# Cars & Bids Auction Scraper (`lulzasaur/carsandbids-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Cars & Bids enthusiast car auctions, live and sold. Per-lot: year/make/model, current bid or final sale price, mileage, transmission, location, seller, end date, image, and optional bid/comment/view counts. Search by keyword or browse live & past auctions.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/carsandbids-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Cars & Bids Auction Scraper

Scrape enthusiast car auctions from [Cars & Bids](https://carsandbids.com) — modern cool cars, trucks, and SUVs. Get **live auctions** with current bids and **sold/closed auctions** with final realized prices, perfect for market research, price comps, valuation, and resale arbitrage.

This Actor talks directly to the Cars & Bids JSON API (reverse-engineered from the site's own front end), so it's fast and returns clean structured data — no flaky HTML scraping.

### What you get

Per auction lot:

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `title` | Full listing title, e.g. "2014 Porsche 911 Carrera S" |
| `year`, `make`, `model` | Parsed out of the title |
| `subTitle` | Trim / spec summary |
| `status` | `live`, `sold`, `closed` (reserve not met), etc. |
| `isSold` | Boolean — did it sell? |
| `currentBid` | Current high bid (live auctions) |
| `saleAmount` | Final sale price (sold auctions) |
| `finalPrice` | Convenience: sale price if sold, else current bid |
| `noReserve` | No-reserve auction flag |
| `mileage` / `mileageText` | Numeric miles + original text |
| `transmission` | Automatic / Manual / Other |
| `location` | Seller city, state, ZIP |
| `sellerUsername` | Seller handle |
| `auctionEnd` | ISO end timestamp |
| `bidCount`, `commentCount`, `questionCount`, `watcherCount`, `viewCount` | Engagement stats (when **Scrape Detail Stats** is on) |
| `hasInspection`, `isNotable`, `featured` | Listing flags |
| `imageUrl` | Main exterior photo |
| `listingUrl` | Link to the auction page |
| `scrapedAt` | ISO timestamp of capture |

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `searchQueries` | array | Keywords, e.g. `["Porsche 911", "BMW M3"]`. Each runs separately; results merged & de-duplicated. Empty = browse all. |
| `status` | string | `live`, `closed` (sold/ended, with final prices), or `new` (upcoming). |
| `includeSold` | boolean | Shortcut for `status = closed`. |
| `scrapeDetails` | boolean | Fetch each auction's detail page for bid/comment/view counts (slower). |
| `maxResults` | integer | Max records across all queries. `0` = all. Default 100. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | Defaults to Apify datacenter proxy. Switch to **residential** if blocked. |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "searchQueries": ["Porsche 911", "Toyota Supra"],
  "status": "closed",
  "includeSold": true,
  "scrapeDetails": true,
  "maxResults": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }
}
```

### Example output

```json
{
  "id": "KPmOw6eq",
  "title": "2025 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe",
  "year": 2025,
  "make": "Porsche",
  "model": "911 Carrera Coupe",
  "status": "sold",
  "isSold": true,
  "currentBid": 142000,
  "saleAmount": 142000,
  "finalPrice": 142000,
  "noReserve": false,
  "mileage": 1200,
  "mileageText": "1,200 Miles",
  "transmission": "Automatic",
  "location": "Sunnyvale, CA 94087",
  "sellerUsername": "apbcars",
  "auctionEnd": "2026-06-24T19:22:18.789+00:00",
  "bidCount": 34,
  "commentCount": 58,
  "watcherCount": 612,
  "viewCount": 18450,
  "imageUrl": "https://media.carsandbids.com/.../photo.jpg",
  "listingUrl": "https://carsandbids.com/auctions/KPmOw6eq",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-24T19:30:00.000Z"
}
```

### Use cases

- **Price comps & valuation** — pull sold prices for a make/model to value a car.
- **Resale arbitrage** — spot under-bid live auctions vs. recent sold comps.
- **Market research** — track demand (bids, comments, watchers, views) by model.
- **Dealer sourcing** — monitor live no-reserve listings.

### Notes

- Cars & Bids is behind Cloudflare. This Actor uses realistic browser headers and the site's own request-signing flow. Datacenter proxy usually works; if a run is blocked, switch the proxy to **residential** in the input.
- The search/browse endpoint returns a full result set per query (no deep pagination), so `maxResults` caps how many records are stored.
- Pricing is **pay per result** — you're charged per auction record returned.

***

*Not affiliated with Cars & Bids. For research and analytics use. Respect the site's terms of service.*

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Keywords to search Cars & Bids for, e.g. 'Porsche 911', 'BMW M3', 'Toyota Supra'. Each query is run separately and results are merged & de-duplicated. Leave empty to browse all auctions (no keyword filter).

## `status` (type: `string`):

Which auctions to fetch. 'live' = currently running, 'closed' = ended (sold + reserve-not-met) with final sale prices, 'new' = upcoming. Leave on default to fetch the standard live/featured set.

## `includeSold` (type: `boolean`):

Shortcut for status = 'closed'. When enabled, fetches ended auctions with final sale prices (great for comps / market research). Ignored if Auction Status is set explicitly.

## `scrapeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch each auction's detail page to enrich records with bid count, comment count, question count, watcher count, and view count. Adds one request per auction (slower).

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of auction records to return (across all queries). Use 0 to return ALL matching auctions. Default 100.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. Cars & Bids is behind Cloudflare; Apify datacenter proxy usually works. If a run gets blocked (403 / 'Just a moment'), switch to RESIDENTIAL proxy here.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "Porsche 911"
  ],
  "status": "",
  "includeSold": false,
  "scrapeDetails": false,
  "maxResults": 100,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "Porsche 911"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/carsandbids-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "searchQueries": ["Porsche 911"],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/carsandbids-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "Porsche 911"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/carsandbids-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=lulzasaur/carsandbids-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/FvCczxwCWHfOHBEYl/builds/4SQiHdUTh9i4lczIr/openapi.json