Photo requirements vary between platforms. Some are hard rules — minimum counts, file format restrictions, what is and is not allowed in an image. Others are recommendations that affect listing performance rather than acceptance.
This article covers what Auto Trader UK and eBay Motors Pro actually publish on their photo guidance, sourced directly from their own help and documentation and re-read on 24 October 2026. Where a requirement could not be verified on the platform's own documentation, it is not included. If you also list on Gumtree, which publishes less formal guidance but has its own constraints, see how to photograph your car for Gumtree.
The short answer
- How many photos? Auto Trader suggests at least 20 and takes up to 100. eBay Motors Pro recommends at least 6 and takes up to 20.
- Which files? Auto Trader: JPEG or PNG, 1MB to 15MB, landscape, in a 4:3 shape such as 1024 × 768. eBay Motors Pro: JPEG only, at least 1,000 pixels on the longest side, up to 12 MB.
- What is banned? Auto Trader prohibits any text on images, phone numbers and email addresses included. eBay Motors Pro asks for no stock photos.
- What about Motors.co.uk? It became Cazoo in May 2026, and we found no photo specification on Cazoo's public pages.
Auto Trader UK
Auto Trader is the largest car marketplace in the UK. Their photo guidance is published in their help centre and in a photography guide available to trade advertisers.
Recommended minimum: At least 20 photos per listing. Auto Trader allows up to 100 photos per listing. (Auto Trader UK help documentation)
Recommended shot list:
- Front and rear three-quarter views
- Front straight-on
- Rear straight-on
- Both side profiles
- Wheel close-up (particularly relevant for alloys)
- Dashboard
- Front and rear seats
- Boot interior
- Engine bay
- Any visible damage
- For a convertible, one with the roof up and one with it down
Angle and camera height: Auto Trader's Vehicle photography & video guide (2026) puts the front three-quarter first, shot about ten steps back with the camera level with the bottom of the windscreen. For how to shoot the whole list on a working forecourt, see Auto Trader photo guide: the 20 shots dealers need.
What is not allowed on photos: Auto Trader's advert image terms prohibit "any text on images, including but not limited to, contact details including telephone numbers or e-mail addresses, details of third party affiliates or finance offers". Breaking the rule can, at Auto Trader's discretion, cost the dealer all of its adverts on the site, not just the one photo. Logos are not named, but a logo with lettering is text on an image, so keep burned-in branding off your Auto Trader uploads. The full set of Auto Trader's image rules — including the accuracy standard and where AI-edited photos sit — is covered in Auto Trader's image rules: what's allowed.
Why it matters: Auto Trader's help page opens with the reason: "Buyers look at pictures first, so it's important to include high-quality images." It also asks for photos in landscape rather than portrait.
eBay Motors Pro UK
eBay Motors Pro is the dealer-specific arm of eBay for vehicle listings in the UK.
Recommended minimum: At least 6 photos per listing. (eBay Motors Pro UK help documentation)
Maximum: 20 photos per listing.
Recommended shots: Exterior views from diagonal and all four sides, interior including dashboard and seats, engine bay, odometer, and close-ups of any damage or wear.
Technical requirements:
- File format: JPEG only
- Minimum dimension: 1,000 pixels on the longest side
- Maximum file size: 12 MB per image
- Quality standard: 90 or above on the JPEG quality scale (0–99)
Stock photos: eBay Motors Pro's guidance recommends against stock photos — images should be original photographs of the specific vehicle being listed.
For a photo-by-photo guide to listing on the platform — which shots to prioritise and why honest close-ups pay — see how to sell a car on eBay Motors.
Cazoo (formerly Motors.co.uk)
Motors.co.uk's advertising business took the Cazoo name on 27 May 2026, and its traffic moved to Cazoo from that date (Car Dealer Magazine, 28 April 2026). On 24 October 2026, motors.co.uk forwarded straight to cazoo.co.uk. We found no published photo requirements on Cazoo's public pages. Its dealer terms make the dealer solely responsible for the accuracy of the listings, prices and images it supplies. If you list there, ask Cazoo's dealer support for the current rules.
What the requirements have in common
Looking across the platforms that do publish photo guidance, some consistent principles emerge.
More photos consistently outperform fewer. Auto Trader's advice to sellers says buyers expect to see 20 images on an advert. AutoTrader Canada found that used listings with 11 or more photos generated 205% more Vehicle Detail Page views and 185% more leads than those with 10 or fewer. (AutoTrader Canada, January–July 2022 data) That is the Canadian platform, not Auto Trader UK, but the underlying buyer behaviour is consistent across platforms.
Interior shots are expected. Both platforms that publish a shot list include the dashboard and seats; Auto Trader adds the boot, and eBay Motors Pro the odometer. In a 2013 Motors.co.uk survey, around 70% of buyers wanted a view of the dashboard and 84% wanted to see the interior. (Motors.co.uk survey, via Car Dealer Magazine)
Actual photos of the actual car. eBay Motors Pro is explicit about this. Buyers of used cars in particular need to see the specific car — its actual condition, its colour in this light, its interior wear. Stock images of the model do not serve that purpose.
Text and branding stay out of the images. Auto Trader bans text on images outright. eBay Motors Pro's help page does not mention overlays, so a clean photo meets every rule covered here. The listing description is where contact details and branding live. The photos are for showing the car.
The technical floor
If you are using AI photo editing or generating studio backgrounds, the technical requirements worth keeping in mind:
- eBay Motors Pro requires JPEG format at minimum 1,000 pixels on the longest side. Most smartphones and AI editing outputs exceed this comfortably.
- Auto Trader's help centre asks for images between 1MB and 15MB, in JPEG or PNG, taken in landscape, in a 4:3 shape such as 1024 × 768 pixels (Auto Trader — why won't my photo load properly?, read 19 October 2026).
- Auto Trader does not permit any text on images, phone numbers and email addresses included.
When we checked on 24 October 2026, neither platform covered here published a rule against AI-edited backgrounds. Auto Trader requires advert content to be accurate in its description of the vehicle, and eBay Motors Pro asks for no stock photos: the standard is the real car, not a stock picture of the model. Check each platform's current guidance before relying on this.
Where Motuva fits
Motuva processes images of your actual car — the specific vehicle being listed — and places it in a studio rendered at your photo's camera angle, and you can process a whole set in one upload. The car in the output is not a rendering of that vehicle; it is your photograph of it, composited across unaltered, with only the setting rendered around it. Motuva adds no text of its own. If you add your logo to the studio wall or your branding to the plate cover, leave them off the photos you send to Auto Trader. Check each output against the original before publishing all the same: the edge where the car was lifted out of your forecourt can go wrong on a difficult shot, and responsibility for the advert sits with you. That check matters for compliance and for honesty with buyers.
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Related reading: What car photo editing costs → · Do better photos sell cars faster? (The data) →
Related reading
Spyne and CarCutter don't publish pricing. AI editing starts at £49. The full car photography cost breakdown — tools, time, and outsourcing included.
AutoTrader Canada research shows listings with 11+ photos get 205% more page views and 185% more leads. What the data means for your forecourt.
Auto Trader's own photo guide in plain steps: how many photos, what size, landscape or portrait, the 20 shots and where to hold the camera.
Gumtree car photos work hard: nine image slots, small thumbnails, local buyers. How to use every slot to get more enquiries and fewer wasted viewings.
Auto Trader photo rules, verified against their published terms: the text-on-images ban, the 100-image limit, the accuracy standard, and where AI edits sit.
An eBay Motors car listing guide focused on photos — verified photo limits and specs for dealers, what wins the thumbnail war, and why honest close-ups pay.