CarGurus Rating Calculator
Enter your current CarGurus rating, review count, and target rating to see how many new 5-star reviews it takes to get there.
New CarGurus reviews needed to go from 3.8★ to 4.5★
This platform uses a weighted rating calculation, not a simple average — treat this number as a rough estimate, not an exact target.
CarGurus's rating isn’t a simple average — treat this as a directional estimate. See how CarGurus's rating actually works or CarGurus review management.
What actually moves a CarGurus dealer rating
A CarGurus review isn’t something a shopper can leave whenever they like. Eligibility is lead-gated: only a shopper who contacted the dealership through CarGurus — using the listing’s contact form or clicking the on-page dealer phone number — becomes eligible for a review invite. CarGurus itself then sends up to two invite emails, starting about a week after that first contact, and the shopper has to verify their contact information before the review posts.
CarGurus does not publish the exact formula behind a dealer’s overall rating, but it does state that reviews older than two years are excluded from that calculation, even though they remain visible on the dealer’s profile. That means the number can move over time with no new customer activity at all, simply because older reviews age out of the window — a rating built on a review base from a few years ago will keep drifting even without a single new negative experience.
- Lead-gated eligibility — only shoppers who contacted the dealership through CarGurus (listing contact form or on-page phone number) are eligible to review it.
- Platform-controlled invitations — CarGurus, not the dealer, sends up to two review-invite emails, starting about a week after that first contact.
- A rolling two-year window — reviews older than two years drop out of the rating calculation entirely, even though they stay visible on the profile.
- Content and fraud screening — submissions are checked against CarGurus’s content guidelines before publishing, and reviews CarGurus determines to be fraudulent are excluded from the count.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this calculator for CarGurus?
CarGurus's rating isn't a simple average — it factors in things beyond raw review count, so treat the number here as a directional estimate rather than an exact target. See "What actually moves a CarGurus dealer rating" below for what actually moves it.
Does review volume alone move my CarGurus rating?
Lead-gated eligibility — only shoppers who contacted the dealership through CarGurus (listing contact form or on-page phone number) are eligible to review it.
Where can I see more on how CarGurus's rating works?
See our full breakdown of CarGurus's rating mechanics, or go straight to CarGurus review management if you'd rather have this handled for you.