CarGurus, the US car shopping and research website founded by a co-founder of TripAdvisor, has announced its UK launch.

CarGurus UK (http://cargurus.co.uk), is the company’s first European site allowing users to see how car listings compare in their local marketplace, helping them find the best deals from rated dealers.

CarGurus was founded in 2007 by Langley Steinert, co-founder of TripAdvisor, to bring transparency to the car shopping process.

It is now the second largest car shopping website in the United States, with more than 15.5 million unique users each month and a network of more than 11,000 dealerships.  The company expanded into Canada in 2014.

“CarGurus has grown quickly and consistently based on a unique model that delivers for automotive shoppers and dealers alike,” said Steinert.

“We have seen in the United States that when the car shopping process is transparent, everybody benefits. 

“We believe that the UK automotive marketplace is seeking just this kind of transparency, and shoppers will appreciate the evolution that CarGurus brings to the region.”

At launch, CarGurus offers UK shoppers a view to more than 200,000 regional car listings which places the site among the top four largest UK used car shopping websites by inventory.

The site and mobile app are free for consumers, and organic search rankings are data-driven and thus unbiased.

As in the US, UK dealerships can list their stock on CarGurus at no cost, with options to buy additional advertising packages.

Currently, the CarGurus UK includes stock from more than 3,500 dealerships.

How CarGurus works

With every car search a user conducts on CarGurus the site ranks results according to which offer is the best deal and qualifies each deal as ‘great’, ‘good’, ‘fair’, or ‘overpriced’.

Rankings and deal ratings are determined by mathematical models which factor an instant market value (IMV) for each car as well as dealership ratings submitted by the CarGurus’ shopper community.

IMV assessments take into account variables including year, make, model, trim, options, mileage, location and vehicle history.