🏁 PistonHeads Car Classifieds Scraper

🚀 Pull UK performance and enthusiast car listings from PistonHeads in seconds. Filter by make, model, price band, year, mileage, fuel type, body style, and seller type. No API key, no login, no manual CSV wrangling.

🕒 Last updated: 2026-05-16 · 📊 29 fields per record · 220K+ live listings · 381 makes covered · JSON / CSV / Excel export

PistonHeads is the UK's home for performance, classic, and enthusiast cars. The site lists everything from a £1,200 project car to a £4.8M Ferrari FXX, with a strong mix of specialist independent dealers, marque-authorised retailers, and private sellers. This scraper turns the live PistonHeads classifieds into a structured dataset you can load into a spreadsheet, a notebook, or a database in one run.

You give the scraper a search URL or a few filter fields, and it returns every matching listing with prices, mileage, year, specifications (body type, fuel, transmission, colour, engine power and displacement), seller details (name, location, trade or private), pricing model (regular, POA, online auction), and the full gallery of high-resolution images. Behind the scenes it talks to the same JSON search service that powers the PistonHeads buy pages, so the data is identical to what the site shows, just delivered in bulk.

🎯 Target Audience	📌 Primary Use Cases
Performance and specialist car dealers	Pricing comparisons across rivals and trim levels
Classic and import brokers	Spotting underpriced cars or import opportunities
Market researchers and analysts	Tracking depreciation curves on enthusiast segments
Lead-gen and CRM teams	Building dealer prospect lists with verified locations
Insurance and warranty firms	Modelling market values for niche makes and models

---

📋 What the PistonHeads Scraper does

• 🏷️ Live classified pricing. Every active classified, online auction, and price-on-application listing the site exposes today.
• 🔎 Granular filters. Make, model keyword, price band, year, mileage, fuel, transmission, body, colour, drivetrain, seller type, postcode radius, and listing type.
• 🖼️ Full image galleries. Both the headline image and the complete imageUrls array, ready to embed in a CRM or dashboard.
• 🏢 Dealer vs private split. A sellerType flag plus seller name and location for every record, so you can segment trade and private inventory.
• 🧭 URL or form input. Paste a PistonHeads search URL straight from your browser, or build the query in the structured input fields.
• 🏆 Auction-aware. Listings sold via the PistonHeads online auction are flagged with isAuction and pricingModel: OnlineAuction.

Each record contains the listing title and URL, an internal advert id, the price (with a formatted display string and pricing-model code), the make and model, year, mileage, full specification block (body type, colour, fuel, transmission, engine power in bhp, engine displacement in cc), the seller's display name, type (Trade or Private), and location, and the complete gallery of full-size images. A scrapedAt ISO timestamp captures when the row was harvested.

💡 Why it matters: PistonHeads has long been the place where UK enthusiast cars first appear before they hit the wider marketplace. Owning a clean, refreshable dataset of these listings is an edge for dealers, brokers, and analysts who would otherwise be paging through results one screen at a time.

---

🎬 Full Demo

🚧 Coming soon: a 3-minute walkthrough of the input form, a real run, and how to plug the output into Google Sheets or a notebook.

---

⚙️ Input

Field	Type	Description
searchUrl	string	Optional. A PistonHeads.com search URL. Examples: https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/search?priceMax=50000&yearMin=2020 or https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/aston-martin/db9. URL query parameters override the structured filters below.
maxItems	integer	Cap the number of listings returned. Free plan: capped at 10. Paid plan: up to 1,000,000. Default prefill: 10.
makeUrlName	enum (381 values)	Manufacturer slug. Picks from every make PistonHeads currently lists, from abarth to zenos.
modelKeyword	string	Free-text model search (e.g. 911, M3, defender).
priceMin / priceMax	integer	Asking-price band in GBP.
yearMin / yearMax	integer	Registration-year band.
mileageMin / mileageMax	integer	Odometer band in miles.
keywords	string	Free-text search across headlines (e.g. manual, gt3, one owner).
fuelTypeCodes	multi-enum	Petrol, Diesel, Electric, Hybrid, LPG, Other.
transmission	multi-enum	Automatic, Manual, Other.
bodyTypeCodes	multi-enum	Hatchback, Saloon, Estate, SUV, Coupe, Convertible, MPV, Pick Up, Other.
colourCodes	multi-enum	19 colour codes (Black, White, Silver, Grey, Blue, Red, Green, etc.).
driveTrain	multi-enum	Front-wheel, Rear-wheel, 4-wheel drive, Other.
noDoors / seats	multi-enum	Door and seat-count filters.
sellerType	enum	Any, Private, Trade.
postcode / distance	string / enum	UK postcode plus radius (10, 25, 50, 100, 200 miles, or country wide).
sortOption	enum	Most relevant, Most recent, Price (low to high / high to low), Distance, Mileage, Year (newest / oldest first).
includeSold	boolean	Include listings already sold.
pricingModels	multi-enum	Visible price, On application, Online auction, Auction house.

