CarGurus was almost unknown just a few years ago – at least, it appeared that way. The site has now surpassed well-known brands like Cars.com and Autotrader.com to become the number one car-shopping website in the United States, prompting the start of a national television campaign.
Buying a used automobile might seem hard, much like finding inexpensive car insurance rates, but it doesn’t have to be. CarGurus’ fundamental goal is to create “the world’s most reputable and transparent automobile marketplace.” Is it able to keep that promise?
What is CarGurus?
CarGurus has been around for a lot longer than you would believe. Langley Steinert, a TripAdvisor co-founder, established it in 2006.
The firm approaches automobile purchasing through the prism of big data, employing data analytics and proprietary algorithms to answer the following questions: What is a reasonable price?
Is this the most excellent offer on the market? Is this dealer someone I can trust? The most prominent feature is the CarGurus Instant Market Value (IVM), the site’s estimation of the reasonable retail price for a particular vehicle based on comparable listings.
Because dealerships may advertise their automobiles for free, CarGurus has an average of 5 million vehicles posted.
CarGurus employ the model. The site has over 30 million unique monthly users and earns a lot of money from vehicle dealers. But, as a consumer, does it work for you?
Is CarGurus Legit?
On Trustpilot, CarGurus reviews have a total rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars, while the Better Business Bureau has a rating of 1.63.
The low ratings on these sites suggest that people had issues with CarGurus. Customers’ concerns about CarGurus mostly revolve around communication, payment, and membership difficulties.
However, most Trustpilot and BBB reviews are about purchasing rather than selling automobiles through CarGurus. They still have conflicting feelings about the market leader in automobiles.
While some consumers have expressed dissatisfaction with CarGurus’ services, others have praised the platform. Some say it has helped them find automobiles that they couldn’t find anyplace else. Furthermore, just because there aren’t many negative reviews on these sites doesn’t mean they’re all awful.
How Does CarGurus Work?
CarGurus uses technology to create a better car-shopping experience. CarGurus is the most popular automobile shopping website in the United States, according to the company’s website.
It claims to have more automobile listings than Autotrader, Cars.com, and TrueCar, among other prominent internet marketplaces. CarGurus had more than five million listings at the time of writing.
CarGurus does not have a physical inventory, and the vehicles displayed on its website are not it’s own. Instead, it offers a tailored approach to browsing for new and used automobiles across multiple car lots in your neighborhood.
To do so, use CarGurus to pre-qualify for a vehicle loan and obtain a pricing quotation. After that, you contact the dealership with your quote and schedule a test drive and buy.
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The Pros Of Using CarGurus
It is entirely objective. More than half of all auto dealerships in the United States pay to advertise their vehicles on CarGurus.
The rest of them don’t. CarGurus, on the other hand, does not discriminate by prioritizing the automobiles of paying clients.
Instead, the best offers appear first, followed by fair deals, and finally those that exceed the Instant Market Value. (Sponsored listings are available, but they are explicitly marked.) Listings are also boosted if the dealer has a good user rating.
You may read dealer reviews on the internet. Have you never heard of a specific dealer before? Other purchasers’ reviews on CarGurus might give you an idea of what to anticipate. You may also observe how a dealer handles negative feedback.
You may use CarGurus to assist you in negotiating. Perhaps the prospect of bargaining with a salesperson over a car makes you feel nauseous.
Maybe you enjoy the rush of negotiating a bargain. In either case, a CarGurus listing may provide you with helpful information while shopping for a car.
You’ll see how long the car has been posted on the web – if it’s been there for months, you have some negotiating power. You’ll see how far the price has reduced, if at all, and whether the dealer is ready to go any lower. You’ll also be able to check how many other individuals have saved a car.
For your vehicle, you may acquire an Instant Market Value. Check the IVM of your vehicle on CarGurus.com before trading it in or selling it.
The discrepancy between that price and the Kelley Blue Book estimate, the usual method of determining used-car prices, may surprise you.
You may sell your vehicle with confidence. Private sellers who list their vehicle on CarGurus may be eligible for up to $75,000 in insurance coverage for their secure online transaction. CarGurus may also help the buyer with finance.
The Cons Of Using CarGurus
Dealer communication might be sporadic. CarGurus is appealing since it rapidly matches buyers and sellers. You can enter your email and phone number to have the dealer call you when you find a car you like. However, this mechanism does not always work in the purchasers’ favor.
If you read enough CarGurus.com reviews, you’ll notice that many customers claim they never heard back from a dealer or received an answer that was too late.
Vehicle listings aren’t always up to date. Many reviews on CarGurus mention the same story: When a potential customer arrives at the dealership, they discover that the advertised vehicle has already been sold. Bummer.
Our advice: If you’re serious about a car, call the dealership right away to convey your interest and schedule a test drive after submitting an online request. (But don’t get too excited, or you’ll lose your negotiation leverage.)
There aren’t many private car dealers. Private dealers may sometimes provide the best bargains on secondhand automobiles.
However, most of the automobiles listed on CarGurus are on dealer lots. Although private vehicle sales have certain drawbacks, such as used car buying scams, it’s lovely to have the alternative.
Selling your automobile on CarGurus is not cheap. You may list your automobile for free, but you’ll have to spend $99 to sell it.
To sell your automobile, you’ll have to jump through some hoops. Some sellers are unhappy with CarGurus’ requirement to prove ownership of the vehicle.
This implies the site will remove your listing unless you meet a specified requirement: You must provide a photo of your car with one door open and a verification code written on a piece of paper on the windshield, either printed or scribbled on a piece of paper. CarGurus do this to dissuade fraudsters, but it’s still inconvenient.
