E-commerce & Marketplaces

AutoTrader API

The AutoTrader UK API returns used- and new-car listings from one of the UK's largest car marketplaces as clean JSON.

2 actionsLive JSON1,000 free creditsMCP-ready

🤖 Using an AI assistant? Copy this link into ChatGPT / Claude / Cursor — it reads every endpoint and parameter instantly and tells you if this API fits your use case.

The primary search endpoint returns listings with advert id, title, price, RRP, make, model, year, mileage, location, seller type and images, and you can pull a listing_detail. It is built for automotive pricing, dealer tools and UK car-market analytics that need AutoTrader data without a scraper. One ReefAPI key, one shared credit pool, the standard envelope.

Live example

Real request and response JSON

Captured from the indexed primary action, search, on Jul 18, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC.

Captured request

{
  "method": "POST",
  "url": "https://api.reefapi.com/autotrader/v1/search",
  "headers": {
    "x-api-key": "$REEF_KEY",
    "content-type": "application/json"
  },
  "body": {
    "make": "BMW",
    "model": "3 Series",
    "postcode": "SW1A 1AA",
    "market": "uk"
  }
}

Captured response

{
  "ok": true,
  "meta": {
    "api": "autotrader",
    "endpoint": "search",
    "mode": "live",
    "latency_ms": 1804.7,
    "record_count": 20,
    "bytes": 22640,
    "cache_hit": false,
    "market": "uk",
    "page": 1,
    "page_count": 351,
    "total_results": 7005,
    "postcode": "SW1A 1AA",
    "postcode_defaulted": false
  },
  "data": {
    "market": "uk",
    "listings": [
      {
        "advert_id": "[redacted-phone]",
        "title": "BMW 3 Series",
        "subtitle": "2.0 320i M Sport Business Edition Euro 5 4dr",
        "attention_grabber": "Part X to clear-runs and drive",
        "price": 2495,
        "price_formatted": "£2,495",
        "currency": "GBP",
        "rrp": null,
        "discount": null,
        "monthly_finance": null,
        "make": "BMW",
        "model": "3 Series",
        "year": 2010,
        "condition": "used",
        "vehicle_category": "car",
        "location": "Sandy (45 miles)",
        "location_type": "STANDARD",
        "distance": {
          "value": 45,
          "unit": null
        },
        "seller_type": "TRADE",
        "dealer_rating": 4.7,
        "dealer_link": "https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/bedfordshire/sandy/one-class-auto-limited-10037829?channel=cars",
        "image_count": 20,
        "images": [
          "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w800h600/191c5e89c9f44ea5bc9b312f14cb5b2b.jpg",
          "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w800h600/8e8b9b3e9bc54b3bae380cda40f9f031.jpg",
          "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w800h600/7e8520e3cdb94d99855a27dfcb0f03d9.jpg"
        ],
        "badges": [
          "95,000 miles",
          "2010 (10 reg)"
        ],
        "url": "https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/[redacted-phone]?sort=relevance&twcs=true&searchId="
      },
      {
        "advert_id": "[redacted-phone]",
        "title": "BMW 3 Series",
        "subtitle": "2.0 318i ES Auto Euro 4 4dr",
        "attention_grabber": "BARGAIN | READ DESCRIPTION",
        "price": 500,
        "price_formatted": "£500",
        "currency": "GBP",
        "rrp": null,
        "discount": null,
        "monthly_finance": null,
        "make": "BMW",
        "model": "3 Series",
        "year": 2007,
        "condition": "used",
        "vehicle_category": "car",
        "location": "Kingston Upon Thames (10 miles)",
        "location_type": "STANDARD",
        "distance": {
          "value": 10,
          "unit": null
        },
        "seller_type": "TRADE",
        "dealer_rating": null,
        "dealer_link": null,
        "image_count": 9,
        "images": [
          "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w800h600/23d912ff41e74a25a[redacted-phone]a3d2d6.jpg",
          "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w800h600/819900dee1474f919d96c6959d63dfd3.jpg",
          "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w800h600/f1782f57453343ba95a3f3821ac04381.jpg"
        ],
        "badges": [
          "105,000 miles",
          "2007 (57 reg)"
        ],
        "url": "https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/[redacted-phone]?sort=relevance&searchId="
      },
      {
        "advert_id": "[redacted-phone]",
        "title": "BMW 3 Series",
        "subtitle": "2.2 320i SE 4dr",
        "attention_grabber": null,
        "price": 990,
        "price_formatted": "£990",
        "currency": "GBP",
        "rrp": null,
        "discount": null,
        "monthly_finance": null,
        "make": "BMW",
        "model": "3 Series",
        "year": 2002,
        "condition": "used",
        "vehicle_category": "car",
        "location": "Croydon (8 miles)",
        "location_type": "STANDARD",
        "distance": {
          "value": 8,
          "unit": null
        },
        "seller_type": "TRADE",
        "dealer_rating": 3.7,
        "dealer_link": "https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/surrey/croydon/dvp-car-sales-ltd-10008582?channel=cars",
        "image_count": 25,
        "images": [
          "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w800h600/47cc0f92063e445795e2abc861e69b18.jpg",
          "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w800h600/84f8bd1584d44c29a0732b07286571c6.jpg",
          "https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w800h600/d1c6568f45cd4460acb50ed42f26aa87.jpg"
        ],
        "badges": [
          "157,000 miles",
          "2002 (02 reg)"
        ],
        "url": "https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/[redacted-phone]?sort=relevance&twcs=true&searchId="
      }
    ],
    "page_info": {
      "page": 1,
      "page_count": 351,
      "total_results": 7005,
      "search_id": ""
    }
  }
}