Example: pull every recent Aston Martin DB-series listing.

{
  "makeUrlName": "aston-martin",
  "modelKeyword": "db",
  "yearMin": 2018,
  "sortOption": "mostRecent",
  "maxItems": 200
}

Example: paste a URL straight from the PistonHeads search page.

{
  "searchUrl": "https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/search?priceMin=10000&priceMax=20000&yearMin=2018&fuelTypeCodes=ELE&sortOption=PriceLowToHigh",
  "maxItems": 100
}

⚠️ Good to Know: URL parameters always win over the structured fields. If you paste a search URL with priceMax=20000 and also set priceMax: 50000 in the form, the URL value wins. Leave fields blank if you want the URL to drive the run entirely.

---

📊 Output

The dataset contains one row per car listing with 29 structured fields, exportable as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML.

🧾 Schema

Field	Type	Example
🖼️ imageUrl	string	https://img.pistonheads.com/Fullsize/.../aston-martin-dbx-dbx707-1441173982-1.jpg
🏷️ headline	string	Aston Martin DBX DBX707
🔗 url	string	https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/20440352
🆔 id	string	20440352
💷 price	integer	174500
🏦 currency	string	GBP
🏷️ priceLabel	string	£174,500 / POA / Auction: £22,750
📦 pricingModel	string	Visible / OnApplication / OnlineAuction / AuctionHouse
📅 year	integer	2025
🏭 make	string	Aston Martin
🚗 model	string	DBX
🏆 brandType	string	Core / MassMarket / Standard
🛣️ mileage	integer	9236
⛽ fuelType	string	Petrol / Diesel / Electric / Hybrid
⚙️ transmission	string	Automatic / Manual
🚙 bodyType	string	SUV / Coupe / Hatchback / Saloon
🎨 colour	string	Silver
🏎️ enginePower	integer	697 (bhp)
🔧 engineSize	integer	3982 (cc)
🏢 sellerName	string	Stratstone Aston Martin Manchester
👥 sellerType	string	Trade / Private
📍 sellerLocation	string	Wilmslow, United Kingdom
🌐 sellerIsOnlineRetailer	boolean	false
🔨 isAuction	boolean	true for online or house auctions
🏷️ isPriceOnApplication	boolean	true when price is hidden
🧾 isVatOmitted	boolean	false
🏅 badges	string[]	["Delivery", "ClickAndCollect"]
🖼️ imageUrls	string[]	Full gallery of high-res images
⏱️ scrapedAt	ISO timestamp	2026-05-16T14:43:08.821Z

📦 Sample records

---

✨ Why choose this Actor

✨	Capability
🇬🇧	UK enthusiast focus. Built around the niche PistonHeads catalogues that wider classifieds tools miss.
🎯	All 21 filters mapped. Every knob the site exposes is in the input schema, no invented or missing fields.
📚	381-make enum. Every manufacturer slug PistonHeads validates, from Abarth to Zenos, presented as a dropdown, not free text.
🖼️	High-resolution galleries. The full image array per listing, not just a thumbnail.
🔨	Auction-aware output. Online auctions, auction-house lots, and POA listings are flagged separately.
🧪	Pure API path. Talks to the site's own JSON search service. No browser, no captchas, fast and stable.
💷	Predictable pricing. Pay per usage on Apify, with a free-tier preview of 10 items.

📊 220,000+ listings across 381 makes and 2,000+ models indexed at the time of writing. Refresh as often as your workflow requires.

---

📈 How it compares to alternatives

Approach	Cost	Coverage	Refresh	Filters	Setup
⭐ PistonHeads Scraper (this Actor)	Pay per use	Live PistonHeads catalogue, 220K+ rows	On demand	21 filters, 381 makes	30 seconds in the Apify console
Official site CSV exports	Not offered	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Paid live APIs from data resellers	Per-row subscription	Aggregated, sometimes stale	Daily batch	Limited	Contract signing, integration work
Manual copy / paste from the browser	Free	One listing at a time	Manual	All site filters	Hours per study
In-house scraper	Engineering salary	Whatever you scope	DIY	Whatever you scope	Days to build, ongoing maintenance

Pick the row that matches how much custom plumbing you want to own.

