CarGurus Dealer Reviews: A Guide for Dealerships

By the Expert Reputation team · Updated September 30, 2026

CarGurus dealer reviews come from shoppers CarGurus itself invites after they contact your dealership through the site, which makes them harder to fake and harder to "manage" than reviews on open sites. You can't delete them, but you can respond to every one and challenge reviews you believe are fraudulent, with evidence.

Who CarGurus reviews matter to

CarGurus is a car-shopping marketplace, and its dealer reviews sit beside your listings where shoppers compare cars and dealers. Reviews are about the shopping experience: how quickly you answered, whether the listing was accurate, the condition of the car at the test drive, and how your staff treated the shopper.

Repair shops, body shops and detailers: CarGurus reviews are dealership reviews tied to shoppers who contacted a dealer through CarGurus. Its review documentation says nothing about independent repair shops, collision centers or detailers, and nothing we found suggests they can collect CarGurus reviews. If that's your business, CarGurus isn't the place to build your reputation; put that effort into Google, Yelp and other general review sites. CarGurus's review criteria focus on the car-shopping experience, so if you want service-lane feedback, look to DealerRater and Cars.com.

How CarGurus collects dealer reviews

Unlike Google or Yelp, most CarGurus reviewers don't find your page and decide to write something. CarGurus invites them:

• Online shoppers: a shopper must first submit a phone or email lead to your dealership through CarGurus. CarGurus then sends up to two review invitations, beginning about a week after the first contact. The reviewer has to verify an email address or phone number before writing.
• In-person shoppers: CarGurus says shoppers who deal with you in person "may have the opportunity to submit a review in-store."

Reviews use a 1-to-5-star scale with written comments. CarGurus screens every review and typically posts approved reviews within one to two business days. If a review doesn't meet its guidelines, CarGurus invites the shopper to revise and resubmit it, and it may ask a reviewer to add detail.

How your CarGurus rating works

Reviews older than two years stay visible but are not included when CarGurus calculates your overall dealer rating. Your recent performance is what counts. And because online invitations go only to shoppers who contacted you through CarGurus, the number of reviews you can receive there is tied to how many CarGurus shoppers you deal with.

What CarGurus won't publish

CarGurus lists content it cannot publish in a review:

The right-hand column is our reading of what the guidelines allow, not CarGurus wording. Because CarGurus screens reviews before posting, reviews that break these rules are supposed to be caught before they appear.

How to earn more (and better) CarGurus reviews

CarGurus controls the invitations, so your biggest levers are the things its reviewers are asked about:

• Respond to CarGurus leads fast. Communication and responsiveness are among the first things CarGurus asks reviewers to consider.
• Keep listings accurate. Listing accuracy, including the vehicle's described condition, is part of the review.
• Have the car ready. Reviewers are asked whether the car was clean and ready for the test drive.
• Be accommodating on-site. Staff friendliness and whether the shopper would recommend you round out the review.

What not to do:

• Don't offer money or perks for reviews. CarGurus "strongly discourages" financial incentives or pressuring consumers to leave a review. Under the FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, offering incentives conditioned on a positive review is illegal (16 CFR § 465.4).
• Don't post reviews yourself or through staff, friends or vendors. CarGurus has a zero-tolerance policy for fraudulent reviews. Dealers found to have directly or indirectly taken part face consequences including removal of reviews, disqualification from Top Rated Dealer, restrictions on receiving additional reviews, and other harm to their reputation on CarGurus. Fake reviews also violate 16 CFR § 465.2.
• Don't pressure unhappy shoppers. Pressuring for a specific rating is also rating manipulation under Google's review policy, so the habit hurts you everywhere.

How to respond to CarGurus reviews

If you have a CarGurus dealer account, CarGurus notifies you shortly after a shopper submits a review, and you can respond directly or challenge it as fraudulent. CarGurus says the response tools are available to any dealership with inventory on the site, whether or not it has a business relationship with CarGurus.

Your response is published just below the review. CarGurus's own advice: make sure it is "fit for public consumption and not aimed at the reviewer alone." Write for the next shopper reading it, not just the reviewer.

Example reply to a negative review about a listing:

Thank you for the feedback, [First Name]. You're right that the listing should have shown the [feature] correctly before you drove in, and we've corrected it. I'd welcome the chance to make your trip worth it. Please call me at [Phone]. [Name], Internet Sales Manager, [Dealership Name]

Example reply to a positive review:

Thanks, [First Name]! We're glad the [Model] was exactly as described and ready when you arrived. Enjoy the new ride. [Dealership Name]

Don't use the customer's last name or deal details in your reply, don't argue, and don't threaten legal action: 16 CFR § 465.7 makes it illegal to use groundless legal threats, intimidation or knowingly false public accusations to prevent or remove a negative review. More: how to respond to negative reviews.

How to challenge a CarGurus review

When you get the review notification, you can challenge a review as fraudulent instead of (or as well as) responding. What to expect:

1. Use the challenge option. CarGurus's review notification invites you to respond or to challenge the review as fraudulent.
2. Be ready to prove it. CarGurus "may ask for evidence to support any claim that a review is fraudulent or otherwise invalid." Evidence might include records showing the reviewer never contacted or visited you, or that the review describes another dealership.
3. Point to the specific rule broken. Reviews that accuse staff of crimes, name people, include credit information, use profanity or discriminatory language, or are really about CarGurus rather than your dealership don't meet its guidelines.

CarGurus is explicit that it will not remove negative reviews simply because a dealership advertises with it. It doesn't publish a turnaround time or a formal appeal process for dealers, and no one can guarantee a challenged review will be removed.

If your challenge doesn't succeed

• Post a calm public response so shoppers see your side.
• Fix the underlying issue (listing accuracy, lead response time, vehicle prep) so future reviews reflect it.
• Remember the two-year window: a review older than two years stops counting toward your rating.
• If someone offers to remove CarGurus reviews for a fee, or threatens negative reviews unless you pay, don't engage. See review removal scams and extortion.

Common CarGurus mistakes

• Slow lead response. It's one of the first things reviewers are asked about.
• Stale or inaccurate listings. A mismatch between listing and lot is an easy negative review.
• Challenging reviews without evidence. CarGurus may ask for it.
• Treating CarGurus as a place to "get reviews" for a repair or body shop. It doesn't work that way.
• Replies written only to the reviewer. Shoppers are the real audience.
• Using staff names or customer details in replies. CarGurus doesn't publish reviewers' last names or credit information, so keep your replies just as discreet.
• Offering a discount if the shopper changes their review. That's an incentive tied to sentiment, which the FTC rule prohibits, and Google's policy separately bans incentives for revising or removing a negative review.