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Show HN: CarCheck – Car Buying Checklist App

usefulchecklists.com

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Re: Show HN: CarCheck – Car Buying Checklist App

#41

Post by keepamovin »

xyst wrote: post #33
keepamovin wrote: post #29

This does look cool. I think it's valid to have an app for a normally infrequent activity that is high cost and hard to undo. Thanks for making! Tangentially, does anyone have advice on a good medium capacity, medium price utility vehicle? I'm thinking F150, because it seems like the Levi's of trucks (common, reliable, not particularly fancy, old brand, big), but I don't know much.

A Ford is considered “reliable” now? I suppose the Ford psyops are working. Buddy in the independent repair shop business cites Fords as his most profitable vehicle manufacture. He knows when a Ford rolls into his shop, it’s usually going to be a ton of work to keep his boys busy. Or the customer ends up declining all repairs. Expect to replace Ford vehicles on a regular interval (4-5 years?) or pay up on costly repa…

This is good to know, thank you! But not very useful advice hahaha! :)

Re: Show HN: CarCheck – Car Buying Checklist App

#43

Post by stn8188 »

keepamovin wrote: post #29

This does look cool. I think it's valid to have an app for a normally infrequent activity that is high cost and hard to undo. Thanks for making! Tangentially, does anyone have advice on a good medium capacity, medium price utility vehicle? I'm thinking F150, because it seems like the Levi's of trucks (common, reliable, not particularly fancy, old brand, big), but I don't know much.

As much as I love trucks, it seems that their price is extremely inflated (likely due to their utility as a work vehicle). Depending on your use case, I can highly recommend a minivan. I have an '07 Odyssey that we need for the big family (5 kids) but I can also fold down the seats and fit 4x8s of plywood or drywall in the back. If needed, you can get a cheap trailer and tow with the van to increase payload. There's a stigma I'm fully aware of, with so many people choosing SUVs instead, but I just love my van so much. It's reliable, easy and cheap to fix, and does so much. Better gas mileage, kids can't slam doors into parked cars, etc. As long as you don't need off-road ground clearance, it's a great choice. (There are AWD models as well, if you live in a snowy area).

Re: Show HN: CarCheck – Car Buying Checklist App

#44

Post by nathancahill »

noduerme wrote: post #17
aspyct wrote: post #9

Nice! Might need to buy a car soon, so that's handy! A few comments: - maybe add somes weights to the questions? For example it's more important that the rear view mirrors are properly attached than having no stain on the upholstery. - some questions deserve more details. "After revving the vehicle in neutral...", am I supposed to rev it for long? Other than that... Thanks! Looks pretty good :) Nitpick on the price:…

I hang out with a lot of car guys. I have a friend who swears by the idea that whenever he wants to buy a used car, after a test drive he'll just leave it idling for an hour. If nothing goes wrong by that point he'll buy it.

The better tip is to test with a cold start. Lots of used car problems are masked with a warm engine. Sellers will often pre-warm the car, so note the engine temperature when you start it the first time.

Re: Show HN: CarCheck – Car Buying Checklist App

#45

Post by londons_explore »

I kinda wish this was a webpage not an app, and that it would require no sign in.

Sure, have a sign in feature if you want to save your checklist for later, but the vast majority of people will use this for just a few minutes/hours and the state can be stored in a cookie.

Re: Show HN: CarCheck – Car Buying Checklist App

#46

Post by keepamovin »

stn8188 wrote: post #43
keepamovin wrote: post #29

This does look cool. I think it's valid to have an app for a normally infrequent activity that is high cost and hard to undo. Thanks for making! Tangentially, does anyone have advice on a good medium capacity, medium price utility vehicle? I'm thinking F150, because it seems like the Levi's of trucks (common, reliable, not particularly fancy, old brand, big), but I don't know much.

