Cars.com Scraper - Used Car Data with Deal Ratings & Flip Scores

Extract used car listings from Cars.com with built-in deal analysis and flip potential scores

Find undervalued vehicles with "Great Deal" ratings and calculate arbitrage opportunities. Perfect for car dealers, flippers, auto brokers, and market researchers who need comprehensive vehicle data with pricing intelligence.

Why This Actor?

Massive Market Opportunity

• $840 billion US used car market (2024)
• 40 million used cars sold annually in the US
• Cars.com: #2 automotive marketplace with 26M monthly visitors
• Deal ratings: Built-in "Great Deal | $X under market" analysis

Profit Potential

• Average flip profit: $2,000-$5,000 per vehicle
• Great Deal listings: Often $1,000-$3,000 below market
• Arbitrage window: Buy low on Cars.com, sell on Carvana/CarMax/Facebook

Features

Comprehensive Vehicle Data

• Vehicle Details: Year, make, model, trim, price, mileage
• VIN: Full VIN for CARFAX/AutoCheck lookup
• Specifications: Transmission, drivetrain, fuel type, MPG, colors
• CARFAX Info: Accidents, owners, service records
• Dealer Info: Name, address, phone, rating
• Photos: Up to 50 photos per listing

AI-Powered Flip Score (0-100)

Automatically calculates arbitrage opportunity based on:

• Deal Rating (35 pts): "Great Deal" = 35, "Good Deal" = 25, etc.
• Price vs Market (25 pts): How much under market value
• CARFAX History (20 pts): Clean title, no accidents, fewer owners
• Resale Potential (20 pts): Newer year, lower mileage = higher resale

Smart Filtering

• Location: ZIP code + radius search (10-500 miles)
• Make/Model: All major manufacturers
• Year Range: 1990-2025
• Price Range: Min/max price filters
• Mileage: Maximum mileage filter
• Stock Type: New, Used, Certified Pre-Owned

Use Cases

For Car Dealers

• Wholesale Sourcing: Find underpriced inventory from other dealers
• Competitive Intel: Monitor competitor pricing and inventory
• Market Analysis: Track pricing trends by make/model/region
• Auction Prep: Find private party deals to flip at auction

For Car Flippers

• Arbitrage Hunting: Find "Great Deal" cars to flip for profit
• Buy Low/Sell High: Cars.com to Carvana/CarMax/Facebook Marketplace
• ROI Calculator: Flip Score identifies best profit opportunities
• Market Timing: Track when prices dip in your area

For Auto Brokers

• Client Matching: Find specific vehicles for buyers
• Price Negotiation: Know true market value before negotiating
• Inventory Alerts: Monitor for specific makes/models
• Commission Optimization: Focus on high-margin deals

For Market Researchers

• Pricing Trends: Historical price analysis by segment
• Inventory Levels: Track supply by region
• Demand Analysis: Which models sell fastest
• Depreciation Curves: Model-specific value retention

Input Parameters

Scraping Mode

• Search Mode: Build search URL from filters (recommended)
• Direct URLs: Scrape specific listing URLs

Search Filters

• ZIP Code: US postal code for location search (required for search mode)
• Search Radius: 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500 miles
• Make: Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, BMW, Mercedes, etc.
• Model: Specific model (e.g., "Camry", "Accord", "F-150")
• Stock Type: Used, New, Certified Pre-Owned
• Year Range: Minimum and maximum year
• Price Range: Minimum and maximum price
• Max Mileage: Maximum mileage filter
• Max Listings: Control scraping volume (1-500)

Data Options

• Include Photos: Extract all listing photos
• Include Flip Score: Calculate arbitrage opportunity score

Output Format

{
  "url": "https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/abc123/",
  "source": "cars.com",
  "scraped_at": "2025-01-13T15:30:00.000Z",
  "title": "2022 Toyota Camry SE",
  "year": 2022,
  "make": "Toyota",
  "model": "Camry",
  "trim": "SE",
  "price": 24995,
  "mileage": 28500,
  "vin": "4T1BF1FK0NU123456",
  "exterior_color": "Midnight Black",
  "interior_color": "Black",
  "transmission": "Automatic",
  "drivetrain": "FWD",
  "fuel_type": "Gasoline",
  "mpg_city": 28,
  "mpg_highway": 39,
  "deal_rating": "Great Deal",
  "deal_badge_text": "Great Deal | $1,270 under",
  "price_drop": 500,
  "carfax_1_owner": true,
  "carfax_clean_title": true,
  "carfax_no_accidents": true,
  "carfax_service_records": true,
  "dealer_name": "Toyota of Los Angeles",
  "dealer_address": "1234 Auto Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90210",
  "dealer_phone": "(555) 123-4567",
  "dealer_rating": 4.5,
  "photos": ["https://...", "..."],
  "flip_score": 82,
  "flip_score_breakdown": {
    "deal_rating_score": 35,
    "price_score": 20,
    "carfax_score": 17,
    "resale_score": 10
  }
}

