Worse Company I ever worked for - Anonymous employee Autotrader Employee Review

2.0
Sep 6, 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company OVERALL is an OK place to work - depending on who you are.

Cons

Worse company "I" have ever worked for. I worked in the HR department and there is a lot of turnover and discord in the department starting with incompetence at the leadership level. AutoTrader started as a very small company and then grew over time. The individuals who started the organization as a vision from Cox all knew one another and everyone was promoted up the ranks extremely fast so there is an expectancy of promotion mentality. In addition, because of how the company came together and grew, it is EXTREMELY relationship based so everyone talks and things spread about your reputation (good or bad) sometimes to top leadership. There is disparity in promotion and in a particular department where most individuals are African American, they are barely represented in managment. If you're the type of person who likes to go into an organization and manage relationships with no particular skill set just to move up, this organization may be just the place for you...... It is the worse environment I ever worked in my entire professional career. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Explore other reviews about Autotrader

5.0
Jun 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great company to work at. excellent benefits and leadership. Lots of things to do and they like to promote from within

Cons

once you max out in your pay range you have to switch jobs in order to get anymore raises

3.0
Sep 12, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Generally the benefits are good, but are declining. The head of CoxEnterprises believes in employee empowerment and benefits. The values of CEI are wonderful and the reason I stay.

Cons

Current leadership over AutoTrader (CAI) prioritizes profits over all else so we have reorganizations every year or so making it an unstable environment. The company is now run by Finance and HR, so you can imagine the culture.

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