vAuto Integration Guide
vAuto is one of the most popular inventory management platforms in automotive. This guide covers connecting your vAuto feed to Carfluence.
How It Works
- 1You create a vAuto integration in Carfluence
- 2Carfluence provisions SFTP credentials for a dedicated folder
- 3You (or your vAuto rep) configure vAuto to push inventory exports to that SFTP folder
- 4Carfluence automatically detects new files, parses them, and updates your inventory
Step 1: Create the Integration
bash
POST /api/v1/integrations
{
"dealershipId": "your-dealer-uuid",
"type": "vauto",
"name": "My vAuto Feed"
}Or via the dashboard: Integrations > New Integration > Select vAuto.
The response includes your SFTP credentials:
json
{
"integration": {
"id": "uuid",
"type": "vauto",
"status": "pending"
},
"sftp": {
"host": "app.carfluence.io",
"port": 2222,
"username": "vauto_abc123",
"password": "generated-secure-password"
}
}Step 2: Configure vAuto Export
Contact your vAuto representative or configure the export yourself:
- 1In vAuto, go to Settings > Data Exports > SFTP Feeds
- 2Add a new SFTP destination with the credentials from Step 1
- 3Set the export format to Pipe-delimited or CSV
- 4Schedule exports (recommended: every 4-6 hours)
- 5Include all fields — Carfluence will map them automatically
Step 3: Field Mapping
Carfluence includes a built-in field mapper for vAuto. Common mappings:
| vAuto Field | Carfluence Field | Notes |
|---|---|---|
VIN | vin | Primary identifier |
Stock # | stock_number | Dealer stock number |
Year | year | Model year |
Make | make | Manufacturer |
Model | model | Model name |
Trim | trim | Trim level |
List Price | price | Current asking price |
Internet Price | internet_price | Online price |
Mileage | mileage | Odometer reading |
Exterior Color | exterior_color | Color |
Body Style | body_style | Sedan, SUV, Truck, etc. |
You can customize these mappings at Integrations > [Your vAuto Integration] > Field Mappings.
Step 4: Sync Settings
Configure how data is processed:
- •Overwrite: Replace all inventory with each new file (clean slate)
- •Merge: Add new vehicles, update existing, keep vehicles not in the new file
- •Update Only: Only update vehicles that already exist in the system
Additional settings:
- •Sold Grace Period: Keep sold vehicles visible for N hours/syncs before removing
- •Track History: Enable price and field change tracking for analytics
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| No files appearing | Verify SFTP credentials with your vAuto rep |
| Parse errors | Check file format — ensure pipe or CSV delimiters |
| Missing fields | Review field mappings in the dashboard |
| Duplicate vehicles | Check VIN field mapping — VINs must be unique per source |