What CarGurus Will Actually Remove — and What It Won’t
A genuine, if harsh, review from a real customer who contacted you through CarGurus stays up. Here’s what does qualify for removal, and how the dispute process actually works.
Yes, in specific cases — CarGurus removes reviews that violate its content guidelines (accusations of criminal conduct, profanity, personal attacks or discriminatory language, exposed personal information, reviews about the wrong dealership, or comments that are only about CarGurus and not the dealership) and reviews it determines, in its sole discretion, to be false or fraudulent. CarGurus has stated it will not remove a negative review simply because a dealership advertises on the platform.
What qualifies for removal
- The review contains accusations of criminal conduct
- The review contains profanity, personal attacks, or discriminatory language
- The review exposes personal information such as full names, initials, or financial/credit details
- The review is about a different dealership than the one it’s posted under
- The review only addresses the shopper’s experience with CarGurus itself, not the dealership
- CarGurus determines the review is false, fraudulent, or not based on a genuine interaction with the dealership
Frequently asked questions
A dealership disputes a review through its CarGurus dealer account when it believes the review is fraudulent, and must submit evidence supporting that claim — CarGurus reviews the evidence and decides whether the review violates its policies.
CarGurus screens review submissions and typically publishes legitimate reviews within about 1–2 business days; dispute decisions can take longer when a case requires more evidence to review.
CarGurus’s stated position is that it will not remove a negative review simply because a dealer advertises on the platform, and that dealers found to have participated — directly or indirectly — in submitting fraudulent reviews themselves face warnings and potential damage to their own standing on the site. Disputes are strongest when they include genuine evidence, not repeated flagging of the same review.