• autoTRADER.ca

autoTRADER.ca

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Overview

autoTRADER.ca has a rating of 1.5 stars from 25 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. autoTRADER.ca ranks 420th among Used Cars sites.

  • Service
    14
  • Value
    14
  • Shipping
    4
  • Returns
    9
  • Quality
    12
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 0%
Positive
0
Neutral
0
Negative
4
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How would you rate autoTRADER.ca?
Top Positive Review

“Poor response/communication on issues with ads”

Emily U.
10/7/23

Tried renewing ad 3 times recently. When you click on Manage my ads in account it takes you back to where u input all your information and u have to redo the ad. At the end it tells you that the ad will be reviewed before being updated and that it will take some time. It's been a few days since I renewed it and when I click on the ad which looks grayed out and a message comes up saying "failed to load". I want to delete ad if it isn't renewed soon. If I delete it fully I won't be able to place another ad again for a long time. This is unfair. I've tried looking up contact numbers to call but none of them seem to be the right ones. I found their email address and sent one to them telling them about the issues and asking to get resolved but there has been no email reply back to me yet. That was 2 days ago. I have no option but to permanently delete the ad as there seems to be no help forth coming. It's a waste of time and effort. I am very disappointed in the bad online service.

Top Critical Review

“Paid for premium and got a non-functioning website”

ILAN J.
2/28/24

Plain and simple, I paid for the premium listing and none of the metrics worked. They replied that it was a system error and that its in fact, working correctly, even if I cant see the metrics. When i did a search, my listing didn't show up. Even by fine tuning the search to only include my year and model, the ad didn't run. They are unreachable by phone and email support is non-existent. Save your money and sell elsewhere!

Reviews (25)

Rating

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Other

Thumbnail of user gtabroker
1 review
1 helpful vote
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February 28th, 2024

Plain and simple, I paid for the premium listing and none of the metrics worked. They replied that it was a system error and that its in fact, working correctly, even if I cant see the metrics. When i did a search, my listing didn't show up. Even by fine tuning the search to only include my year and model, the ad didn't run. They are unreachable by phone and email support is non-existent. Save your money and sell elsewhere!

Service
Value
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user katz21272
1 review
2 helpful votes
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February 23rd, 2024

Could not reply to buyers and called 4 times to resolve issue. Ad was up for 1 week in total, I called 3 days after placing and paying for ad. I sold my car on Facebook within that time. Asked for a refund from Autotrader since they didn't resolve my issue and I got a measly $24 back from $63.

Service
Value
Returns
Thumbnail of user robb936
1 review
0 helpful votes
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February 11th, 2024

I went through the process twice and both times autrotrader Canada deleted my ad. I checked their rules and I did not go against any rules. I will not waste money buying the "upgraded" options. I may have if my car didn't sell and I wanted to see if adding more photos or having Ad priority made a difference. However, if they won't bother giving me a free trial, then I'll go elsewhere.

Thumbnail of user damants27
1 review
1 helpful vote
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February 24th, 2024

I had to chuckle when I opened this review website and immediately saw the poor overall rating for Autotrader. Their site is difficult to search or to even find a way to search for a specific vehicle by model.
I believe they also bought Kelly Blue Book because it is difficult to get an accurate used car value now and it's all related to Autotrader being promoted. Too bad as KBB was a great site before and now its junk too, just like Autotrader.

Thumbnail of user debrat402
1 review
3 helpful votes
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January 7th, 2022

Dec. 29 2021 I posted my camper van for sale on autotrader and paid over $57 for extra display instead of the free version. I was surprised when no leads came the first 2 days so then I posted on Kijiji for free. Suddenly many inquiries from there. I told one of them they could find more pictures on autotrader when they had questions. They told me that 'error 404' came up when they clicked on my ad. I contacted autotrader by online form - as they do not display any telephone number. 5 days later they email to say problem fixed and they will extend my time for ad posting instead of refunding me my money as I asked them to. In total I got over 1400 views and 100 inquiries from Kijiji. Only about 6 inquiries from autotrader through their french site.

Service
Value
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Quality
Thumbnail of user ryanm1689
1 review
1 helpful vote
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January 4th, 2023

Tried 3 times to have vehicle ad posted. Each time I receive a reply stating " it will be posted in a few hours". 30 hours later I am still waiting. Assistance from Autotrader is not forthcoming after contacting them.

