US Autotrader Scraper

What does US Autotrader Scraper do?

US Autotrader Scraper extracts public vehicle listings from Autotrader.com into a structured Apify dataset. It supports nationwide searches, verified state-specific results, keyword searches, filtered Autotrader URLs, and direct vehicle-detail URLs. Camoufox, browser sessions, retries, and US residential proxy support help handle Autotrader's JavaScript application and anti-bot controls.

Why use US Autotrader Scraper?

• Monitor vehicle inventory across the entire United States.
• Restrict saved vehicles to any US state or Washington, DC.
• Compare prices, mileage, model years, trims, and sellers.
• Track newly listed vehicles using newest-first search and optional age filtering.
• Export results through the Apify API or as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, or HTML.

How to scrape Autotrader vehicles

1. Open the Actor's Input tab.
2. Add search keywords, Autotrader search URLs, or direct vehicle URLs.
3. Select Entire United States or Specific state.
4. When using a specific state, select its two-letter state code.
5. Set item/page limits and start the Actor.

The Actor adds location parameters to search URLs but also verifies each listing's location before saving state-specific output. This prevents nearby out-of-state inventory from leaking into state results.

Input

• searchKeywords — phrases such as Toyota Camry, Ford F-150, or electric SUV.
• startUrls — Autotrader search or vehicle-detail URLs. Existing filters are preserved.
• locationScope — nationwide or state.
• state — required for state scope; supports all 50 states and DC.
• maxItems — maximum listings saved across all searches; 0 means unlimited.
• maxPagesPerSearch — maximum result pages per search.
• maxListingAgeDays — optional publication-age limit. Listings without a known date are excluded.
• scrapeItemDetails — opens detail pages for VIN, mileage, seller, specifications, description, and images.
• proxyConfiguration — US residential proxy settings are strongly recommended.

Nationwide example:

{
    "searchKeywords": ["Toyota Camry"],
    "locationScope": "nationwide",
    "maxItems": 100,
    "maxPagesPerSearch": 3,
    "scrapeItemDetails": true
}

Texas example:

{
    "startUrls": [
        {
            "url": "https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/all-cars?startYear=2020&endYear=2026"
        }
    ],
    "locationScope": "state",
    "state": "TX",
    "maxItems": 50,
    "scrapeItemDetails": true
}

Output

The output uses the same vehicle contract as the eBay and Craigslist Actors:

{
    "itemId": "765432109",
    "title": "2022 Toyota Camry XSE",
    "listedAt": "2026-07-18T14:30:00.000Z",
    "price": "29995",
    "currency": "USD",
    "year": "2022",
    "make": "Toyota",
    "model": "Camry",
    "trim": "XSE",
    "mileage": "31220",
    "vin": "4T1TESTVIN1234567",
    "location": "Austin, TX",
    "seller": "Example Toyota",
    "imageUrl": "https://images.autotrader.com/example.jpg",
    "images": ["https://images.autotrader.com/example.jpg"],
    "url": "https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicle/765432109"
}

Additional fields include description, condition, body type, engine, transmission, drivetrain, fuel type, colors, seller type, title status, source URL, page number, scrape timestamp, and a specifics object. Fields unavailable on a listing remain null.

Autotrader usually does not publish an exact listing date. When only a "days on site" counter is available, the Actor derives listedAt from it (accurate to the day, midnight UTC) and marks this with "listedAtDerivedFrom": "daysOnSite" in specifics. Private-seller listings sometimes expose no counter at all; if Autotrader flags them as newly listed, the Actor sets listedAt to the current day and marks it with "listedAtDerivedFrom": "isNewlyListed". The maxListingAgeDays filter uses the same value.

Cost and performance

Autotrader requires a real browser, so this Actor uses more memory and compute than HTTP-only scrapers. Detail mode also opens one page per vehicle. Use maxItems, maxPagesPerSearch, and maxListingAgeDays to control cost. State searches may inspect extra listings because location is verified before output.

Tips

• Keep the default US residential proxy configuration.
• Use filtered Autotrader search URLs for make, model, price, year, mileage, body style, and condition filters.
• Enable detail scraping for the most reliable state filtering and richest output.
• The run Container URL exposes / and /status for live progress while the Actor is active.

Legal notice and support

Scrape only public information and comply with applicable law, Autotrader's terms, and reasonable request rates. The Actor does not intentionally collect private contact information. Autotrader can change its application or blocking behavior; if a run fails, provide its run ID and affected URL through the Actor's Issues tab.