AutoTrader UK Scraper

Pull structured vehicle listings from AutoTrader UK at scale: price, make, model, year, mileage, full specification, finance, a 10-point vehicle history check, the complete photo gallery and every dealer contact detail. Search by filters or paste AutoTrader URLs. The scraper is fast, robust against page redesigns, and runs on the cheap datacenter connection tier by default.

Covers all eight AutoTrader marketplaces: cars, vans, bikes, motorhomes, caravans, trucks, farm and plant.

Why this scraper

• More data than the alternatives. 120+ fields per vehicle, including full dealer contact (name, phone, email, postal address, GPS coordinates, opening hours), FCA finance registration, a 10-point history check, structured spec, running costs and the full gallery with per-image classification tags.
• Lower cost. An efficient data path means a default run uses the datacenter connection tier. No premium connection is needed for typical runs.
• Reliable. Built to keep working through the site's frequent visual redesigns.
• Two ways in. Search by filters (make, model, price, year, mileage, fuel, body, transmission, colour, drivetrain, seller, distance and more) or paste any AutoTrader search or advert URL.
• Forward auto-pagination. Walks result pages automatically up to the site's 100-page ceiling (about 2,000 listings per search).
• Smart connections. Rotates the exit on a rejection, escalates to a stronger connection tier only when needed (with a configurable usage cap), and steps back down to the cheap tier when healthy.
• Pay only for what you use. Listing-grid runs are cheap; the per-advert detail enrichment is billed only when you turn it on.

Data you get

Sample shape: values are illustrative placeholders, not from a live listing.

Field	Example
advertId	"000000000000000"
url	"https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/000000000000000"
title	"BMW 3 Series"
subTitle	"2.0 320d M Sport Auto"
make / model	"BMW" / "3 Series"
year	2020
condition	"used"
mileage	30000
price	20000
priceFormatted	"£20,000"
priceIndicator	"GREAT"
monthlyPrice	"£300"
fuelType	"Diesel"
bodyType	"Saloon"
transmission	"Automatic"
engineSizeLitres	"2.0L"
doors / seats	"4" / "5"
bodyColour	"Black"
sellerType	"TRADE"
dealerName	"Sample Motors"
dealer.phone	"+440000000000"
dealer.email	"sales@example.com"
dealer.postcode	"AB12 3CD"
latitude / longitude	51.0000 / -0.1000
vehicleCheck.status	"PASSED"
numberOfImages	20

Detail fields (description, full specification, history check, service history, finance, gallery, dealer contact) are populated when Fetch full advert details is on, and null otherwise, so the output shape is stable either way.

How to use

Search a make and model, listing grid only (cheapest):

{
  "mode": "search",
  "channel": "cars",
  "make": "BMW",
  "model": "3 Series",
  "postcode": "SW1A 1AA",
  "maxPages": 3,
  "fetchDetails": false
}

Search with filters and full detail enrichment:

{
  "mode": "search",
  "channel": "cars",
  "make": "Audi",
  "minPrice": 10000,
  "maxPrice": 25000,
  "minYear": 2019,
  "fuelType": "Diesel",
  "transmission": "Automatic",
  "radius": 50,
  "postcode": "M1 1AE",
  "maxListings": 200,
  "fetchDetails": true
}

Scrape vans within 25 miles, sorted by most recent:

{
  "mode": "search",
  "channel": "vans",
  "radius": 25,
  "sortBy": "most_recent",
  "postcode": "B1 1AA",
  "maxPages": 5
}

Paste URLs (search results and a single advert in one run):

{
  "mode": "url",
  "urls": [
    "https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?make=Tesla&postcode=SW1A1AA",
    "https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/000000000000000"
  ],
  "maxPages": 2,
  "fetchDetails": true
}

