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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:03/21/2025

      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 made arrangements with a seller to look at a vehicle through autotrader.coms private exchange. The seller accepted my offer, I had a friend look at the vehicle as the seller was unable to meet as previously agreed. I paid through the platform and the seller requested more money. Now auto trader is telling me there is nothing they can do and it will take up to ten days for my money to be returned.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/19/2025

      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 am filing a complaint against AutoTrader due to a highly unsatisfactory experience with their paid advertising service. I paid $49 to list my vehicle on their platform, expecting a legitimate service that would connect me with serious buyers. Instead, I was inundated with spam messages and fraudulent inquiries, making the entire process a frustrating and unproductive waste of time.Given that AutoTrader charges a premium fee for its platform, I expected a certain level of fraud prevention or at least some filtering of leads. However, the overwhelming number of spam messages suggests that there are no effective measures in place to protect paying customers from scams. This experience has left me feeling misled and as though I paid for a service that does not deliver on its promise or even worse - is a scam itself.I am requesting a full refund of my $49 spent to list this ad on what I fear is a fake "private sellers exchange" website. My ad was listed not even 4 days ago (Sunday March 16, 2025) and I've already had such a dissatisfactory experience. In fact, I even had one person, ***** L, request a test drive and when auto trader sent me his phone number, I reverse searched the number and found he was listed as a criminal who had been charged for fraudulent cashiers checks for purchasing cars. How does someone like that fall between the cracks and allowed to be on AutoTrader's site as a serious buyer? I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.The Ad ID is #******** and the linked email is ***********************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/07/2025

      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 listed a 2016 car - that runs (functions and operates), has air conditioning and newer tires. *** suggested a 6k-7k price. I received several offers but then bidders didnt text back or show up for test drivesand then autotrader.com would swoop in and offer me a lower instant cash amount each time. After 4 months of this, I finally accepted their lowball offerand then they sent an email saying the car was a total loss on Carfax (no, it isnt) and offered me $600.for a KBB 6k carthat runs and operatesin 2025. It appears that the entire system is setup to operate exactly as it did. I dont think any of the bidders were real and I think it was all designed to push me to feel that the car was worthless, so it could be purchased by them for almost nothing. I wasted so much time (4 months) and I paid for the ad! I hope this helps another person avoid this (exhausting) experience.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/07/2025

      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.
      Answered advertisement under Auto Trader (AT) for vehicle sale (2006 ******** XLR- *****************). Purchased vehicle on 12- ******* and took delivery of vehicle on 12-28-24 in ************** from owner. At the time of taking possession, the owner refused to surrender title. He stated that he was instructed to send title to AT. Email sent by owner shows that title wasn't sent until 01-21-25. The owner received payment of vehicle on 12-28-24, and AT took payment from my banking institution and then over charged the amount by an additional $8000. Since 12-28-24 I have continuously tried to get the vehicle titled in ********. Both Maryland and South Carolina ***, stated that 45 days is max for titling by a dealer. sent correspondences to AT corporate offices, with continuous run around. i have merchandise that can't be used and have gone through two sets of tags and inspections due to this fraudulent, scheme scam and theft of funds. I have continuous email trails and broken promises and lies for executives and managers of AT.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/13/2025

      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 vehicle via "Autotrader Private Seller Exchange" in August 2024. I still do not have the title or registration information for my vehicle. They have told me something different every time I try and contact them. (***** ****** from 'title team' ************, and ******). They have been telling me for MONTHS that they are waiting on ******** DMV, however, DMV did not even receive the information from Autotrader until DECEMBER 1, 2024. That is almost 4 months after the purchase and now we are almost halfway through January (5 months since purchase) and I do not have the title (neither does the lienholder). The bank wants to revoke the loan.I was also told I would be receiving a refund of escrow AND a $100 Amazon gift card for my 'trouble' (per ***** ******). I have not seen any of this. Nor have I gotten anything in writing as they 'do not give out' email addresses for correspondence. This purchase is shady to say the least and I would like to know who "OWNS" this car currently as I have paperwork for purchase from August 2024. VIN: *****************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/06/2025

      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 believe this is a scam. They require that you give them your email password. There is no legitimate reason to ask for passwords. Once they get into your email account they can probably find at least one more account they can get into. On and on and on.This is the site where I was trying to purchase a vehicle: ********************************************************************************************* . I Flagged it.This is the entrance to the site that I believe is the scam: ********************* SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/06/2025

      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 a 2019 ********** Beetle on 10/11/2024 from Autotrader.com and as of today 01/06/2025 have not yet received the title, registration and plates for this vehicle. It has been 3 months now and that is unacceptable.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/28/2024

      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.
      Weve reached out recently to AutoTrader without a response. We had our ad on Tred that was removed once AutoTrader took over. AutoTrader does not respond through any of their social media channels.We are requesting they display another vehicle without charging.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/19/2024

      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 spent $80 on posting my vehicle for sale. The whole time my ad was listed I got nothing but spam/fake messages. They were all asking for money to pay for fake vehicle history reports. I tried to block and report the messages but kept getting error messages. After 6 days, I decided to pull my vehicle from there site. I emailed the company and asked for a refund, but they declined stating once the post is live there is no refund possible. Even though, the entire time it was listed, I never received one legitimate message concerning my vehicle. I would just like my money back; it was a complete waste of time and money.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/14/2024

      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.
      There are FOUR issues I am writing to complain about today.1. I tried calling Autotrader.com's toll free number to deal with issues. I called at 215pm EST on Sat 12/14/24. The recording said their center is closed, despite also saying that their hours are 10am-7pm EST Mon-Sat. What the heck?2. I then tried emailing/messaging them thru the website. The message refuses to send. What the heck?3. The original reason I was calling ... Since placing an ad to sell my vehicle, I have gotten a number of messages from the SAME SCAMMER, though always with different email addresses of phone numbers attached. However, there does not appear to be any way to report or block this guy thru the website - and calling and message submission through their website is ineffective.4. Additionally, when I open the website in a fresh Chrome tab, I am unable to access the listing for my vehicle, as my account doesn't show any vehicles listed for sale. The only way I am able to access it is if I go back to an email that autotrader sent me, click a link, and relogin that way. This makes no sense and needs to be ********* do we get this guy's IP address blocked so that he can quit harassing actual sellers? If this is not possible, I would like a full refund for my listing, as this is not acceptable. How to we fix the account related issues? Why is customer service contacts so woefully broken?Thanks.

    AutoTrader.com is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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