If you're opening a new independent lot in North Carolina - or you've been at this for years and want to know if your money is going to the right places - this is a practical breakdown of your main options. Each platform works differently, costs differently, and reaches a different type of buyer.
A ten-car lot in Hickory has different needs than a 90-car lot in Raleigh. What works for one dealer won't work for another (well, except for UsedNC.com 😉)
AutoTrader
AutoTrader is probably the most recognizable brand name in used car listings. If you were a kid flipping through the AutoTrader paper magazine and circling the cars you'd buy when you finally got your license, you already know the brand. That recognition matters - a lot of buyers default to AutoTrader simply because it's the name they've known the longest.
AutoTrader is owned by Cox Automotive, which also owns Manheim - the largest wholesale auto auction network in the country - and Kelley Blue Book. That's a lot of the industry under one roof, and it shows in how connected their data and tools are across platforms.
Buyers who land on AutoTrader are typically further along in the process - they're searching with intent, not just browsing. Dealer plans run roughly $1,500 to $2,800 per month depending on tier and market, with custom pricing above that for top-tier placement.
CarGurus
CarGurus launched more recently than the other nationals but came out of the gate strong and built a large audience fast. They market themselves as the number one most visited car shopping site, and whether or not that holds on any given day, the traffic is real.
The feature that sets CarGurus apart is the deal rating badge. Listings get labeled as a Great Deal, Good Deal, Fair Deal, or overpriced based on how your asking price compares to similar vehicles in the market. A "Great Deal" badge does the first part of the sales conversation for you.
One independent study found that vehicles on CarGurus sell 16% faster than those on AutoTrader and 22% faster than those on Cars.com. In a business where a car sitting an extra 30 days costs you real money in floorplan interest, that speed matters.
There is a restricted plan starting around $400, but it limits contact information visibility to the point where buyers can't easily reach you - most dealers who try it move up quickly. A functional listing runs $800 to $2,000 per month depending on tier and market.
Cars.com
Cars.com is one of the original online automotive listing platforms and still pulls consistent traffic. Their pitch leans on editorial content - expert reviews, buying guides, comparison tools - which attracts buyers earlier in the research process rather than buyers who already know what they want.
In 2025 they launched an AI-powered search assistant called Carson built into their listing pages. Whether that produces real results for independent dealers is an open question, but the platform is actively investing in the product. Plans run roughly $500 to $2,500 per month depending on inventory size and tier.
Carfax
Most people know Carfax from the vehicle history reports - the ones buyers run before making a purchase to check for accidents, title issues, and ownership history. What a lot of dealers don't realize until they're in the business is that Carfax also runs a used car listing platform.
Every listing on Carfax.com comes with the Carfax report attached. Buyers shopping there have already decided they want transparency - they're not going to skip the history report. Listings also carry Carfax badges for things like one-owner history, which gives buyers a quick trust signal at a glance. Research from Carfax puts the share of shoppers who prefer buying from a Carfax Advantage dealer at 80% - whether you weight that heavily or not, the badge does reduce friction early in the conversation.
The Carfax Advantage plan runs around $999/month for unlimited reports and badging, with the used car listings adding roughly another $899/month on top of that.
The KGI Network - Built for NC Independent Dealers
The KGI Network is a group of used car listing sites built specifically for independent dealers in North Carolina. The network includes UsedNC.com (statewide), plus area code sites covering each region of the state - 704usedcars.com (Charlotte metro), 919usedcars.com (Triangle), 336usedcars.com (Triad), 828usedcars.com (Western NC), 910usedcars.com (Cape Fear), and 252usedcars.com (Eastern NC) - along with CarDealersNC.com.
Dealers subscribe at a flat monthly rate and their full inventory goes live across all three relevant sites: the statewide site, the area code site for their region, and CarDealersNC.com. Inventory syncs automatically from most major dealer management systems - Frazer, DealerCenter, CarsForSale.com, DealerCarSearch, and others - so there's no manual posting.
There is no paid placement on any KGI Network site. Every independent dealer gets the same visibility regardless of lot size or subscription tier. Buyers contact dealers directly - no lead form, no middleman.
The sites are built around North Carolina buyers specifically, with lifestyle-based vehicle matching, buyer guides that show live local inventory, and AI-powered search that understands plain language. The traffic is smaller than the nationals, but it's local and it's pointed specifically at independent dealers.
At $29/month - or $288 for the full year - it's a different conversation than the platforms above.
