Looking for a new car can be a real pain. Even with the help of the internet, searching through various car databases for a new or used vehicle can be a hassle. It is especially hard to narrow down a selection of vehicles close to home, and no one wants to travel across the country just to pick up a new car. As they would say in the tech world though, “there is an app for that”.

Unfortunately, we’re not talking about an app that will drive your new car across the country for you, but there is an app to help you locate a new or used vehicle if you have an iPhone or an Android smartphone.

The Motors.co.uk Car Search app allows iPhone and Android users to browse, through a selection of up to 160,000 motor vehicles, in order to find the right fit.

The Motors.co.uk Car Search App For iPhone & Android

The Car Search app is a companion to the full Motors.co.uk site. If you are not already aware, Motors.co.uk is essentially an alternative to Auto Trader, and if you do not know what Auto Trader is, then we can not help you.

Just kidding, Auto Trader is a premiere website that allows users to browse a database of new and used vehicles for sale. Motors.co.uk does the same thing, albeit in a much simpler design and with a smaller selection of vehicles.

The Motors.co.uk app allows users to search for vehicles by entering a postcode, after which they can browse through sales listings using various filters like distance of the seller, vehicle make or model, and price.

A few of the prominent features on the full site are not available on the mobile app, but that does not make it any less useful. A few things that the mobile app will not do is give insurance quotes, save the users postcode, or filter by number of car doors. The biggest pet peeve we had with the app is that it does require you to enter a postcode every time you perform a search or use the app, which means the information is not saved, and this can get annoying.

Motors.co.uk Car Search App Review

The Car Search app is an excellent way to search for vehicles while on the go. Of course, if you’re near a computer there’s no reason why you wouldn’t just use the full site, so for the purpose of this review, we’re going to assume you’re using it to pass some time.

We noticed some complaints in the review section that the app would always return an empty search result listing, but we didn’t run into this problem while using it. As long as you keep the search results clear, and within the confines of what the app can search for, it works pretty well.

Motors.co.uk is no Auto Trader, which means that there are significantly less vehicles to choose from, so keep that in mind, and make sure to use this app in conjunction with other vehicle database websites. Don’t rely on Motors.co.uk as your only resource.

Unfortunately, the mobile app does not provide any custom search results settings, which means you can not choose the display font and size, or how many cars show up in the search results. This can be a bit disconcerting when the screen font is too small, and when there are lots of vehicles found; if the search results are long users must utilize navigation buttons to travel through the pages, it’s not a Herculean hassle but the loading times can get aggravating.

Of course, the app can seem inadequate when we’re merely listing the negative aspects but don’t underestimate it. The Motors.co.uk Car Search app works as advertised and will help you find a selection of vehicles that can be filtered down to show exactly what you need.

The search results display a quick rundown of each vehicle by including make, model, price, mileage, manufacture date, transmission type (manual, automatic), fuel required, color, and of course the distance away from your postcode. When selecting a vehicle profile, you can review even more detailed information about what the vehicle includes as well as browse alternate images.

If you decide you like a vehicle you can inquire directly through the app by emailing or calling for more information. If you happen to know someone looking for a vehicle, you can even share the auto listing socially.

The app also allows you to create custom shortlists, which works as a favorites menu, and you can save vehicle listings under custom categories for organization. For instance if you’re looking at a bunch of BMWs, you can save your favorite listings under a “BMW” shortlist for quick access at a later time.

Motors.co.uk Car Search App Available Now

The Motors.co.uk Car Search app is currently available for iPhone and Android users. Both the website, and the application are free of charge and anyone interested in searching for, or selling, a vehicle can sign up.

The Android version of the mobile app can be found in the Google Play market, while the iPhone version can be found in iTunes or the Apple app store.