CarTrader New Zealand

Code of Trading

Trust sits at the heart of every deal on CarTrader — whether it's a dealer sourcing wholesale stock, or someone buying or selling their own car through our buyer-advocate service. Before any dealer joins our network, they agree to the standards below.

Our commitment to you

We disclose our fees plainly. On the wholesale side, we charge a flat success fee only when a deal completes — never a fee for browsing, listing, or receiving offers. On the buyer-advocate side, dealers pay a fixed, uniform success fee when a sale originates from a CarTrader introduction — the same rate for every dealer, every time, so no dealer can pay for preferential treatment.
Every vehicle on CarTrader carries the same standardised AI condition report, generated the same way regardless of who's selling — so buyers and dealers are working from the same facts.
We separate advice from inventory. Our buyer-advocate guidance is never influenced by which dealer pays us the most — the success fee is fixed and uniform, so there's no financial reason to steer you toward one dealer over another.

What we expect from dealers on our platform

Honest, accurate vehicle information — no undisclosed damage, no misrepresented history or odometer readings.
Fair, genuine pricing — offers should reflect real value, not deliberate lowballing or bait-and-switch tactics after the fact.
Once CarTrader has introduced a buyer and a dealer for a specific vehicle, that conversation and any resulting deal stays on CarTrader — dealers agree not to take the buyer off-platform to avoid the success fee.
Prompt, respectful communication — no pressure tactics, no ignoring buyers who've made contact in good faith.
Acting legally and ethically in every transaction.

Disputes

If something doesn't go to plan, we expect everyone — buyers, sellers, and dealers — to engage honestly and in good faith to resolve it.

Dispute process link coming soon.

This Code applies to every dealer, buyer, and seller using CarTrader, on both the wholesale marketplace and the buyer-advocate service.