CarGurus and the generic feed
List your inventory on CarGurus by uploading your feed file to their FTP, then set your Dealer ID and leads email so inquiries reach you — or hand the generic CSV to any other marketplace.
CarGurus is a major used-car site. AutoDealer.io builds the inventory feed file for you — you upload it to CarGurus' FTP, then add your Dealer ID and leads email so buyer inquiries come back to you. The generic feed is a plain CSV you can hand to any other marketplace or tool.
Only owners and managers can change marketplace settings. Salespeople can view the page but can't toggle channels or edit settings.
Before you start: generate your feed key
Every marketplace URL on this page is powered by one feed key. Set it up once — until you generate it, the channel switches stay disabled.
- Go to Settings → Marketplaces.
- Under Inventory feed, on the Feed key card, click Generate feed URLs.
- Generating turns the feed on automatically and reveals the per-channel feed URLs. The Feed key switch now appears on the card — leaving it on keeps every marketplace feed live; turning it off pauses them all at once.
While the feed key is paused, every marketplace fetching your URLs gets a 404 — your cars stop showing everywhere until you turn it back on.
Only published vehicles appear in your feed. A sold car drops off on its own the next time the marketplace pulls, and new cars flow in automatically — you never re-upload by hand.
Set up CarGurus
CarGurus does not accept a feed URL you paste into their site. They take your file by FTP upload, so the order matters: create your CarGurus account first, then push the feed file, then turn on lead routing here.
- On the CarGurus card, flip the switch on. The badge changes from Off to Active. (The switch stays disabled until you've generated your feed URLs above.)
- Create a CarGurus dealer account. A free "Restricted" tier exists but caps your monthly leads; paid packages unlock full visibility. CarGurus then issues you FTP credentials.
- Open the Setup guide tab on the CarGurus card for the exact steps and links. Copy your CarGurus feed URL from the Feed URL tab (it ends in
cargurus.csvand returns the CSV file when fetched) — fetch and save that file, or point your feed provider at the URL — and upload it to the CarGurus FTP on a daily schedule. - Email dealers@cargurus.com to finish import setup on their side.
- Fill in Lead routing on the CarGurus card (next section). Once CarGurus imports your file, your inventory shows on cargurus.com.
The Feed URL tab also shows how many of your published vehicles are eligible (for example, "12 of 15 published vehicles eligible for this marketplace"). If a car is missing required fields, it won't be in the file.
Turn on CarGurus lead routing
CarGurus keys your inventory to a Dealer ID it assigns you, and it sends buyer inquiries to an email or CRM address. Both ride along inside your feed file (as the dealer_id and lead_email columns). Without them, CarGurus has nowhere to send your leads.
- On the CarGurus card, find the Lead routing panel below the tabs.
- Enter your CarGurus Dealer ID (the value CarGurus gave you, e.g.
123456). - Enter your Leads / CRM email — where you want buyer inquiries sent.
- Click Save.
Add your Dealer ID and leads email before CarGurus imports your feed. If they're missing, buyer inquiries have nowhere to go and you'll lose those leads.
Use the generic feed
The generic feed is a standard CSV that any marketplace or tool which accepts a vehicle inventory feed can ingest. Use it for a site we don't have a dedicated card for.
- On the Generic feed card, flip the switch on (the badge changes to Active). The switch is disabled until you've generated your feed URLs above.
- On the Feed URL tab, click the copy button to grab the feed URL.
- Paste that URL (or hand off the CSV it returns) wherever the other marketplace asks for an inventory feed.
The other site pulls your latest inventory on its own schedule, and sold cars drop off automatically — same as every other channel.
Rotating or pausing a feed
- Pause one channel: turn its card switch off. That channel's URL starts returning a 404; the rest keep working.
- Pause everything: turn off the Feed key switch under Inventory feed.
- Rotate the key: click Rotate on the Feed key card if a URL leaked. Every feed URL changes, so re-upload to CarGurus and re-paste anywhere else you used the old one.
FAQ
Why isn't there a card for Cars.com, Autotrader, or OfferUp?
None of them accept a self-serve dealer feed URL or FTP file the way CarGurus does. They're partner- or contract-gated walled gardens (a paid contract plus a certified syndicator), so there's no link for you to paste. We don't show a card we can't actually connect for you.
CarGurus asks for a feed URL — can I just paste mine?
No. CarGurus pulls by FTP upload, not a URL. Copy your CarGurus feed URL (it ends in cargurus.csv), save the file it returns — or point your provider at it — and upload that file to the CarGurus FTP on a daily schedule.
My cars aren't showing on CarGurus yet.
Check, in order: the Feed key switch is on, the CarGurus card is Active, you've uploaded the file to their FTP, you emailed dealers@cargurus.com to finish setup, and the cars are published in your inventory. CarGurus imports on their own schedule, so allow time after the first upload.
I'm getting no leads from CarGurus.
Open the CarGurus card's Lead routing panel and confirm both your Dealer ID and Leads / CRM email are saved. Inquiries route through those values in the feed — if either is blank, leads never reach you.
How often does my inventory update?
Marketplaces pull your feed on their own cadence (usually a few times a day). When they pull, sold cars drop off and new published cars appear automatically. You don't re-upload by hand once the schedule is set — though for CarGurus you (or your provider) push the file to their FTP on the schedule you set up.
Is the generic feed CSV or XML?
The feed URL on the card is a standard CSV. Copy it from the Feed URL tab and give it to the other marketplace.