Cars.com Vehicle Listings Scraper

Scrape Cars.com for new and used vehicle listings across the entire US market. Extract comprehensive vehicle data including pricing, full specifications, dealer information, photos, CARFAX links, price history, and feature lists.

What does this scraper do?

This actor searches Cars.com and extracts detailed vehicle listing data. It supports all Cars.com search filters including make, model, year range, price range, mileage, body type, fuel type, and location-based search with configurable radius.

Perfect for:

• Automotive dealers — Monitor competitor pricing, track market trends, source inventory
• Fleet managers — Find vehicles matching fleet specifications across multiple markets
• Market researchers — Analyze pricing trends by make/model/year/location
• Car buyers — Compare deals across dealerships within your area
• Data analysts — Build automotive market datasets for pricing models and trend analysis
• Insurance companies — Vehicle valuation and market value assessment

Key features

• Search by make, model, year, price, mileage, body type, fuel type, and location
• Location-based search with configurable radius (10-500 miles)
• Full vehicle specifications extraction (engine, transmission, drivetrain, colors, VIN)
• Dealer information with ratings and contact details
• All vehicle photos extracted
• CARFAX report links when available
• Price analysis badges (Great Deal, Good Deal, Fair Price, etc.)
• Price history tracking
• Feature list extraction (safety, comfort, technology packages)
• Automatic pagination — scrape hundreds or thousands of listings
• Deduplication by VIN, URL, and title+price fingerprint
• Pay-per-event pricing — only pay for vehicles actually scraped

Output data

Each scraped vehicle includes:

Field	Description
title	Full listing title (e.g., "2021 Toyota Camry SE")
price	Listing price in USD
year	Model year
make	Manufacturer (Toyota, Ford, BMW, etc.)
model	Model name (Camry, F-150, 3 Series, etc.)
trim	Trim level (SE, XLT, Sport, etc.)
mileage	Odometer reading in miles
exteriorColor	Exterior color
interiorColor	Interior color
fuelType	Fuel type (Gasoline, Diesel, Electric, Hybrid)
transmission	Transmission type
drivetrain	Drive configuration (FWD, RWD, AWD, 4WD)
engine	Engine description
vin	Vehicle Identification Number (17-character)
dealer	Dealer name
dealerRating	Dealer rating (1-5 stars)
dealerPhone	Dealer phone number
dealerAddress	Dealer physical address
priceAnalysis	Price analysis badge (Great Deal, Fair Price, etc.)
images	Array of all vehicle photo URLs
features	Array of vehicle features and packages
carfaxUrl	Link to CARFAX vehicle history report
priceHistory	Array of historical price changes
url	Direct link to the listing on Cars.com
description	Seller notes / vehicle description

Example output

{
    "title": "2022 Toyota Camry SE",
    "price": 24995,
    "priceFormatted": "$24,995",
    "year": 2022,
    "make": "Toyota",
    "model": "Camry",
    "trim": "SE",
    "mileage": 32456,
    "mileageFormatted": "32,456 mi",
    "exteriorColor": "Midnight Black Metallic",
    "interiorColor": "Black",
    "fuelType": "Gasoline",
    "transmission": "8-Speed Automatic",
    "drivetrain": "FWD",
    "engine": "2.5L 4-Cylinder",
    "vin": "4T1G11AK5NU123456",
    "dealer": "AutoNation Toyota",
    "dealerRating": 4.7,
    "dealerPhone": "(555) 123-4567",
    "dealerAddress": "1234 Auto Mall Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90001",
    "priceAnalysis": "Good Deal",
    "images": [
        "https://images.cars.com/cldstatic/wp-content/uploads/example1.jpg",
        "https://images.cars.com/cldstatic/wp-content/uploads/example2.jpg"
    ],
    "features": [
        "Apple CarPlay",
        "Android Auto",
        "Blind Spot Monitor",
        "Lane Departure Warning",
        "Adaptive Cruise Control",
        "Keyless Entry",
        "Backup Camera"
    ],
    "carfaxUrl": "https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/ar20/...",
    "priceHistory": [
        { "date": "2024-01-15", "price": 26495, "priceFormatted": "$26,495" },
        { "date": "2024-02-01", "price": 24995, "priceFormatted": "$24,995" }
    ],
    "url": "https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/123456789/overview/",
    "description": "One owner, no accidents, clean title. Full service history available.",
    "source": "cars.com",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-03-01T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Input configuration

