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Business Profile

Used Car Dealers

AutoTrader.com

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Used Car Dealers.

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for AutoTrader.com's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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AutoTrader.com has 6 locations, listed below.

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 112 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 44 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

    Sort by

    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:06/18/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I listed for vehicle for private sale on autotrader.com for a fee of $79.00. The autotrader.com platform advertises that it verifies perspective buyers. In the first couple days of advertising, I only got inquiries from accounts who were trying to scam me. The scammers on the platform attempted to route me to external website to steal my credit card number by buying a fake vehicle report. The autotrader.com platform is fluttered with scammers and they do a poor job vetting out perspective buyers. I have requested a refund from autotrader.com as they have failed to deliver a honest selling platform. They refuse to give me a full refund despite me escalating my concerns to supervisors.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:06/15/2025

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I purchased an ad with Autotrader to sell until it runs for $49. Now they switched their policy and are wanting $70 every 40 days! What a scam! This is a breach of contract.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/16/2025

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      We decided to sell our vehicle and so to avoid having to filter through possible scam messages via free avenues like ******** marketplace, we paid $50 to list our car on AutoTrader due to it explaining how they protect buyers/sellers, do due diligence to protect those that go on the site, etc. However, from the first moment the ad went live, all I got was scam messages. What was the $50 for, then? What are you even doing to protect customers from that? If I wanted scam messages - would've just posted it for free. This wasted my time during work days, fielding and answering messages I thought were legitimate. I paid for a service that was useless and did not do what I was promised. I ended up just closing the ad today and calling in to let them know they have a ton of scammers they are allowing on their site - they declined giving me a refund stating they do not have a refund policy for whatsoever for anything - which is concerning as it shows they do not stand by their customers nor their service.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/23/2025

      Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I am a private buyer trying to purchase a vehicle for personal use through Autotrader.com. I verified my identity by uploading my drivers license and completing facial recognition, as required. I began contacting a few private sellers to ask questions about their vehicles.Suddenly, my account was blocked and I received a vague message saying I violated community standards. No details were provided, and I have not engaged in any suspicious or prohibited activity. I am not a dealer or reseller just a regular buyer who needs to communicate with sellers before making a purchase decision.I reached out to Autotrader via email, but the only response I received was that they are unable to provide further service. I believe this action is unjustified and request BBBs assistance in resolving the issue.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/14/2025

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I placed a ad on Autotrader.com and payed for the ad to run until the vehicle soled. Thay changed policy's and are now limiting it to a 40 day ad. I do not agree with these new terms. I have been emailing them and also called them with no help provided. Thay say this new change is to help the customers but it's just to collect more fees. Thay cancled my account because I do not agree with the new terms. No option to put the real reason it was closed just 4 options to choose from when closing and thay picked one them self's. If thay really want to help customers there would be more options under reason for closing including a custom option. I did not receive the service I payed for. I do not agree with new term so thay cancle my account.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/10/2025

      Type:Customer Service Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      a buyer on this platform sent me a fake cashier's check. I informed customer service about this and they did nothing to help. all scammers on this website

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/08/2025

      Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I use auto trader for all of my car buying and I came across a car dealer that was acting very unethically and I was unable to find means to make the report to your platform since autotrader has standards. My understanding when I have listed a car in the past on auto trader that it is against your policy to list a vehicle that is not actually for sale. I think you can pull up the listing by vin number *****************. This dealer I contacted 3 different times and they say the vehicle is not officially for sale yet. Then why is it listed? Well the dealer says to get phone calls. So is auto trader a tool for false advertising? This clearly violates your policy for listing vehicles. Can you please remove this clearly scam listing of this car?

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/06/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I purchased an ad on the Autotrader.com website because of their policy of the ad runs until sold and have kept the ad updated and current with changes in appearance and mileage. Autotrader now wants to limit the length of time the ad runs to 40 days and says that their policy has changed and I am subject to this policy change regardless of policy at time of purchase.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/03/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I purchased a non expiring ad on autotrader.com in august of 2024. My listing is a convertible which, traditionally, wouldn't sell very well over winter. Today, I received notification that autotrader is no longer offering non expiring ads and that my ad will now expire in 40 days (right before prime selling season) but I can pay them more money if I want to reenew it after expiration. This is bait and switch where you pay for one thing and then the thing you pay for changes and is no longer valid. Ideally, everyone who has an ad already should be grandfathered in. If that isn't possible aside from filing a class action suit for resolution then , then I'd like my money back for not receiving what I paid for so I can post it somewhere else.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/25/2025

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Paid $49 to post an ad on Autotrader. What they do is they take your money, and neglect to inform you that buyers cant even contact you directly! AND they neglect to inform you that they get HUNDREDS of dollars from the sale of your vehicle - and that there are many hoops to jump through that essentially make the process useless. This is deceptive and I demand a refund.

    AutoTrader.com is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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