Actions

What the AutoTrader API does

Action	Description	Concrete use case	Key params
search	UK car listings (make/model + filters, paginated); postcode defaults to a UK centroid if omitted	Pricing teams call search to get uK car listings (make/model + filters, paginated); postcode defaults to a UK centroid if omitted.	make, model, postcode, min_price, max_price, ...
listing_detail	Full advert (price+priceIndicator+deviation, mileage, full spec [fuel/trans/body/doors/seats/engine], description, images[], dealer+reviews+address)	Marketplace operators call listing_detail to get full advert (price+priceIndicator+deviation, mileage, full spec [fuel/trans/body/doors/seats/….	id, postcode, market

Code samples

Call search from your stack

curl -X POST https://api.reefapi.com/autotrader/v1/search \
  -H "x-api-key: $REEF_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"make":"BMW","model":"3 Series","postcode":"SW1A 1AA","market":"uk"}'

import requests

r = requests.post(
    "https://api.reefapi.com/autotrader/v1/search",
    headers={"x-api-key": REEF_KEY},
    json={
  "make": "BMW",
  "model": "3 Series",
  "postcode": "SW1A 1AA",
  "market": "uk"
},
)
print(r.json()["data"])

const res = await fetch("https://api.reefapi.com/autotrader/v1/search", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "x-api-key": process.env.REEF_KEY,
    "content-type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "make": "BMW",
  "model": "3 Series",
  "postcode": "SW1A 1AA",
  "market": "uk"
}),
});
const { ok, data, meta, error } = await res.json();

MCP one-liner

Ask your MCP-connected assistant: call reefapi.autotrader.search with {"make":"BMW","model":"3 Series","postcode":"SW1A 1AA","market":"uk"}.

Use cases

Who uses this API and why

Automotive pricing tools call search to track used-car prices by make, model and mileage.
Dealer-intelligence products filter search by seller type to monitor trade vs private listings.
Market analysts use listing_detail to study price-vs-RRP and depreciation across the UK market.

FAQ

Questions developers ask before integrating

What is the AutoTrader API?

AutoTrader API is a ReefAPI endpoint group for new and used car listings with prices and specs. It returns live JSON through POST requests under /autotrader/v1.

Is the AutoTrader API free to try?

Yes. ReefAPI starts with 1,000 free credits, no card required. AutoTrader calls use the same shared credit balance as every other ReefAPI engine.

