Close message

Social Networking

You can find us on across your favourite social sites as well, just click the logos below. Stay fully up to date with us by following or becoming a fan.

Facebook
www.facebook.com/autotraderuk YouTube
www.youtube.com/autotraderuk Twitter
www.twitter.com/autotrader_uk Flickr
www.flickr.com/autotraderuk
 

Auto Trader is the number one place to buy or sell a car and the number one automotive website in the UK.

Traditionally a magazine, we've been online since 1996 and even have a mobile site now. We're helping to make everything to do with buying, selling and owning a car easier for UK motorists. Here you'll find information on where else to find us online, and updates on how we're improving our website all the time, based on your feedback.

Your feedback on the test site is vital. We are reading and reacting to it on a
daily basis. Tell us what you think.



Auto Trader - The Inside Track
New improvements to Autotrader.co.uk -
thanks to your feedback

Last year we launched our new look site. The idea was to test the site on a small percentage of our users, until we were happy with performance, and then launch as soon as possible, so development decisions could be led by its performance and feedback received here on the Auto Trader Blog and via other feedback forms.

We listened carefully to this feedback, especially via this page because this feedback represents the views of some of our most frequent and loyal users.

In light of this, we have been making some changes that have made the site more accessible to everyone and easier to use, details of which are below. Most recently you'll notice the homepage has been streamlined, searching has sped up and site navigation is easier. In summary we've worked hard on making it quicker and cleaner... well, we should let you see for yourself.

As always, once you have taken a look, please do let us know your thoughts. We really do read each and every comment, and whilst we can't always reply as often as we'd like, we do act on them. We are committed to continually improving the site in the future as well.

5th November
Improvements to the new website

We've been busily reading and acting upon the feedback that our visitors have provided using the link on this page. One of the most common themes was around the changes we had made to the search tool. So we've adapted the new design to make the drop downs simpler and quicker for you to use. In advanced search, the yellow handles remain but these will be amended as well very soon to the more traditional drop down style.

The other major change is that you can now choose to open vehicle details in a new window or 'pop up', by using the green link in the bottom left hand corner of any search listing. This means you can view the vehicle details without leaving your search results. Of course for easier comparison of multiple vehicles we recommend the new Compare tray functionality.

We are making many more changes in the near future to address your feedback, so please keep checking this page for the latest news.

17th September
Welcome To The New Auto Trader.co.uk

If this is the first time you're reading this page it is probably the first time you've seen our new website! Welcome to the new Auto Trader.

Auto Trader is the UK's number one motoring website and magazine. We've been online since 1996 but a lot of the technology we were using had become quite inflexible. So we have updated our website, to make it more flexible, easier to use, cleaner and more efficient to find what you're looking for. The design is more colourful and straightforward in order to encourage new users to easily get to grips with how to use Auto Trader and quickly find what they want.

Around 5% of our visitors have been directed to this new site over the past few weeks, and they've been feeding back to us and helping us to get the site ready for launch.

By gauging the nature and volume of responses, we now feel that we have taken the new site to the level where it is ready to be launched fully. We'll still be constantly adding new functionality and features, for months and years to come. This new site will go live to 100% of our visitors from 23rd September 2009.

Please take the time to feed back to us using our online survey. We're reading every word!

12th August
More brand new functionality - making searching easier than ever

Following recent feedback from our users, we've implemented two exciting new tools on the site. We're sure you'll find them handy whilst browsing for that special vehicle.

Compare Up To 10 Vehicles Easily

We know you'll like this because so many of you told us you wanted it! When you're browsing your search results, pen and paper in hand, opening multiple windows to compare vehicles, don't you wish it was, well, easier?

We're delighted to unveil our brand new 'Compare' functionality. It allows you to compare up to ten vehicles in an easy and straightforward way. You can easily decide which has the best fuel efficiency, mileage, top speed, lowest running costs - just about anything!

Just hover over a picture of a vehicle and then click on the orange 'Compare' icon in the top left hand corner to get started.



