Searching for a vehicle
- The vehicle I'm looking for is not in the drop down list
- How do I search with photos?
- Not sure what vehicle I want but have a fixed price in mind?
- How do I search for vehicles of a particular colour?
- I want to carry out more specific searches
- How do I only search for vehicles near my home?
- How do I search for vehicles of specific mileage?
- Why don't some vehicles state mileage?
- How do I search for vehicles of a specific age?
- When are the new ads uploaded to the website?
- How do I search for classic vehicles?
- Where can I get information like Co2, running costs and full technical info on a vehicle?
- Can I read Road Tests on Auto Trader?
- Why do some advertisements show the lease price of a vehicle instead of the full correct price?
- Where can I find New Car offers?
- How do I find a dealer near where I live?
- I am wary of being conned.
- The vehicle I'm looking for is not in the drop down list
If you haven’t done so already register or log in in order to activate the greyed out Keyword box.
You can still search for a make/model that is not listed in the drop down menus by leaving the Make & Model fields as they are, i.e. showing the words Make, Model in their boxes and then entering the name of the vehicle you're looking for as a keyword in the "Keywords" box, then click search. If there are any vehicles of this name in our database, a list will appear.
- How do I search with photos?
Tick the 'show photos' box on the search form and your search results will show thumbnail photos of vehicles where available.
- Not sure what vehicle I want but have a fixed price in mind.
Select the required budget using the minimum and maximum price fields on the search form, enter your postcode and then click search. The results you receive should contain a mixture of vehicles that all fall within your price range.
- How do I search for vehicles of a particular colour?
If you haven’t done so already log in or register in order to activate the greyed out Keyword box. Enter your required colour e.g. "red" in the keyword field. Select any other details relating to the type of vehicle you require e.g. make and model, price range etc. Enter your postcode and click Search. The results you receive should contain vehicles in your required colour. However, due to the way we search our database of advertisements you may also receive examples of vehicles that have "red" fixtures.
- I want to carry out more specific searches
If you haven't done so already log in or register in order to activate the greyed out Keyword box. You can search for specific vehicle derivates or specifications by entering relevant keywords into the Trim and Keyword boxes.
· If you separate keywords with spaces, it will return adverts with ALL of the search terms
· If you separate keywords with commas, it will return adverts with ANY of the search terms
· If you separate keywords with '+', it will return adverts with the EXACT PHRASE entered
- How do I only search for cars near my home?
Enter your postcode and then select a distance, e.g. "1 mile" within the distance field. The results you receive should contain vehicles available within a 1mile radius of your postcode. If no vehicles are located, extend your search area by selecting an increased mileage value.
- How do I search for vehicles of specific mileage?
Select max mileage e.g. "up to 10,000", select any other required details e.g. Make & Model, then click Search. The returned results should show vehicles with a mileage of less than 10,000 miles.
- Why don't some vehicles state mileage?
There are practical and logistical reasons why some of our advertisers are unable to supply information such as mileage. In the main, these advertisers tend to be major dealerships that cross-feed details on their stock directly to our database. As this stock may comprise many thousand vehicles spread throughout the UK, it may be logistically difficult to retrieve all information without causing an extended delay in sending the stock live on the site.
In the interest of supplying our users with as much choice as possible, we therefore believe its more important to get this stock to market rather than miss the opportunity for it not to be included on the site. In the meantime, we continue to advise our Trade partners, to include details on mileage whenever possible.
We know from user feedback that most potential buyers like to have as much information about a vehicle before they make a purchase enquiry. Our advice to Private advertisers wishing to boost the volume and quality purchase enquiries, is to always include mileage details whenever they submit an advertisement.
- How do I search for cars of a specific age?
Select a vehicle age, e.g. "up to 2 years" within the Maximum Age field. Select any other required details e.g. Make & Model, then click Search. The returned results should comprise of vehicles that are under two years old.
- When are the new ads uploaded to the website?
Advertisements supplied on-line to Auto Trader between 9am Monday and 4pm on Friday will be processed in 24 hours and published on the site the following working day. This does not apply to Bank Holidays or any other public holiday. Advertisements submitted between 4pm on Friday and 9am on Monday will be processed and published on the site the first working day following the submission of the advertisement.
All advertisements placed via the Auto Trader web site will be uploaded to Auto Trader's Digital Television and Mobile Internet Services. Magazine adverts placed via the Auto Trader website will appear in the next available issue of the chosen Auto Trader magazine. This is normally the following Thursday or Friday for adverts placed before midnight on the Sunday prior to publication day. For adverts placed after this time we cannot guarantee publication in the next issue. Adverts will be delivered to the customers' chosen Auto Trader magazine at the same time as they are published on the site.
- How do I search for classic vehicles?
The make and model drop down lists in the search form are designed to provide a comprehensive yet manageable list of vehicles to search. Adding all rare models would merely make this list unwieldy to use and, due to the fact that the vehicles are rare, may result in fruitless search results.
However, it still possible to search for a rare vehicle by inserting the name of the specific vehicle in the Keyword field and leaving the make and model fields as they are (i.e. showing "make" and "model").
N.B. If you haven't done so already you will need to log in or register in order to unlock the greyed-out Keyword box. When searching for a rare vehicle, it is advisable to search nationwide or over an extended mileage radius to maximise searches.
- Where can I get information like Co2, running costs and full technical info on a vehicle?
Locate your required model using our Road Tests. This will allow you to see full vehicle information such as co2 emissions, running costs, engine capacity, top speed, NCAP crash results (where possible) optional extras costing and more.
- Can I read Road Tests on Auto Trader?
Click here to read one of our Road Tests. We have the verdict on every car for sale in the UK. If you can't find the car you're looking for, use the reviews archive to pin point the car you want.
For bike buyers, our Bike Reviews will help you research that bike before you buy. If you can't find the bike you're looking for, use the reviews archive to pinpoint the bike you want.
- Why do some advertisements show the lease price of a vehicle instead of the full correct price?
There are occasions when Trade advertisements are submitted with more than one price, for example the monthly finance payment as well as the full price.
In such situations our search engine applies an algorithm to select the number most likely to be the full price. However, there are situations when the wrong figure is selected, resulting in the finance price being displayed instead of actual cost of vehicle.
As our algorithm begins to recognise all the possible permutations for figures appearing within the advert text, we are gradually managing to reduce the number of times that the incorrect price is selected.
Similarly we are working with our Trade advertisers to make sure that they always include the full price within their advertisement.
- Where can I find New Car offers?
To search for new cars, use our New Car Offers. This will show you any special offers available from our range of quality dealers.
- How do I find a dealer near where I live?
Use our Dealer Directory. Simply select the manufacturer you're interested in, submit your postcode and how far you're willing to travel and click search. A comprehensive list will then appear, giving the dealership's contact details.
- I am wary of being conned
Buying and selling vehicles is one of the biggest deals we do, and with many thousands often changing hands, it can be appealing to thieves. To increase your awareness of these, we have compiled a list of some of the more common scams in our Safety and Security Centre.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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