To get live API access, your integration must pass certain tests. This will make sure that it meets our technical standards and best practices.
For each capability, the tests cover Essential and Enhanced functionalities. Your integration must pass at least one of the Essential functionality tests to get live access.
We recommend using the Enhanced functionalities to allow dealers to get the full benefits of the service.
We'll cover the tests for the following functionalities:
- Retrieve advert details (Essential)
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- Filter the results (Essential)
- Sorting of results (Enhanced)
- Faceting to return a list of results (Enhanced)
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- Retrieve feature details (Enhanced)
- Retrieve charge time data (Enhanced)
There are three ways we check that tests are successful:
- Demonstration - We will expect you to show us your code or your UI
- Call log validation - We will check your API calls to our service to make sure the call is made correctly
- Database check - We will check our database to see whether the correct attribute has been updated
Retrieve advert details (Essential)
With the Search capability on AT Connect, you are able to use the Search API to search for adverts on Auto Trader.
| Test | How we'll check it |
| Able to access the Search API, and return results to the user | Call log validation and demonstration |
| Pagination is used on Search API calls, using page and pageSize parameters to paginate through results | Call log validation |
| Able to return a single stock record using the stockId or searchId parameters | Call log validation |
| Optional checks | |
|
Response refinement is used, setting attributes to false where not being used, e.g. features=false if not using the features attribute of the results |
Call log validation |
Filter the results (Essential)
When using the Search API, you can use several filters to get relevant results for your search.
| Test | How we'll check it |
|
Only valid filters are used, with valid values as listed in our API developer documentation |
Call log validation and demonstration |
| When you get a 400 response due to an invalid parameter in the request, this request should not be retried and should raise an action internally to review the parameters | Demonstration |
| Optional checks | |
|
If using this capability to power a dealer’s website, the advertisingLocation=advertiserWebsite parameter is included in all Search API calls |
Call log validation |
|
If using this capability to power a manufacturer’s Used Vehicle Locator (UVL), the advertisingLocation=locatorWebsite parameter is included in all Search API calls |
Call log validation |
Sort the results (Enhanced)
You can sort the results returned via the Search API to give them a relevant order.
| Test | How we'll check it |
|
Only valid sort types are used, with valid values as listed in our API developer documentation |
Call log validation and demonstration |
| Optional checks | |
|
When using the distance sort, a postcode is also provided in the query string parameters |
Call log validation |
Faceting to return a list of results (Enhanced)
The Search API also provides the ability to return different facets and the amount of results for each possible value of that facet included in the results of your search.
| Test | How we'll check it |
|
Only valid facets are used, with valid values listed in our API developer documentation |
Call log validation and demonstration |
|
All facets you want to display should be requested in the same request, with multiple facet parameters, e.g. facet=standardMake&facet=standardModel |
Call log validation |
Retrieve feature details (Enhanced)
Where a vehicle has a derivative ID, you can get a list of all the possible standard and optional features for that derivative, with additional data such as category and basic price when new.
| Test | How we'll check it |
| Able to call features endpoint on the Search API to get full feature data for a search ID | Call log validation and demonstration |
|
Requests are only made where a derivative ID is present on the stock record |
Call log validation |
Retrieve charge time details (Enhanced)
Where an electric vehicle has a derivative ID, you can get charge time data for the vehicle.
| Test | How we'll check it |
| Able to call charge time endpoint on the Search API to get full charge time data for the search ID request | Call log validation and demonstration |
|
Requests are only made where a derivative ID is present on the stock record, and the fuel type is either electric or hybrid |
Call log validation |