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
mode	string	"search"	"search" (filters) or "url" (paste links).
channel	string	"cars"	cars, vans, bikes, motorhomes, caravans, trucks, farm, plant.
postcode	string	"SW1A 1AA"	Search centre and distance reference.
make	string	-	Exact AutoTrader make, e.g. BMW.
model	string	-	Exact AutoTrader model; applies when make is set.
minPrice / maxPrice	integer	-	Price band (basis set by priceSearchType).
minYear / maxYear	integer	-	Year band.
minMileage / maxMileage	integer	-	Mileage band.
fuelType	string	any	Petrol, Diesel, Electric, Hybrid and plug-in variants.
bodyType	string	any	Hatchback, Saloon, Estate, SUV, Coupe, Convertible, MPV, Pickup.
transmission	string	any	Automatic or Manual.
colour	string	-	Exterior colour, e.g. Black.
drivetrain	string	any	Front, Rear or Four Wheel Drive.
sellerType	string	any	trade (dealer) or private.
minEngineSize / maxEngineSize	string	-	Engine size band in litres, e.g. 2.0.
doors / seats	integer	-	Exact door / seat count.
radius	integer	-	Miles from postcode; empty for national.
writeoffStatus	string	"include"	include, exclude, or only written-off vehicles.
priceSearchType	string	"total"	Apply price filters to total price or monthly payment.
sortBy	string	"relevance"	relevance, price_asc, price_desc, distance, mileage, year_dsc, year_asc, most_recent.
urls	array	-	AutoTrader search or advert URLs (url mode).
fetchDetails	boolean	true	Add full per-advert detail (one extra request per listing).
includeFinanceGuides	boolean	false	Keep the static finance explainer text (large, identical per advert).
maxPages	integer	2	Pages per search (site cap is 100).
maxListings	integer	0	Overall cap; 0 means unlimited.
maxResidentialRequests	integer	400	Cap on residential exits before falling back to the backup pool; 0 disables residential.
proxy	object	datacenter	Apify Proxy configuration.

Output example

Sample shape: values are illustrative placeholders, not from a live listing.

{
  "advertId": "000000000000000",
  "url": "https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/000000000000000",
  "channel": "cars",
  "title": "BMW 3 Series",
  "subTitle": "2.0 320d M Sport Auto",
  "make": "BMW",
  "model": "3 Series",
  "year": 2020,
  "condition": "used",
  "mileage": 30000,
  "price": 20000,
  "priceFormatted": "£20,000",
  "priceIndicator": "GREAT",
  "monthlyPrice": "£300",
  "hasFinance": true,
  "fuelType": "Diesel",
  "bodyType": "Saloon",
  "engineSizeLitres": "2.0L",
  "engineSizeCC": 1995,
  "transmission": "Automatic",
  "drivetrain": "Rear Wheel Drive",
  "doors": "4",
  "seats": "5",
  "bodyColour": "Black",
  "emissionClass": "Euro 6",
  "trim": "M Sport",
  "sellerType": "TRADE",
  "dealerName": "Sample Motors",
  "dealerReviewRating": 4.6,
  "dealerReviewCount": 100,
  "latitude": 51.0000,
  "longitude": -0.1000,
  "numberOfImages": 20,
  "vehicleCheck": {
    "status": "PASSED",
    "statusText": "10 checks passed",
    "checks": [{ "id": "STOLEN", "label": "Not recorded as stolen", "status": "PASSED" }]
  },
  "serviceHistory": { "type": "FULL", "label": "Service history", "description": "Full service history" },
  "finance": { "monthlyPrice": "£300", "fcaName": "Sample Motors Limited", "fcaNumber": "000000", "lenderType": "appointed representative" },
  "dealer": {
    "name": "Sample Motors",
    "email": "sales@example.com",
    "phone": "+440000000000",
    "website": "https://www.example.com",
    "address": "1 Sample Road",
    "town": "Sampletown",
    "county": "Sampleshire",
    "postcode": "AB12 3CD",
    "openingHours": [{ "day": "Monday", "hours": "09:00 - 18:00" }]
  },
  "keyFeatures": ["Sat Nav", "Heated Seats"],
  "images": ["https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w800h600/00000000000000000000000000000000.jpg"],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Notes on results

• A single AutoTrader search returns at most about 2,000 listings (the site caps a query at 100 pages). To pull more, subdivide the search by price band, year, make or area and run again.
• Featured and sponsored adverts can appear first regardless of the chosen sort order.
• Optional fields vary by vehicle: electric vehicles expose different spec than petrol or diesel, and finance details depend on the dealer.

Plan and connection notes

• The default datacenter connection tier works for this scraper, so it runs on any Apify plan, including the free plan.
• If datacenter exits start getting rejected, the run automatically escalates to UK residential (subject to the residential usage cap) and then to a backup pool. Residential proxy access requires a paid Apify plan.
• For the largest runs, leave the proxy on the default and let the scraper manage the tiers, or pin a residential country if you prefer.