Inventory Imports

Bring vehicles into AutoFire from a CSV file or your old website

Bring your vehicles into AutoFire without typing in every VIN. You have three options:

Option	Best for
Website import	A one-time copy from your current dealer website
CSV upload	An export from your DMS or any spreadsheet
Automated CSV upload	Sending a full CSV to AutoFire on a schedule

Use a DMS and want help with it? Go to Integrations → DMS Sync and tell us which DMS you use. Each DMS shares inventory differently, so our team will check your options with you.

Owners and admins can run imports.

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Import from your website

Paste your current dealer website address to copy vehicles and photos and pull basic branding (name, phone, address, logo, hours). DealerWebsites.com and DealerSync have dedicated importers. Carsforsale.com hosted sites have a dedicated parser, but some block automatic access even through our import service. Other websites are best effort.

1. Open the import panel

   On the Inventory page, open the Inventory actions menu and choose Import inventory.

2. Paste your site address

   Enter your current dealer website address, like https://youroldsite.com. You must have permission to import from that site.

3. Preview the import

   Choose a Vehicle limit (5 by default, up to 100), then click Preview migration to see the count, sample listings, and detected branding. Carsforsale previews check up to three sample vehicles.

4. Apply branding (optional)

   Check Apply branding to bring in your logo, contact details, and address from the source site.

5. Run the import

   Confirm the preview and start the import. Large lots may take a few minutes.

Website imports add vehicles and update matching VINs. Vehicles outside the selected import keep their current status. This is a one-time copy, not a live feed. If a site blocks access or the import reaches its request budget, choose fewer vehicles or use a CSV export.

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Upload a CSV

CSV imports treat your file as your full inventory. Any vehicle whose VIN is not in the file is marked Sold. Always upload a complete export, and check the preview first.

1. Open Imports

   In the import panel, click Manual CSV upload.

2. Choose your file

   Click Choose CSV… and pick a recent export. Any CSV works, including exports from Frazer. We read the column headers and a few sample rows.

3. Check the column matches

   Each column gets a match with a confidence label:

   • Matched: we are confident this is the right field.
   • Suggested: a likely match. Double-check it.
   • Unmapped: no match found. Pick a field or choose to ignore the column.

   You must match a column to VIN, Year, Make, Model, and Price before you can import.

4. Save your choices

   Click Save mapping. Files with the same headers will use these choices next time.

5. Preview the changes

   Click Preview changes to see how many vehicles would be added, updated, marked sold, or skipped. This does not change your inventory.

6. Import

   When the preview looks right, click Import now. The run is added to your history.

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Required columns

Column	What to know
VIN	17 characters. Used to match vehicles and avoid duplicates.
Year	Model year, from 1900 through next year + 1
Make	Like Ford, Toyota, or Chevrolet
Model	Like F-150, Camry, or Silverado
Price	Asking price. Dollar signs and commas are fine.

We also recognize these columns if you have them: Stock Number, Trim, Mileage, Exterior / Interior Color, Body Style, Transmission, Drivetrain, Fuel Type, Engine, Doors, Description, Features, Status, and photo URL columns (Photo1, Photo2, or ImageURL_1 and so on).

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How CSV imports work

Matching by VIN

Every row is matched to your inventory by VIN. Rows without a valid 17-character VIN are skipped and listed in the run’s errors.

New and existing vehicles

New VINs are added as new vehicles. VINs already in your inventory are updated, including photos, price, mileage, and details.

Vehicles missing from the file

Any vehicle whose VIN is not in the latest CSV is marked Sold. We never delete inventory automatically, so sold vehicles stay in your dashboard.

The same VIN twice in one file

We keep the last non-empty value for each field and log a warning so you can clean up your export.

Photos

Photo URLs in your CSV are copied into AutoFire, so your listings keep working if the original links change or expire.

What imports leave alone

AutoFire-only settings, like a vehicle being Featured on your homepage or a FireCompare comparison, stay as they are.

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Automated CSV upload

Use this if your inventory provider or technical contact can send a complete CSV export over HTTPS. Issuing a token does not connect your DMS.

AutoFire does not accept FTP or SFTP. If your DMS can only send files that way, you need a small bridge service that picks up each file and posts it to the address below.

1. Issue a token

   On the Imports page, find Automated CSV upload and click Issue upload token. We show the token once, so save it somewhere safe like a password manager.

   Treat the upload token like a password. Anyone who has it can change your dealership’s inventory.

2. Save your column choices

   Upload a sample file and click Save mapping, so automated files know which column is which.

3. Send your file

   Post the CSV to your dealership’s upload address:

   curl -X POST "https://goautofire.com/api/imports/frazer/upload" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer afi_yourtokenhere" \
     -H "Content-Type: text/csv" \
     --data-binary "@inventory-export.csv"
   

The address works for any CSV, not just Frazer exports. The response includes the run ID, status, and counts:

{
  "run_id": "0b1ad4c8-…",
  "status": "completed",
  "counters": {
    "rowCount": 42,
    "insertedCount": 3,
    "updatedCount": 38,
    "soldCount": 1,
    "errorCount": 0,
    "duplicateVinCount": 0
  }
}

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Past imports

The Recent runs section on the Imports page shows your last 25 imports: when each one ran, its source and file name, its status, and its counts for added, updated, and errored vehicles.

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Troubleshooting

“Map a CSV column to: VIN, Year, …”

We couldn’t find a match for a required field. Open the dropdown next to the column with that data, pick the right AutoFire field, and click Save mapping.

“Invalid or disabled upload token”

The token may have been replaced. Click Rotate token and update it wherever you use it. Old tokens stop working as soon as you rotate.

Some rows show ‘invalid_vin_format’

VINs must be 17 characters and use only letters and numbers, with no I, O, or Q. Fix those rows in your export. Only those rows are skipped, not the whole import.

A photo did not appear

Each photo must be a public link to a JPEG, PNG, or WebP under 5 MB. A bad photo is logged as a row error, but the vehicle still imports.

A vehicle was marked Sold by mistake

That VIN was missing from your latest CSV. Add it back to your export and import again. AutoFire sets it back to Available and keeps its data.

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Next steps

Inventory

Check statuses, photos, and descriptions after an import

Your website

See your vehicles on your site