As much as I love trucks, it seems that their price is extremely inflated (likely due to their utility as a work vehicle). Depending on your use case, I can highly recommend a minivan. I have an '07 Odyssey that we need for the big family (5 kids) but I can also fold down the seats and fit 4x8s of plywood or drywall in the back. If needed, you can get a cheap trailer and tow with the van to increase payload. There's…

Alright, I hear you about this...I will consider. I will try to keep in mind the "cool minivans" that I saw in HK and that were a status symbol. Good to know haha! :)

I just love trucks so much hahaha! :)

Re: Show HN: CarCheck – Car Buying Checklist App

#47

Post by cpwright »

lnsru wrote: post #19

I didn’t check the proposition. But is there a problem for this solution? Every car brand has an online community for every model. Every community has a forum and checklist with all the possible problems. Also most people know some car guy to ask the basics.

You might not actually care about any particular brand or model. When I bought a new car in September 2023 (probably one of the worst times to do it), I was pretty much content with any AWD sedan or small SUV new or used that was not too old or too high mileage and had Carplay. I would have liked a power driver seat, but ended up compromising on that. Even reminding yourself of the list of features you want at each point.

There is a lot to think of with a car transaction that goes beyond mechnical function. The basic four boxes of finance or leasing/trade-in/price/"extras" are a lot to keep in your head all at once when you only rarely buy a car. I ended up going to about 6 or 7 dealerships to get what I wanted at a good enough price taking into consideration the trade value on my truck and what they had in stock.

Re: Show HN: CarCheck – Car Buying Checklist App

#48

Post by relaxing »

keepamovin wrote: post #41
xyst wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Ford is considered “reliable” now? I suppose the Ford psyops are working. Buddy in the independent repair shop business cites Fords as his most profitable vehicle manufacture. He knows when a Ford rolls into his shop, it’s usually going to be a ton of work to keep his boys busy. Or the customer ends up declining all repairs. Expect to replace Ford vehicles on a regular interval (4-5 years?) or pay up on costly repa…

This is good to know, thank you! But not very useful advice hahaha! :)

What’s not useful?

You didn’t say what kind of utility you’re looking to get out your vehicle. Do you need to haul a bunch of equipment, or loads of mulch, or go off-road in the weekends?

Re: Show HN: CarCheck – Car Buying Checklist App

#49

Post by jabroni_salad »

xyst wrote: post #33
keepamovin wrote: post #29

This does look cool. I think it's valid to have an app for a normally infrequent activity that is high cost and hard to undo. Thanks for making! Tangentially, does anyone have advice on a good medium capacity, medium price utility vehicle? I'm thinking F150, because it seems like the Levi's of trucks (common, reliable, not particularly fancy, old brand, big), but I don't know much.

A Ford is considered “reliable” now? I suppose the Ford psyops are working. Buddy in the independent repair shop business cites Fords as his most profitable vehicle manufacture. He knows when a Ford rolls into his shop, it’s usually going to be a ton of work to keep his boys busy. Or the customer ends up declining all repairs. Expect to replace Ford vehicles on a regular interval (4-5 years?) or pay up on costly repa…

Keep in mind there is a lot of sampling bias here. You would absolutely expect a mechanic to get a lot of specimens from one of the most popular manufacturers.

VW is rated way worse for reliability, but it can be tricky to find a mechanic that is savvy with them since there are just fewer units running around.

Re: Show HN: CarCheck – Car Buying Checklist App

#50

Post by jwells89 »

stn8188 wrote: post #43
keepamovin wrote: post #29

This does look cool. I think it's valid to have an app for a normally infrequent activity that is high cost and hard to undo. Thanks for making! Tangentially, does anyone have advice on a good medium capacity, medium price utility vehicle? I'm thinking F150, because it seems like the Levi's of trucks (common, reliable, not particularly fancy, old brand, big), but I don't know much.

As much as I love trucks, it seems that their price is extremely inflated (likely due to their utility as a work vehicle). Depending on your use case, I can highly recommend a minivan. I have an '07 Odyssey that we need for the big family (5 kids) but I can also fold down the seats and fit 4x8s of plywood or drywall in the back. If needed, you can get a cheap trailer and tow with the van to increase payload. There's…

Even used 20+ year old small pickup trucks like pre-2005 Tacomas have their prices jacked up through the stratosphere, which I find particularly disappointing because there are so few trucks that size anymore more. Modern Tacomas are “mid sized” for example, but even that’s too much for a lot of peoples’ needs.
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