Thumbnail of user nickg445
1 review
9 helpful votes
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August 20th, 2020

I have tried to post my ad about my car several times through several devices using several different browsers, yet the process always ran into the same website glitch, an eternal spinning sign of "in process".
NO ONE from autotrader gets back to me with a solution and a phone call is not possible. What kind of service is this?
They don't deserve any clients, I recommend avoiding them.
(just for the record, I'm not web illiterate, I used to be a web developer and am an engineer)

Thumbnail of user michaleb5
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 18th, 2023

So my vin says my car is series 3 BMW but actually is a rare M3. Try to get your ad changed sorry it's the computers fault. Try to contact support. Good luck. Dealer support is instant but they can't help get private ads changed. Advertise elsewhere this is a scam

Service
Value
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Quality
Thumbnail of user alavigne314
1 review
1 helpful vote
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May 24th, 2023
Verified purchase

Posted my car for sale. Encountered these problems:
1. Double-blind email system did not allow me to respond to to my potential buyers because I use a personal domain with a mail-forward. If they did not give me a phone number, I had literally no way to answer them.
2. Customer support to address the above was unsuccessful on the first request and did not respond to any subsequent requests.
3. The UI appears to allow you to change your email address but when you attempt to save the change it says the form is invalid (i.e. Yet another bug)
4. I ended up creating a whole new profile (and paying for my ad again). I requested a refund for my first ad and received silence in return.
5. I did not end up selling my car on auto trader. (my kijiji ad worked, though)
6. Even though I unsubscribed to all unsolicited emails, I still receive unsolicited emails and there's no way to unsubscribe.

Tip for consumers:
Completely dissatisfied.

Products used:
Auto trader's Sell-my-car ad and ad promotion.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user gerardd61
1 review
5 helpful votes
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May 19th, 2020

I paid $29.95 for Basic package to promote the sale of my vehicle as a "Priority Listing". My vehicle was initially published on page 5 (25 vehicles per page), two days later it was on page 7. I used their Contact Us form to voice my concern. 2 days later still no response. I used it again to requested a refund. Still no response. There is no phone contact. If you call their head office they will tell you this is for dealers only and you have to use the online form. If this company was worth your money, they'd at least have a customer service process. Also, this site is fully consumed by dealers, with the 'private seller' ad looking more like a scammer, almost like a warning.

Thumbnail of user grahamd97
1 review
4 helpful votes
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April 28th, 2022

Unable to recently post ads on autotrader. Last time I tried was told because of scams etc out there I had to verify I owned the vehicle. Present us with pics of you in the vehicle to confirm it is yours... really! Also you by the vehicle and other nonsense. How does Autotrader even know what I look like... I could send them anything. I could not take them seriously.

Currently trying to post an ad and it says you were not successful because of potential scams. Also trying to renew an ad fails also. I have also experienced Server Errors.

This is too garbage and a time wasting fiasco. Post elsewhere but Autotrader.ca is in itself a scam

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user emilyp779
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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October 7th, 2023

Tried renewing ad 3 times recently. When you click on Manage my ads in account it takes you back to where u input all your information and u have to redo the ad. At the end it tells you that the ad will be reviewed before being updated and that it will take some time.
It's been a few days since I renewed it and when I click on the ad which looks grayed out and a message comes up saying "failed to load".
I want to delete ad if it isn't renewed soon.
If I delete it fully I won't be able to place another ad again for a long time. This is unfair.
I've tried looking up contact numbers to call but none of them seem to be the right ones.
I found their email address and sent one to them telling them about the issues and asking to get resolved but there has been no email reply back to me yet. That was 2 days ago. I have no option but to permanently delete the ad as there seems to be no help forth coming.
It's a waste of time and effort. I am very disappointed in the bad online service.

Tip for consumers:
Proper contact information like a main contact phone number to call to speak to a live agent when it comes to trying to resolve issues with placing/renewing ads to sell vehicles.

Products used:
No products used. I had placed an ad in autotrader.ca to sell a vehicle.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user jeffp701
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
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October 21st, 2021

Took advantage of there trade in value option.
I sent a bunch of information about the truck ( 2012 Ram 1500 sport)
Which included the fact that it had had a small fender bender 1800. 00 $( headlight and grill) I told them the amount but not what was damaged.
They sent me a copy of their asseced valve that they also sent to the dealer which said that the truck had received frame damage in the accident.
I did not send them the VIN # so where the hell did they come up with this.
Autotrader is a joke.
I did contact them about this by email and phone and nobody would talk to me about it.
Stay FAR away from this site

Service
Quality
Thumbnail of user thanosl
1 review
1 helpful vote
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May 27th, 2021

They offer such a small offer for your vehicle, honestly a waste of time to even fill out the form.