Saved Search

If you've been holding out for a particular make or model, you're probably checking the site every day waiting for that bargain to come up. Why not just set up a saved search instead? You'll get an email when new vehicles are added to the site that match your criteria. It's easy and it saves you time. If you like the sound of any of the new vehicles in the email, just click through to view that vehicle directly.

Just run a search and then select 'Save My Search' to get started.

Love the new tools? Want to comment on the site? Tell Us

20th July
Learning from the beta - your feedback and what we're doing about it

Thanks for your comments so far. The beta test is where we make sure the site is working at full speed before we open it up to everyone.
We're not surprised to find the ride is a little bumpy.

So far, you have three major concerns.

Slow loading speed. We're working round the clock to make it faster. You should begin to see improvements every week.

Problems navigating the new site and using search. We have been making improvements based on your feedback, including how the dropdowns work. We're also working to make it easier to sort your results and move through many pages.

Phoney Ads. You're searching for used cars and don't want to wade through pages and pages of ads that say 'Wanted' to find the car of your dreams so we're working on a way to make sure you see relevant ads first.

Keep telling us what you think by clicking here. We're reading everything you send and will continue to keep you posted on our progress.

19th July
Why we're changing

Auto Trader is the number one place to buy or sell a car and the number one automotive website in the UK.

Our ambition is to become the leading digital motoring brand in the UK - the place to go to for everything car related.

Some of the technology on our site is ten years old. We need to prepare Auto Trader for the next ten years.

We've overhauled the engine that powers the site. What you see now is the first output of that work. On the surface, we're introducing a more modern design. However, most of the changes are under the bonnet. They make it possible for us to introduce new services in coming months that will help you buy, sell and own a car.

Please bear with us while we test the beta version of the new site. Tell us what you think of it here.

FAQs
  • How can I send feedback on the new site?

    We are very keen to hear all feedback, please tell us what you think by using the button above.

  • Why have you changed the site?

    We have changed the site because the technology of the old site was over ten years old. We have to look forward and make changes which will help Auto Trader remain the number one motoring website for the next ten years.

  • If I click on an advert now it is a full page instead of a pop-up. Why?

    Our customer research showed that the majority of people preferred a full page when looking at details of a vehicle. However you can still open vehicle details in a new window, simply click on the 'Show details in a new window' link in the bottom left hand corner. We have also introduced the Compare functionality as a handy way to compare multiple vehicles at once.

  • Why does it look so different?

    We are trying to broaden the appeal of Auto Trader. Extensive research has led us to a new look and feel for the site, to help new customers use and navigate the site more easily. Existing customers may find it slightly confusing in the short term, but our extensive testing indicates the new layout is more logical and thus easier for all.

  • Some actions on the site feel a bit slower. Why?

    Firstly you should try refreshing your page to make sure you are not viewing an older version of the beta site. If you still find the site slower than before it is likely to be related to your connection speed. In revamping the site we have made it a much richer environment, because this is what the majority of customers requested and prioritised in research. This added richness means that unfortunately for users on slower connections the site may have become a fraction slower. It is important to note that we are still improving the site every day and performance will continue to improve.

  • Why has the navigation changed?

    We have altered the navigation based on extensive analysis of our visitors' behaviour. We have tried to group content and services more logically and neatly to provide an optimum experience.

  • What internet browser works best?

    The new Auto Trader site has been tested in all major browsers and will work fine in them. For optimal performance however please note that Firefox 3.X, and Internet Explorer versions 7 and 8 are the most effective.

  • Can I go back to the old Auto Trader website?

    There is no access to the old site any more. Having run the two sites in parallel for some months, customer feedback indicated that the new site was more than ready to take over from the old one and so a full and irreversible transition has now been made. It's important to note that we are still improving the new site every day, and will continue to do so for months and years to come.

  • What about my details and saved searches on the old site?

    If you registered with our old site, your username, password, 'My Trader' area, insurance quotes and so on are all still valid. However if you set up any saved searches, you will need to set these up again on the new site. Saved search email alerts will now allow you to click through to the new vehicles directly rather than you having to search for them.

  • Finding and reporting a bug or glitch

    In the unlikely event that you discover a 'bug', glitch or something wrong with the site, please use the feedback form provided - we really do read every piece of feedback and we appreciate your help.