Flip Score Explained

The AI-powered Flip Score (0-100) evaluates arbitrage potential:

1. Deal Rating (35 points)

• Great Deal: 35 points (best arbitrage opportunity)
• Good Deal: 25 points
• Fair Deal: 15 points
• High Price: 5 points
• No Rating: 10 points

2. Price vs Market (25 points)

• $2,000+ under: 25 points
• $1,000-$2,000 under: 20 points
• $500-$1,000 under: 15 points
• At market: 10 points
• Above market: 5 points

3. CARFAX History (20 points)

• Clean title: 5 points
• No accidents: 5 points
• 1 owner: 5 points
• Service records: 5 points

4. Resale Potential (20 points)

• Year: 2023+ (10 pts), 2020-2022 (7 pts), 2017-2019 (4 pts)
• Mileage: <30k (10 pts), 30-60k (7 pts), 60-100k (4 pts)

Score Interpretation

• 80-100: Hot flip opportunity - buy immediately
• 60-79: Good arbitrage potential
• 40-59: Average deal
• 0-39: Low profit margin

Pricing Strategy

Pay-Per-Result Pricing

• $0.03 per listing ($30 per 1,000 listings)
• Free tier: First 15 listings free

Example Costs

• 50 listings: $1.50
• 100 listings: $3.00
• 500 listings: $15.00
• 1,000 listings: $30.00

ROI Analysis

• Average flip profit: $2,500
• Cost to find deal: $3.00 (100 listings)
• ROI: 83,233%

How to Use

Search Mode - Find Deals in Your Area

{
  "mode": "search",
  "zipCode": "90210",
  "searchRadius": 50,
  "make": "toyota",
  "model": "camry",
  "stockType": "used",
  "yearMin": 2020,
  "yearMax": 2024,
  "priceMin": 15000,
  "priceMax": 30000,
  "maxMileage": 60000,
  "maxListings": 100,
  "includePhotos": true,
  "includeFlipScore": true
}

Direct URLs Mode

{
  "mode": "direct_urls",
  "listingUrls": [
    "https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/abc123/",
    "https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/def456/"
  ],
  "includePhotos": true,
  "includeFlipScore": true
}

High-Volume Dealer Search

{
  "mode": "search",
  "zipCode": "60601",
  "searchRadius": 100,
  "stockType": "used",
  "priceMax": 25000,
  "maxMileage": 50000,
  "maxListings": 500
}

Competitive Advantages

vs. Manual Cars.com Search

• 95% time savings: Automated vs. hours of browsing
• Flip scoring: AI identifies best profit opportunities
• Bulk processing: 500 listings in minutes
• Export data: CSV/JSON for analysis

vs. Other Car Scrapers

• Deal ratings: Only Cars.com has "Great Deal" badges
• Flip Score: Unique arbitrage calculation
• CARFAX integration: History data included
• Full specs: All vehicle details extracted

vs. Dealer Wholesale Auctions

• No dealer license required: Anyone can use
• No auction fees: Direct from listings
• More inventory: 1M+ listings vs. limited auction inventory
• Better data: Full history vs. quick auction inspection

Popular Makes & Models

Best for Flipping (High Demand)

• Toyota: Camry, Corolla, RAV4, Tacoma
• Honda: Civic, Accord, CR-V, Pilot
• Ford: F-150, Mustang, Explorer
• Chevrolet: Silverado, Equinox, Malibu
• Lexus: ES, RX, NX

Highest Profit Margin

• Trucks: F-150, Silverado, RAM 1500
• SUVs: 4Runner, Wrangler, Tahoe
• Luxury: BMW 3-Series, Mercedes C-Class

Important Notes

Anti-Scraping

• Respectful scraping: Built-in delays to avoid overload
• Headless browser: Full JavaScript rendering
• Rate limiting: Automatic throttling

Data Accuracy

• Data scraped directly from Cars.com as displayed
• Flip Scores are calculated estimates, not guarantees
• Always verify with dealer and run CARFAX before buying

Legal Compliance

• Scrapes publicly available data only
• For research, analysis, and business intelligence
• Users responsible for compliance with terms of service

Changelog

Version 1.0.0 (December 2025)

• Initial release
• Deal rating extraction
• Flip Score algorithm
• CARFAX data integration
• Multi-filter search support

---

Built for car dealers, flippers, and auto industry professionals

Find your next profitable flip before the competition does.