Tried putting in my car too see the worth of it, and they offered $1,700 base for my vehicle, of course the options added another $1,300 to the price. But that is still $3,000 offer on a car that's worth more than $7,000. Good luck getting that car from a dealership for less than $10,000.

Absolute robbery and I honestly feel sorry for the fools that actually accept that instant cash offer, real chumps.

Tip for consumers:
DO NOT USE INSTANT CASH FEATURE.

They give you nowhere near where your car is actually worth. Avoid it like the plague, be patient and sell your car to someone else.

Products used:
The robbery called instant cash. No way I am selling my car for that chump change.

Value
Thumbnail of user andop
12 reviews
41 helpful votes
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January 6th, 2020

A super fun website to use when you're looking for cars for the future! It is designed super well, and very easy to use. The prices on this website are pretty average, but thankfully the site tells me if anything is a bad deal.

Tip for consumers:
Check out the dealer before buying.

Products used:
A Kia Optima.

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user vicb78
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 4th, 2023

Tried to post an add to sell my sons 2011 Chevy Cruze on the Free selection. They denied and deleted my add. My son is in University, 20 year old. Not cool Autotrader.
So they advertise you can post free but deny your free add because they want you to pay for it.
Shmucks!

Service
Value
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Thumbnail of user jonathonm50
1 review
3 helpful votes
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July 16th, 2020

Posted and paid for an ad 2 weeks ago. Wanted to upload photos and edit the info in the ad, but i get an error and it won't save. I contacted autotrader 6 times by submitting through the system on the website, but never got an answer. I called the head office and they wouldn't talk about the service. I called the service area that deals with commercial clients and they can not help me, however they did confirm that they received 6 support requests. Still unresolved and my long weekend window for selling through autotrader has passed and i have been flooded with requests for information about my boat. All the questions are information i would put in the add, but i can't.

Tip for consumers:
do not expect rely on any help from the folks at autotrader canada, they don't care about the average Joe customer. Oddly it is the average Joe customer that makes their business model work. If i could give less stars I would, I work in the computer industry and i can't imagine a more poorly run service department, and unbelievable indifference from staff. Based on the staff reaction this must be the worst place to work for and a waste of what was one a solid brand.

Products used:
paid advertisement for my boat

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user rickk407
1 review
1 helpful vote
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June 24th, 2022

When searching for a used car or rv you get hundreds of ads for new first. Waste of time using this ap. Even putting in max price and used gives you all new to start.

Thumbnail of user johnb5211
1 review
4 helpful votes
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July 22nd, 2020

Do not waste your time trying to contact Auto trader after you have paid for an ad. THEY NEVER GET BACK TO YOU. I HAVE WAITED OVER A WEEK AND STILL NO REPONSE. THEY WILL SEND AUTO REPLY WITH CASE NUMBER AND NOBODY EVER FOLLOWS UP OR CONTACTS YOU.
No one answers the phone numbers on line some numbers do not receive incoming calls eithier

Thumbnail of user lanceb168
1 review
2 helpful votes
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August 23rd, 2021

This site sucks period
I tryed to upload my ad and it says iam offline so try and reload and i get the standard please wait 30 minutes BS
There is no one to call which is never a good thing just fill out a form and send us an email
Which they never answer
Same old story the they dont give a S@#T about you or your car just buy more crap for your ad online
DO NOT USE THIS SITE

Tip for consumers:
PLease Dont

Products used:
Online auto ad

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user paulc124
1 review
2 helpful votes
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January 10th, 2015

DONT EVEN BOTHER THIS COMPANY UNTIL JAN 12 2015 IF YOUR A DEALER WITH ADS TO POST AS THIER WHOLE SALES DEPARTMENT IS AWAY AT CONFRENCE, I HAVE THIER E-MAIL TELLING ME TO CALL BACK MONDAY JAN 12 2015 IF ANY BODY DOSENT BELIEVE THIS AS I WOULD NOT BELIEVE IT EITHER, FRUSTRATED DEALER, TORONTO

Thumbnail of user peters1946
1 review
7 helpful votes
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September 28th, 2021

I wrote so many on auto trader, nobody gets back to you. Not worth it. Very disappointed. Better to look at Facebook Market Place

Service
Value
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Thumbnail of user kama6
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
November 23rd, 2022

Site was blocki g my ad and contacted autotrader team and send pictures as they asked and no respinse 4 days now. ZZERO STAR

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user harinderg
18 reviews
14 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 25th, 2011

Good layout and choices to narrow down your search. As always buyer beware!

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Visit Canada's largest auto classifieds site for new and used cars for sale. Buy or sell your car for free, compare car prices, plus reviews, news and pictures.

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