New Lead Source Report Cards show only 2 of 12 major providers beat the 4.5% average close rate, while referrals and repeat customers close at more than 34%.
AutoRaptor, all-in-one dealership platform bringing CRM, AI, integrated desking, and digital retail together for independent dealerships, today released its Lead Source Report Cards, a public benchmark of the best automotive lead providers ranked by real close rates. The study covers 900,037 leads at 316 independent dealerships and shows which of 12 major lead sources actually turn shoppers into sales.
Dealers spend thousands each month on third-party lead providers, yet most judge them by lead volume or cost per lead. AutoRaptor's report measures what matters most: how many of those leads become sold vehicles. Across all sources in the sample, leads closed at 4.5%.
Key Findings
Only two providers beat the average: Carsforsale.com led at 7.0%, followed by Dealer Car Search at 4.8%.
Volume is not quality: CarGurus sent the most leads (382,074, about 167 per dealer per month) but closed at 2.4%.
Big marketplaces cluster at or below 3.5%: Capital One closed at 3.5%, Autotrader 3.0%, Edmunds 2.5%, CARFAX 2.2% and Cars.com 2.1%.
Social and newer channels trail: OfferUp closed at 1.3%, TrueCar 1.2%, and Facebook and CarZing 1.0% each.
A dealer's own channels win by far: Referrals closed at 35.2%, repeat customers 34.4%, walk-ins 27.9% and phone leads 12.6%.
The report also includes 23 head-to-head comparisons, such as Autotrader vs. CarGurus and Cars.com vs. Autotrader. Each comparison uses only dealerships that work with both providers, so the same sales team handles both lead sources.
Methodology
Data comes from 316 independent dealerships that allow their anonymized CRM activity to be used for research. Leads were received between July 2025 and June 2026, and a lead counts as sold if it closed within 90 days. The figures benchmark lead sources; they do not measure AutoRaptor's performance or any single dealership's results.
"Dealers ask us every week which lead providers are worth the money, and the honest answer has always been 'it depends,'" said Jami Ribeiro, Head of Customer Success at AutoRaptor. "With close rates from more than 900,000 real leads, dealers can now see which sources sell cars and which just fill the inbox. The clearest lesson: no paid provider comes close to a customer who already knows your dealership."
The full Lead Source Report Cards, including all 12 provider rankings and 23 head-to-head comparisons, are free at autoraptor.com/lead-sources. Journalists, analysts and industry presenters may cite the data with credit and a link to AutoRaptor; ready-made citation blocks are on the page.
Dealers who want to see the close rates of their own lead sources, tracked from first contact to sale, can book a demo of AutoRaptor's CRM.
About AutoRaptor
AutoRaptor is an all-in-one dealership platform bringing CRM, AI, integrated desking, and digital retail together for independent dealerships who want one platform, one bill, and one partner. Learn more at autoraptor.com.
