Autotrader UK Car Scraper

Extract car listings from Autotrader UK — the UK's largest automotive marketplace. Scrape prices, specifications, mileage, images, seller information, and more from any search or filter combination.

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What It Does

This actor scrapes car listings from autotrader.co.uk and returns structured data including price, year, mileage, location, seller type, images, and Autotrader's own price rating. Simply paste a search URL or specify your filters (make, model, postcode, year range, etc.) to start collecting data.

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Features

• Scrape car listings by URL, make/model, postcode, price range, year, or keyword
• Extract all key listing details: price, year, mileage, specification, location, seller type, and images
• Supports pagination to collect hundreds or thousands of listings
• Returns Autotrader's price rating (Great/Good/Fair/Low) for each listing
• Provides clean image URLs ready to use (no placeholder tokens)
• Detects write-off category markers on listings
• Works with any valid Autotrader UK car search URL

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Use Cases

• Price research — Compare asking prices for specific makes and models
• Market analysis — Track supply and demand across regions
• Dealer intelligence — Monitor competitor stock and pricing
• Investment decisions — Find undervalued vehicles using price ratings
• Data journalism — Analyse UK car market trends
• Fleet procurement — Source vehicles meeting specific requirements

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Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
startUrl	String	Full Autotrader UK search URL. When provided, all URL filters are auto-extracted and individual parameters below are ignored.
postcode	String	UK postcode for location-based search (e.g. SW1A 1AA, M1 1AE). Used when no URL is provided.
make	String	Car brand (e.g. BMW, Ford, Toyota). Used when no URL is provided.
model	String	Car model (e.g. 3 Series, Fiesta). Used when no URL is provided.
keyword	String	Free-text keyword (e.g. sunroof, heated seats).
results_wanted	Integer	Maximum number of listings to collect. Default: 20.
max_pages	Integer	Maximum pages to scrape (~28 listings per page). Default: 5.
proxyConfiguration	Object	Proxy settings. Residential proxies recommended.

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Output Fields

Each listing in the dataset contains:

Field	Type	Description
advertId	String	Unique Autotrader listing ID
title	String	Full listing title (make, model, variant)
specification	String	Engine size, transmission, and variant details
attentionGrabber	String	Short marketing tagline
price	String	Listed price (e.g. £15,995)
rrp	String	Recommended Retail Price (if available)
discount	String	Savings amount if price is below RRP
monthlyPrice	String	Monthly finance payment amount
initialPayment	String	Required deposit for finance
termMonths	Integer	Duration of the finance agreement in months
year	String	Registration year
mileage	String	Vehicle mileage
priceRating	String	Autotrader price rating: great, good, fair, or low
location	String	Seller location
distance	String	Distance from searched postcode (if provided)
sellerType	String	DEALER or PRIVATE
dealerRating	Number	Overall dealer review rating (out of 5)
url	String	Direct link to the Autotrader listing
image	String	URL of the primary photo
images	Array	All available image URLs
numberOfImages	Integer	Total photo count
hasWriteOff	Boolean	Present and true if vehicle has a write-off marker
tags	Array	Comprehensive list of vehicle tags (fuel type, transmission, etc.)

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Usage Examples

By URL

Paste any Autotrader UK search URL directly:

{
    "startUrl": "https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?advertising-location=at_cars&channel=cars&make=BMW&model=3+Series&postcode=SW1A+1AA&year-from=2020",
    "results_wanted": 50,
    "max_pages": 10
}

By Make and Model

{
    "make": "Toyota",
    "model": "Yaris",
    "postcode": "M1 1AE",
    "yearFrom": 2019,
    "results_wanted": 30
}

By Keyword

{
    "keyword": "electric",
    "postcode": "E1 6AN",
    "maxPrice": 30000,
    "results_wanted": 40
}

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Sample Output

{
    "advertId": "202503221234567",
    "title": "BMW 3 Series 2.0 320d M Sport",
    "specification": "2.0 320d M Sport Auto Euro 6 (s/s) 4dr",
    "attentionGrabber": "Full BMW Service History, Low Mileage",
    "price": "£18,495",
    "rrp": "£19,995",
    "discount": "£1,500",
    "monthlyPrice": "£299",
    "initialPayment": "£2,000",
    "termMonths": 48,
    "year": "2021 (70 reg)",
    "mileage": "34,000 miles",
    "priceRating": "good",
    "location": "London",
    "distance": "5 miles",
    "sellerType": "DEALER",
    "dealerRating": 4.8,
    "url": "https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503221234567",
    "image": "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/800x600/12345abc.jpg",
    "images": [
        "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/800x600/12345abc.jpg",
        "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/800x600/12345def.jpg"
    ],
    "numberOfImages": 12,
    "tags": [
        "2021 (70 reg)",
        "Saloon",
        "34,000 miles",
        "2.0L",
        "188BHP",
        "Automatic",
        "Diesel"
    ]
}

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Tips

• Use a URL: The easiest way is to search on Autotrader UK manually, apply all your filters, then paste the full URL into the startUrl field.
• Postcode matters: Autotrader UK uses postcode for distance sorting. SW1A 1AA (London) is a good general default.
• Price rating: The priceRating field (great, good, fair, low) is Autotrader's own assessment — use it to filter for undervalued vehicles.
• Images: Replace 400x300 in image URLs with other dimensions like 800x600 for larger photos.
• Proxy: Using residential proxies via the proxy configuration reduces the chance of rate limiting on large runs.

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Integrations

This actor works seamlessly with the Apify ecosystem:

• Apify API — Access data programmatically via the REST API
• Webhooks — Trigger downstream workflows when a run completes
• Apify Scheduler — Run on a schedule to monitor price changes over time
• Google Sheets — Export directly to spreadsheets via Apify's Google Sheets integration
• Make / Zapier — Connect to 1,000+ apps for automated workflows

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FAQ

Does this work with all Autotrader UK URL types? Yes — any autotrader.co.uk/car-search URL is supported. The actor parses all standard filter parameters from the URL automatically.

Can I scrape motorbikes or vans? This actor is optimised for car listings. Other vehicle types may return limited data.

How many listings can I scrape? Each page contains approximately 28 listings. Use results_wanted and max_pages to control the total. There is no strict upper limit.

Do I need a proxy? For small runs (under 100 results), no proxy is required. For larger runs or repeat scraping, residential proxies are recommended to avoid rate limiting.

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Legal Notice

This actor is designed for personal research, price comparison, and market analysis. Usage must comply with Autotrader UK's Terms of Service. Do not use scraped data for commercial redistribution without appropriate permissions. The actor does not circumvent any login or paywall mechanisms — it only accesses publicly available listing data.