Best Car Finders

CarGurus is an automotive marketplace for car shoppers use to find and compare new or used cars using proprietary technology and innovative data within its search algorithms, whether it's for a car guru with a plan to purchase a dream car or someone looking for great deals on a mediocre used car for college. With more than three million used car listings and over 450,000 listings for new cars, CarGurus provides a wide variety of options for car shoppers.

The automotive research and shopping website was launched in 2006 by Langley Steinert, former co-founder of TripAdvisor, the world's largest online travel site. Today, Car Gurus claims to get more average daily traffic than major competitors AutoTrader™, Cars.com™, KBB.com™ and Edmunds.com™.

The board of directors still includes the founder, Langley Steinert, along with Steve Conine, co-founder and co-chairman of Wayfair. The company recently became a stock option on the Nasdaq under the symbol CARG. 

CarGurus.com prides itself on providing unbiased price transparency data to help consumers make smarter and more empowered purchase decisions when shopping for vehicles online. 

For every listing, CarGurus shows vehicle data including the time on market, price history, a full local-market price analysis, pertinent information regarding pre-owned vehicles, customer reviews, and car dealers' expert reviews. Also, millions of new, used, and certified pre-owned cars are analyzed by the search engine on the website to rank the best cars available on price savings. If you are looking to find local deals, it'll match you with the best car prices in your area. Over 15 million visitors per month shop for vehicles online at CarGurus.com.

What is known today as Kelley Blue Book (KBB)—first started in 1926—has origins dating back to 1918. The company gets its name from founder Les Kelley, who launched the initial enterprise under the name Kelley Kar Company. The enterprise was a car dealership with Model T Ford vehicles for sale. Kelley collected raw data from his business operations with other dealers and banks, publishing the information for public consumption in the first Kelley Blue Book in 1926. This book became a standard guide in automotive trade in determining car value. By the 1960s, the company moved from a car dealership to a specialty publisher, focusing on the production of its automobile price guide. The company details current market value prices and ranges for every type of new or used vehicle available on the market. Kelley Blue Book also provides dealer invoice pricing for new cars and trade-in values for used cars. Website visitors to kbb.com can also find consumer and expert reviews and safety ratings, as well as 5 year Cost-to-Own data.

If you’re looking to buy a used car from—or sell your car to— a trusted brand name, CarMax is certainly worth being one of the first options you try. The company’s first location opened in 1993 as an experiment suggested by executives at the Circuit City electronics corporation. The project, nicknamed “Honest Rick’s Used Cars”, was meant to expand Circuit City’s enterprise into other arenas. What became known as CarMax fulfilled that goal, growing rapidly across the United States through various acquisitions of car manufacturing real estate. Currently headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company currently operates 146 used car stores in 72 markets. CarMax.com strives to offer superior quality used vehicles and friendly service to its customers. The CarMax company has consistently been named as one of FORTUNE® 500’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” for 10 straight years. They have been serving customers for over 59 years, holding themselves to a high standard of integrity with their services and products.

In 1986, CARFAX started with the desire to be the authoritative source of information regarding the history of used cars for buyers and sellers. 29 years later, CARFAX has achieved its vision in North America. Millions of people every year visit CARFAX to discover the history of their cars. Over 91,000 sources of data including motor vehicle agencies, police and fire departments, auctions, car rental agencies and collision repair shops sends CARFAX information about used vehicles. 

Sports Car Illustrated was the name of Car and Driver magazine when it was first launched in 1955. The original intent was to publish content centered on foreign sports cars. In 1961 the focus shifted to a more general automotive agenda along with the current name, Car and Driver. Today, the magazine is published by Hearst Communications Inc. With a total audience of 10 million readers, it is the world's largest automotive magazine brand.

While Edmunds.com was launched in 1997, the Edmunds company was started in 1966 as a publishing company specializing in the consolidation of automotive specification data. Edmunds distributed printed booklets targeting car shoppers to help them make informed buying decisions. Decades later in the 1990s, Edmunds released its data on CD-ROM plus other notable books dedicated to car buyers. One of these books was Edmunds Strategies for Smart Car Buyers. Another was Edmunds New Cars & Trucks Buyer's Guide. Its first web presence occurred in 1994 with a guest post on a site named the Electronic Newstand. Today as Edmunds.com, the company made its services digital—and the rest is history.

The National Automotive Dealers Association issues consumer pricing reports similar to Kelley Blue Book on new, used, and certified preowned vehicles. The company provides educational automotive research, and extensive business training and advocacy to dealerships nationwide. The company began in 1917 in McLean, Virginia. Around 90 percent of new car dealerships located in the United States are members of this automotive association. The organization lobbies for dealers politically and desires to educate consumers on fair pricing. 

The first issue of Motor Trend magazine was released in September 1949 by Peterson Publishing Company of Los Angeles, California. Today, with over 12 million unique visitors per month, MotorTrend.com is one of the leading sources of expert car reviews for new automobiles through its internationally distributed magazine, nationally broadcast television program, syndicated radio show, popular Web site, auto shows and ride and drives. 

eBayMotors.com is an automotive website for the purchase of new, used and certified preowned vehicles and parts owned by ecommerce company eBay, Inc. in San Jose, California. The company started in 1995 as an online auction website for collectors. It has since expanded its features to allow straight retail purchasing without need for the auction. In 1999, eBay business development specialist Simon Rothman was seeking a die-cast model of the Ferrari sports car. Accidently, he stumbled onto the real thing. After a review on categorizing vehicles together, ebaymotors.com was born. The company started offering financing in 2003. Within 4 years of its inception, it had sold one million cars. To celebrate, eBay Motors refunded the purchase price to the new owner of a Honda Odyssey as a gift.

Autotrader.com seeks to be the ultimate solution in buying and selling certified, new and used cars. Serving customers for over 18 years, Autotrader.com provides a large selection of automobiles from both nationwide and local dealers and private sellers. The company also provides friendly customer service and tons of valuable research and comparison tools, reviews, and help with financing, warranties, and car insurance. Autotrader.com provides car search and membership services completely free of charge.