Used Car Dealer Internet Advertising Prices for Listing Sites
Here's what each platform actually costs a car dealer per month and per year. These prices were sourced online through a variety of sites and message boards. Pricing may not be exact for you and your dealership. For true pricing contact the respective automotive marketplace sites.
| Platform | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | Geographic Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| AutoTrader | $1,500 - $2,800 | $18,000 - $33,600 | National |
| Cars.com | $500 - $2,500 | $6,000 - $30,000 | National |
| Carfax Listings | ~$1,900 | ~$22,800 | National |
| CarGurus | $400 - $2,000 | $4,800 - $24,000 | National |
| CarsForSale.com | $99 | $1,188 | National |
| Facebook Marketplace | Free - $5 per listing | Varies | Local |
| Craigslist | Free - $5 per listing | Varies | Local |
| UsedNC.com | $24 - $29 | $288 | North Carolina only |
The contrast speaks for itself. A North Carolina dealer running a full package on a national site can spend over $25,000 a year competing with new car dealers spending triple that. This is why you need BOTH! List every vehicle on UsedNC.com for $288 a year and reach local buyers through independent dealers only sites.
Bigger platforms aren't "bad" by any means. They reach more eyeballs with more advertising and Super Bowl Ads. But for small and mid-size independent lots in cities like Hickory, Statesville, Greensboro, or Fayetteville, those lead-to-sale economics are harder to justify with a five-figure annual spend. A local buyer who found your Jeep on a site called Used NC already trusts the premise before they click.
Posting Sites: Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist
Most dealers have a love-hate relationship with these two, and for good reason.
The upside is the cost. Facebook Marketplace is free. Craigslist charges $5 per vehicle listing. When you do get a sale from either one, the return on that spend is hard to argue with.
The downside is the work. Unlike the platforms above, there are no automated inventory feeds for most dealers on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. You're posting vehicles individually, which takes time - and if you're running a lot with 20 or 30 vehicles, that time adds up fast.
The leads also take more filtering. It's not unusual for a Facebook Marketplace listing to generate a dozen messages and have most of them be "is this still available?" or an immediate cash offer well below asking. That's the nature of the audience. The buyers are local, which is good. But you're going to do more work per lead compared to a buyer who found you on CarGurus or AutoTrader.
Craigslist has a similar dynamic - local reach, low cost, higher noise. Listings also expire on Craigslist, so you'll be reposting regularly. Some third-party tools handle Craigslist posting for dealers automatically, which cuts down the manual work if you plan to use it consistently.
Both platforms are worth using, especially when you're starting out and watching every dollar. Just go in knowing what they are: high-effort, low-cost channels that reward dealers who stay on top of them.
CarsForSale.com
CarsForSale.com is worth knowing about, though most independent dealers who sign up do so for the dealer tools rather than the listing site itself. At $99/month they include a dealer website, inventory management, and a handful of other tools that are genuinely useful for a lot running lean on software. The listing site exists and your vehicles will be on it, but don't expect it to be a primary lead source. Think of it as a tool subscription that happens to include listings - not a listings platform that happens to include tools.
Autostoday - A Note of Caution
Autostoday is actively making a push at the national level. Their model is to scrape vehicle inventory from dealer websites across the country and then contact those dealers to sell them on a paid listing. The quoted price to at least one dealer we work with was $299/month.
We tested their lead system on a dealer they had scraped but did not have as a paying customer. The lead we submitted never reached the dealership. The test email we received listed a different dealership as the point of contact entirely.
That's a hard no from us. Your vehicles are already on their site - they scraped them - and the leads generated from those listings are not going to you. We do not recommend Autostoday.
How to Think About Your Listing Mix
Most dealers end up on more than one platform. The question is which ones to prioritize given your budget, your inventory size, and where you are right now.
A practical starting point for a new independent lot: begin with the low-cost channels. Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and the KGI Network get your inventory visible without a large monthly commitment. If you're already using CarsForSale.com for the dealer tools, your listings are there too at no extra cost. Use the first few months to track which platforms are actually producing buyers for your specific inventory type and price range.
As cash flow stabilizes, add platforms based on what your numbers support. CarGurus tends to be where most independent dealers go first among the nationals, given the deal-rating system and the lead velocity data. AutoTrader and Cars.com make more sense once you have the inventory volume to justify the spend. Carfax is worth a look if clean-history vehicles are a regular part of what you're selling.
The dealers who burn money on listing platforms are usually the ones who jump straight to national subscriptions before they have the inventory to justify the spend - or who pay for multiple platforms at once without tracking which ones are working.
Start lean. Add when your numbers tell you to.
KGI Solutions has worked with North Carolina independent used car dealers for over twenty years. Questions about listing options or the KGI Network? Contact us directly.