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
make	string	""	Vehicle manufacturer (e.g., toyota, ford, bmw)
model	string	""	Vehicle model (e.g., camry, f-150, 3_series)
yearMin	integer	0	Minimum model year
yearMax	integer	0	Maximum model year
priceMin	integer	0	Minimum price in USD
priceMax	integer	0	Maximum price in USD
mileageMax	integer	0	Maximum mileage
zipCode	string	""	US zip code for location search
radius	integer	50	Search radius in miles
bodyType	enum	""	Body style filter (sedan, suv, truck, coupe, convertible, van, wagon, hatchback)
fuelType	enum	""	Fuel type filter (gasoline, diesel, electric, hybrid, plug_in_hybrid, flex_fuel, hydrogen)
maxResults	integer	500	Maximum vehicles to scrape (0 = unlimited)
proxy	object		Apify proxy configuration

Example input

Search for Toyota Camry near Los Angeles

{
    "make": "toyota",
    "model": "camry",
    "yearMin": 2020,
    "yearMax": 2024,
    "priceMax": 35000,
    "zipCode": "90210",
    "radius": 50,
    "maxResults": 100
}

Search for electric SUVs nationwide

{
    "make": "",
    "model": "",
    "bodyType": "suv",
    "fuelType": "electric",
    "yearMin": 2022,
    "maxResults": 500
}

Search for trucks under $30K with low mileage

{
    "make": "",
    "model": "",
    "bodyType": "truck",
    "priceMax": 30000,
    "mileageMax": 50000,
    "zipCode": "75001",
    "radius": 100,
    "maxResults": 200
}

Extraction strategies

The scraper uses four extraction strategies in priority order:

1. Search results cards — Parses vehicle-card elements from Cars.com listing pages. Extracts title, price, mileage, dealer, image, and basic specs.

2. Vehicle detail pages — Visits each listing's detail page for the full dataset: complete specs table, all photos, dealer contact info, price history, CARFAX link, and feature list.

3. JSON-LD structured data — Extracts schema.org Vehicle/Car data embedded in page headers. Provides standardized vehicle attributes as a fallback.

4. Dealer inventory pages — Handles dealer-specific inventory page layouts that differ from standard search results.

Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-event pricing at $0.006 per vehicle scraped. You only pay for vehicles that are actually extracted and saved to the dataset. Failed requests, duplicates, and filtered-out results are not charged.

Tips for best results

• Make and model names: Use lowercase with hyphens for multi-word names (e.g., f-150, model_3, grand_cherokee). Check Cars.com URLs for the exact format.
• Location search: Providing a zip code significantly improves result relevance. Use radius 0 for nationwide search.
• Proxies: Datacenter proxies work well for moderate volumes. Switch to residential proxies for 1000+ vehicles or if you encounter blocks.
• Large datasets: For scraping 5000+ vehicles, consider running multiple actors with different make/model combinations to parallelize the work.
• Rate limiting: The scraper automatically manages request rates. If you encounter blocks, reduce the maxResults or enable Apify proxy.

Limitations

• Cars.com is a US-focused marketplace. International listings are not available.
• Some dealer listings may have limited data if the dealer has not filled in all fields.
• Price history is only available when Cars.com tracks price changes (not all listings).
• CARFAX links require a separate CARFAX subscription to view full reports.
• Very new listings may not yet have price analysis badges.

Integration — Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("sovereigntaylor/cars-scraper").call(run_input={
    "searchTerm": "cars",
    "maxResults": 50
})

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(f"{item.get('title', item.get('name', 'N/A'))}")

Integration — JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('sovereigntaylor/cars-scraper').call({
    searchTerm: 'cars',
    maxResults: 50
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach(item => console.log(item.title || item.name || 'N/A'));