Cars.com Review Scraper

What does Cars.com Review Scraper do?

Cars.com Review Scraper collects structured owner reviews for a specific vehicle make, model, and year. Enter a Cars.com consumer-review URL, or provide the make, model, and year separately. Each dataset item includes the review text, ratings, reviewer details, vehicle context, and a stable review ID for downstream analysis.

Why use Cars.com Review Scraper?

• Automotive research - Compare owner sentiment across model years and trims.
• Clean records - Review IDs prevent duplicate records in a run.
• Detailed ratings - Capture overall ratings plus comfort, interior, performance, value, exterior, and reliability scores.
• Analysis-ready output - Download JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or connect the dataset to another workflow.
• Repeatable monitoring - Schedule runs in Apify to track new owner feedback over time.

What data can you extract from Cars.com?

Field	Type	Description
review_id	String	Stable identifier generated from the review content and vehicle context.
title	String	Review headline.
rating	Number	Overall owner rating, normally from 1 to 5.
date	String	Review publication date.
author	String	Reviewer name or initials when published.
reviewer_location	String	Reviewer location when published.
review_type	String	Ownership or verification label.
subject_name	String	Subject label supplied with the review when available.
review_body	String	Full review text.
rating_breakdown	Object	Category ratings such as comfort, interior, performance, value, exterior, and reliability.
recommendation_summary	String	Aggregate recommendation statement for the selected vehicle year.
overall_vehicle_rating	Number	Aggregate rating for the selected vehicle year.
page_title	String	Vehicle page title associated with the review.
car_make	String	Normalized vehicle make.
car_model	String	Normalized vehicle model.
car_year	Integer	Vehicle model year.
url	String	Cars.com consumer-review page used for the run.

How to use the Actor

1. Open Cars.com Review Scraper in Apify.
2. Enter either a complete consumer-review URL or a make, model, and year.
3. Set results_wanted to the maximum number of records you need.
4. Run the Actor and open the dataset preview.
5. Download the results or connect the dataset to your reporting and analysis workflow.

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
startUrl	String	No*	-	Direct Cars.com URL such as https://www.cars.com/research/toyota-camry-2023/consumer-reviews/.
make	String	No*	-	Vehicle manufacturer, such as toyota, honda, or ford.
model	String	No*	-	Vehicle model, such as camry, civic, or f-150.
year	Integer	No*	-	Model year, such as 2023 or 2024.
results_wanted	Integer	No	20	Maximum number of unique reviews to return.
proxyConfiguration	Object	No	Apify Proxy	Proxy settings for reliable access to Cars.com. Residential proxies are recommended.

* Provide startUrl, or provide make, model, and year together.

Usage Examples

Vehicle by make, model, and year

Collect reviews for a model year without finding the page URL first:

{
    "make": "toyota",
    "model": "camry",
    "year": 2023,
    "results_wanted": 20
}

Direct consumer-review URL

Use a known Cars.com review page for a single vehicle:

{
    "startUrl": "https://www.cars.com/research/ford-f_150-2023/consumer-reviews/",
    "results_wanted": 20
}

Larger collection

Request a larger maximum when the selected vehicle has a broad review history:

{
    "make": "honda",
    "model": "civic",
    "year": 2022,
    "results_wanted": 100,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
    }
}

Sample Output

{
    "review_id": "489bddd05433941f798cf560a23595b99092df92",
    "title": "It’s a Toyota…It’s a Camry…It’s reliable, economical &",
    "rating": 5,
    "date": "11/02/2025",
    "author": "AR",
    "reviewer_location": "Cooper City, Florida",
    "review_type": "Owns this car",
    "review_body": "It’s a Toyota…It’s a Camry…It’s reliable, economical & dependable. Enough said.",
    "rating_breakdown": {
        "comfort": 3,
        "interior": 3,
        "performance": 3,
        "value": 5,
        "exterior": 5,
        "reliability": 5
    },
    "recommendation_summary": "100% of drivers recommend the 2023 Toyota Camry",
    "overall_vehicle_rating": 4.9,
    "page_title": "Used 2023 Toyota Camry SE For Sale $26,986",
    "car_make": "toyota",
    "car_model": "camry",
    "car_year": 2023,
    "url": "https://www.cars.com/research/toyota-camry-2023/consumer-reviews/"
}

Tips for Best Results

• Use the exact make and model format shown in the Cars.com URL.
• Start with results_wanted set to 20 when checking a new vehicle.
• Keep proxy access enabled for Cars.com runs.
• Review the dataset preview to confirm that the selected model year matches your research question.
• A maximum is not a guarantee that the source will return that many records. The dataset contains the unique reviews available for the selected vehicle candidates.

Integrations and Exports

• Google Sheets - Export reviews for comparison tables and reporting.
• Webhooks - Trigger downstream processing after a run completes.
• Make or Zapier - Send new datasets to business workflows.
• Apify API - Start runs and retrieve datasets programmatically.
• CSV, Excel, JSON, and XML - Download results in common formats.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I collect reviews for several vehicles in one run?

No. This Actor processes one vehicle make, model, and year per run. Schedule or start separate runs for multiple vehicles.

Why did the Actor return fewer reviews than requested?

results_wanted is a maximum. Cars.com may expose fewer unique reviews for a vehicle or restrict the available preview to a smaller set.

Are duplicate reviews removed?

Yes. Each record receives a stable review_id, and duplicate review content is removed before it is written to the dataset.

Can missing review details be filled in?

No. Fields are omitted when Cars.com does not publish a value for that review. This prevents fabricated or misleading values.

Can I export the dataset to CSV or Excel?

Yes. Apify supports CSV, Excel, JSON, XML, and other dataset export formats.

Can I schedule repeat runs?

Yes. Use Apify scheduling to run the Actor hourly, daily, weekly, or on a custom schedule.

Is collecting Cars.com reviews legal?

You are responsible for complying with Cars.com terms, applicable laws, robots rules, and privacy requirements. Use the data for legitimate research and business purposes.

Related Actors

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• YallaMotor Cars Scraper - Collect automotive data from YallaMotor.

Support

For issues or feature requests, use the Issues tab on the Actor page or contact the developer through Apify.

Legal Notice

This Actor is intended for responsible collection of publicly available information. Users are responsible for complying with applicable laws, source-site terms, and privacy obligations.