Everybody wrote Craigslist off and the cars are still there
Ask a room of dealers about Craigslist and half of them will tell you nobody uses it anymore. We count it every night.
What we counted
Cars listed by owner on Craigslist, counted around real dealership addresses.
| Where | Cars listed by owner | When |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Chicago-area dealerships | 255 to 1,020 within 25 miles of each | October 26, 2026 |
| 9 Cleveland, Akron and Toledo dealerships | 81 to 221 within 25 miles of each | October 27, 2026 |
| 31 Craigslist market feeds, one overnight run | 2,760 cars pulled | August 18, 2026 |
The two dealership rows count cars priced $2,000 to $75,000 with under 250,000 miles. Distances run from each ZIP code's center, so the radius is approximate.
Why Craigslist is worth a buyer's time
A Craigslist car post has fields for the odometer, the title status and the VIN, and plenty of sellers fill them in. That is half the first phone call already done.
And because most stores stopped looking, the seller with a clean trade-in-quality car often hears from nobody but the people trying to steal it.
- Pull the dealers out. Craigslist has dealers posting as owners too.
- Read the photos. Rust, glass, dash lights, panels, before anyone drives.
- Call early. Work the overnight list first thing, before the seller has heard from anybody.
What Auto Oracle does with Craigslist
Every night we read the private-seller ads around your store, pull out the dealers posing as private sellers, grade every car off its own photos, and put the ones worth a call on your board before you open. Craigslist, Marketplace and Kijiji cars all land on the same board, so your buyer works one list.
$595 a month per location. The messaging agent is $395 a month more. Month to month, cancel anytime.
Book a demo See real cars we read
More for buyers: Buying off Marketplace Kijiji for Canada Buying off the street
Questions dealers ask
Do people still sell cars on Craigslist?
Yes. On October 26, 2026 we counted between 255 and 1,020 cars listed by owner within 25 miles of each of 16 Chicago-area dealerships we checked.
Does Auto Oracle read Craigslist ads?
Yes. Craigslist cars land on the same board as Marketplace and Kijiji cars, with the dealers pulled out and the photos read.
Does the messaging agent text Craigslist sellers?
No. The agent works Marketplace and Kijiji. Your buyer works Craigslist sellers off the board directly.