# Cars.com Search Scraper (`powerai/car-search-scraper`) Actor

Scrape vehicle listings from Cars.com with automatic pagination and comprehensive car details including prices, dealer info, and specifications.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/powerai/car-search-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [PowerAI](https://apify.com/powerai) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Integrations, Other
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 49 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 2 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $4.99 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## 🚗 Cars.com Search Scraper

This actor allows you to scrape vehicle listings from Cars.com by providing a search URL. It automatically handles pagination and extracts comprehensive vehicle information including prices, dealer details, specifications, and more.

### Features

- **URL-based Scraping:** Extract vehicle listings by providing a complete Cars.com search URL
- **Automatic Pagination:** Automatically navigates through all pages until reaching the end or max items limit
- **Comprehensive Vehicle Data:** Extract detailed information about each vehicle including:
  - Vehicle specifications (year, make, model, trim)
  - Pricing information (price, MSRP, monthly payment estimates)
  - Vehicle images
  - Dealer information (name, rating, reviews, phone)
  - Vehicle identification (VIN, listing ID)
  - Stock type (new/used)
- **Smart Deduplication:** Automatically removes duplicate listings
- **Proxy Support:** Optional proxy configuration for better reliability

### Input Parameters

| Field      | Type    | Required | Description                                    |
|------------|---------|----------|------------------------------------------------|
| `searchUrl`| string  | Yes      | Complete Cars.com search URL to scrape         |
| `maxItems` | integer | No       | Maximum number of vehicle listings to fetch (default: unlimited) |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | No | Proxy settings for the actor |

#### How to Get Search URL

1. Go to [Cars.com](https://www.cars.com)
2. Use the search filters to find vehicles (make, model, location, price range, etc.)
3. Copy the complete URL from your browser's address bar
4. Paste it into the `searchUrl` field

Example search URL:

```
https://www.cars.com/shopping/results/?stock_type=new&makes%5B%5D=nissan&models%5B%5D=nissan-rogue&maximum_distance=50&zip=
```

### Output

The output is a dataset of vehicle listing objects, each containing:

- `searchUrl`: The original search URL used
- `listingId`: Unique listing identifier
- `listingUrl`: Direct link to the vehicle detail page
- `title`: Full vehicle title (e.g., "2026 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek")
- `year`: Vehicle year
- `make`: Vehicle make/brand
- `model`: Vehicle model
- `trim`: Vehicle trim level
- `stockType`: New or Used
- `price`: Current listing price
- `msrp`: Manufacturer's suggested retail price
- `monthlyPayment`: Estimated monthly payment
- `imageUrl`: URL of the vehicle image
- `dealerName`: Name of the dealer
- `dealerRating`: Dealer rating (out of 5)
- `reviews`: Number of dealer reviews
- `location`: Dealer location
- `phone`: Dealer phone number
- `vin`: Vehicle identification number
- `dealerId`: Dealer identifier
- `scrapedAt`: Timestamp of when the listing was scraped

Example output:

```json
[
  {
    "searchUrl": "https://www.cars.com/shopping/results/?stock_type=new&makes%5B%5D=nissan&models%5B%5D=nissan-rogue&maximum_distance=50&zip=",
    "listingId": "580b2f91-fcbe-4dfe-aaee-f8e7d1d2bd90",
    "listingUrl": "https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/580b2f91-fcbe-4dfe-aaee-f8e7d1d2bd90/",
    "title": "2026 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek",
    "year": "2026",
    "make": "Nissan",
    "model": "Rogue",
    "trim": "Rock Creek",
    "stockType": "New",
    "price": 32895,
    "msrp": 35895,
    "monthlyPayment": 561,
    "imageUrl": "https://platform.cstatic-images.com/large/in/v2/12eced4b-43c0-5d7b-838f-7859e42c55ca/d49db05b-691b-4335-bbdb-fc64eec2568f/lTdQiMoRZfpR7t7NV9oFvkLh1Hc.jpg",
    "dealerName": "Mankato Motors",
    "dealerRating": 4.8,
    "reviews": 1244,
    "location": "",
    "phone": "8778117193",
    "vin": "5N1BT3BBXTC693951",
    "dealerId": "17672",
    "scrapedAt": "2025-11-07T09:28:28.023Z"
  },
  ...
]
```

### Use Cases

- Vehicle price comparison and market research
- Inventory monitoring for dealerships
- Lead generation for car buyers
- Price trend analysis
- Dealer performance tracking
- Used car market analysis
- Competitive pricing research

### Notes

- Results are saved incrementally as they are found
- All timestamps are in ISO 8601 format
- Price values are in USD
- Monthly payment is an estimate
- The actor respects pagination and will automatically navigate through all pages

***

**Start scraping vehicle listings from Cars.com today!**

# Actor input Schema

## `searchUrl` (type: `string`):

The complete Cars.com search URL to scrape (e.g., https://www.cars.com/shopping/results/?stock_type=new\&makes\[]=nissan)

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of vehicle listings to fetch

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings for the actor

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchUrl": "https://www.cars.com/shopping/results/?stock_type=new&makes%5B%5D=nissan&models%5B%5D=nissan-rogue&maximum_distance=50&zip=",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("powerai/car-search-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("powerai/car-search-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call powerai/car-search-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,powerai/car-search-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/nZLPLl0OendoQ3ejV/builds/ToglQSjb9i8cmcJpq/openapi.json