Editor's Review
Auto Trader is the UK's biggest car classifieds business, and the Android app is that whole marketplace in a phone-shaped form. You search by make, model, price, monthly payment, mileage, fuel type, gearbox, body style and distance from a postcode, then save the search and let the app tell you when something new matches. Adverts come from franchised dealers, independent forecourts and private sellers, and each carries photographs, a specification breakdown, the seller's location and a way to message or call without leaving the listing.
Two things lift it above a generic listings browser. The first is the price indicator, which grades an advert against what similar cars are going for, so an optimistic forecourt is obvious at a glance. The second is the finance filter: you can shop by the monthly figure you can actually afford rather than the sticker price, with deposit and term adjustable, which is how a large share of UK buyers now purchase.
Selling is handled here too. Enter the registration, let the app pull the vehicle details, add photographs and a description, and pick a listing package. Valuations are free to look at even if you never place an advert.
The obvious limit is geography. This is a UK product and it is of no use anywhere else. Advertising a car is a paid service whose price rises with how long the advert runs, something the app is not especially loud about until checkout. And because dealer stock moves fast, saved-search alerts can send you chasing a car that is already under offer. A 4.82 average across a 10M+ install base suggests those are irritations rather than deal-breakers.
Features
Search by make, model, price, mileage, fuel type, gearbox and distance from a postcode
Saved searches with alerts when matching stock appears
Price indicator grading each advert against similar cars on the market
Monthly payment filtering with adjustable deposit and term
Free valuation by registration number before you decide to sell
Advert creation that fills in vehicle details from the number plate
Messaging and calling dealers or private sellers from the listing
Pros
Stock volume is far ahead of any rival UK car app, dealer and private alike
The price indicator makes an overpriced forecourt easy to spot
Finance filtering matches how most UK buyers actually budget
Valuations cost nothing even if you never advertise
Cons
UK only, with nothing to offer buyers or sellers in other markets
Placing an advert is chargeable and the tiers only become clear at checkout
Alerts can point at cars that have already been sold
Questions people ask
Does the Autotrader app cost anything?
Browsing, filtering, alerts and valuations are free. Advertising a car for sale is chargeable, and the fee depends on the package you pick and how long the advert should run.
Can I use it outside the UK?
Not usefully. Auto Trader covers the UK market, searches are built around UK postcodes and the stock is UK stock, so buyers elsewhere will find an empty results page.
