.
Autolist for Sellers
On the home page, under the More tab are Sell My Car and Car Values. Car Values includes a few recent cars with lows and highs of current listings and middle-ground “Fair List Price” values, as well as a scatter chart of active listings.
There is also a banner for What Should You Pay for Your Next Car, where a search by make and model led to nothing more than a spinning wheel when two recent cars were selected.
Sell My Car led directly to the CarGurus “sell my car” page. Autolist does not handle sales.