---

🚀 How to use

1. 🆕 Open a free Apify account. Sign up at console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp.
2. 🔍 Find the actor. Search "PistonHeads" in the Apify Store and open this actor's page.
3. ⚙️ Set your filters. Either paste a PistonHeads search URL or pick make, price band, year, and sort order in the form.
4. ▶️ Run. Click Start. The default preview run returns 10 listings on the free plan, up to 1,000,000 on a paid plan.
5. 💾 Export. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML, or read it through the Apify API.

⏱️ Total time: less than a minute from "I need this data" to a downloadable spreadsheet.

---

💼 Business use cases

🏪 Specialist dealers and brokers Track competitor pricing on the exact trims you stock Build dynamic "missing inventory" alerts on rare models Identify undervalued cars to source before they sell Benchmark your asking prices against the live market	📊 Market analysts and consultancies Run depreciation analyses on enthusiast segments Track regional price spreads using postcode radius filters Build supply curves by make, year, and bodystyle Quote market values for valuations and warranties
🌍 Import and export specialists Spot UK-spec cars priced below comparable European listings Monitor RHD inventory for export to right-hand-drive markets Filter by spec and trim to satisfy specific customer briefs Build watchlists for trade buyers in Hong Kong, UAE, or Japan	📣 Marketing and lead generation Generate dealer prospect lists with verified UK locations Power "cars in your area" feeds for affiliate sites Enrich CRM records with current asking-price benchmarks Build retargeting audiences off listing make / model / price bands

---

🌟 Beyond business use cases

Data like this powers more than commercial workflows. The same structured records support research, education, civic projects, and personal initiatives.

🎓 Research and academia Empirical datasets for papers, thesis work, and coursework Longitudinal studies tracking changes across snapshots Reproducible research with cited, versioned data pulls Classroom exercises on data analysis and ethical scraping	🎨 Personal and creative Side projects, portfolio demos, and indie app launches Data visualizations, dashboards, and infographics Content research for bloggers, YouTubers, and podcasters Hobbyist collections and personal trackers
🤝 Non-profit and civic Transparency reporting and accountability projects Advocacy campaigns backed by public-interest data Community-run databases for local issues Investigative journalism on public records	🧪 Experimentation Prototype AI and machine-learning pipelines with real data Validate product-market hypotheses before engineering spend Train small domain-specific models on niche corpora Test dashboard concepts with live input

---

🔌 Automating PistonHeads Scraper

You do not need to babysit the actor. Trigger it on a schedule, from a webhook, or from your own code.

• Node.js: install apify-client and call client.actor('parseforge/pistonheads-scraper').call({ ... }).
• Python: install apify-client and call client.actor('parseforge/pistonheads-scraper').call({ ... }).
• REST and webhooks: see the Apify API reference for run-and-poll, run-sync, and webhook patterns.

Use Apify Schedules to run the actor every hour, every morning, or once a week and have the dataset flow straight into your warehouse, Sheet, or notebook.

---

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

---

🔌 Integrate with any app

• Apify API - Run the actor, fetch datasets, manage schedules over HTTP.
• Apify Node.js client - Trigger runs and stream results from JavaScript or TypeScript.
• Apify Python client - Same idea for Python notebooks and pipelines.
• Webhooks - Get notified when a run finishes and push the data straight into your stack.
• Apify integrations - Native connectors for Zapier, Make, Slack, Google Drive, Gmail, and more.
• Schedules - Cron-style automation so your dataset is always up to date.

---

🔗 Recommended Actors

• 🚙 Autotrader Scraper - Pull listings from the largest UK and US used-car classifieds platform.
• 📰 Gumtree Cars Scraper - UK private and trade classifieds with prices, specs, and seller info.
• 🔨 Cars & Bids Scraper - Online auction data for modern enthusiast cars.
• 🌐 JamesEdition Cars Listings - Global luxury and supercar marketplace data.
• 📋 CARFAX Used Cars Scraper - Used-car listings paired with vehicle-history context.

💡 Pro Tip: browse the complete ParseForge collection for more scrapers covering automotive, real estate, marketplaces, and lead generation.

---

🆘 Need Help? Open our contact form and we will get back to you within one business day.

---

⚖️ Disclaimer: This actor accesses publicly available content from PistonHeads.com. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by PistonHeads or any of its parent companies. Use it in line with the site's terms of use and the laws of your jurisdiction. The actor authors take no responsibility for downstream use of the collected data.