Do I need a AutoTrader login or account?

No login to AutoTrader is needed for the API response. You call ReefAPI with your x-api-key header, and the playground can run live examples before you create a production key.

How fresh is the AutoTrader data?

The page example is captured from a live search call, and production requests fetch live data through ReefAPI rather than a static sample.

How many credits does the AutoTrader API use?

AutoTrader actions currently cost 1 credit per successful call. Failed or blocked calls are free, and all APIs draw from one credit pool.

Can I call AutoTrader from an AI assistant or MCP client?

Yes. Connect ReefAPI once through MCP and your assistant can call autotrader actions with the same key, credit pool and JSON envelope used by normal REST requests.

Is the AutoTrader API a AutoTrader scraper?

It is the managed alternative to a DIY AutoTrader scraper. Instead of building and maintaining your own scraper — proxies, headless browsers, captcha and constant breakage — you call one ReefAPI endpoint and get the same new and used car listings with prices and specs back as clean JSON.

Why does my AutoTrader scraper keep getting blocked?

Most AutoTrader scrapers break on anti-bot defenses, rate limits and IP bans that need rotating residential proxies and browser fingerprinting to clear. ReefAPI handles all of that for you — no proxies, no captchas, no maintenance — and returns live JSON. Blocked or failed calls are free.

docs / autotrader

AutoTrader

New and used car listings with prices and specs.

base /autotrader/v12 endpoints

post/autotrader/v1/search1 credit

UK car listings (make/model + filters, paginated); postcode defaults to a UK centroid if omitted

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
make	optional	—	Vehicle make / manufacturer (e.g. 'BMW', 'Ford').
model	optional	—	Vehicle model (e.g. '3 Series'). Use together with make.
postcode	optional	—	UK postcode to anchor the location-based search (defaults to a central England postcode if omitted).
min_price	optional	0–	Minimum price in GBP.
max_price	optional	0–	Maximum price in GBP.
min_year	optional	1900–2100	Earliest year of manufacture.
max_year	optional	1900–2100	Latest year of manufacture.
min_mileage	optional	0–	Minimum mileage (miles).
max_mileage	optional	0–	Maximum mileage (miles).
fuel	optional	Petrol · Diesel · Electric · Hybrid · Plug-in Hybrid	Fuel type. Common values shown; other AutoTrader fuel labels are also accepted (forwarded to the FilterName enum).
body_type	optional	Hatchback · Saloon · Estate · SUV · Coupe · Convertible · MPV	Body style. Common values shown; other AutoTrader body labels are also accepted.
transmission	optional	Manual · Automatic	Gearbox type.
radius	optional	0–	Search radius in miles around the postcode.
page = 1	optional	1–	Results page (paginated). Default 1.
market = uk	optional	uk · us	Marketplace region. Only 'uk' returns listings; 'us' is currently unavailable (use the cars-com engine for US).

Try in playground →

post/autotrader/v1/listing_detail1 credit

Full advert (price+priceIndicator+deviation, mileage, full spec [fuel/trans/body/doors/seats/engine], description, images[], dealer+reviews+address)

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
id	required	—	AutoTrader advert id (the digits in a /car-details/<id> URL or a search listing's advertId). Provide id OR url.
url	optional	—	Full advert URL (alternative to id; the id is parsed from /car-details/<id>).
postcode	optional	—	UK postcode to anchor the location-based search (defaults to a central England postcode if omitted).
market = uk	optional	uk · us	Marketplace region. Only 'uk' returns listings; 'us' is currently unavailable (use the cars-com engine for US).

Try in playground →

Example request · search

curl -X POST https://api.reefapi.com/autotrader/v1/search \
  -H "x-api-key: $REEF_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"make":"BMW","model":"3 Series","postcode":"SW1A 1AA","market":"uk"}'

Response shape

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": { /* the result */ },
  "meta": {
    "latency_ms": 240,
    "record_count": 12,
    "completeness_pct": 100
  },
  "error": null
}