Best new car research website! (How NOT to ask/take advice)

[ddzc]

First of all, show me. Second of all, can cargurus also let you select cars that are less than 4000 pounds, less than 200 inches in length, under 55 inches in height, have only six cylinders, are turbo, and are less than 13 pounds per horsepower?

99.5% of people don't really car about the length of the car, weight, height, etc. As for horsepower, turbos, superchargers, some guys will look in to these specs and 99.5% of females wont. Your demographic is now extremely small. How do you expect to become big? Or is this a little side hobby?

I just bought a car and was looking at new and a couple years old, so I've just been through this process. I already knew what cars I loved and just checked the dealerships websites for all the data I needed, and then went over to the dealership to test drive them and crunch numbers. Your site wouldn't save me any time at all throughout this process.

I do have a great idea though for people looking for used cars. I hope you steal it and become huge, or someone else does. For many months, I was always looking for the right deal. I had 4-5 model cars I wanted, I knew the color I wanted, I knew I wanted stick, I knew I wanted something with under 50K and I knew the exactly market price for it, but was looking for a deal, a few K off. I was in no rush, and every day I looked and looked, until months went by and I found the deal. The guy had 25 people message him, but I was the first and I got the car.

The issue with the above scenario was my time wasted every single day checking for a new listing. I tried to automate it on kijiji (similar to ebay marketplace in US) but the automation tool is a complete joke and never worked. Autotrader had this feature to notify me of new postings which fall in to my criteria but it was very very buggy and only worked 20-30% of the time, resulting in lost deals. I had no choice but to manually search every site, every day, multiple times per day.

If you can come up with a tool which properly notifies me via email, text or the app on any new postings across all platforms (kijiji, craigslist, trader) which match my criteria, this is the winner. This is an actual need, it saves me time and hassle and provides extreme value for the daily car shopper or hustler/flipper. When you save someone time and provide value, those are the key ingredients to success with such a website/tool.

 

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[RyHi]

You will get word of mouth for the site, but negative word of mouth as a spammer (and likely blacklisting). Since your site has no traffic, you can spend this time actually determining what features buyers want. Talk to car dealers and find out what problems people mention encountering when researching cars. Then when you have a quality product start spending money on ads and stop spamming. Spam will get you nowhere long term.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

 

[GuestUser303]

99.5% of people don't really car about the length of the car, weight, height, etc.

99.5% of statistics are made up. Or did you conduct a scientific survey?

 

[GuestUser303]

This is the problem is the vast majority of failed sites. They are catering to an audience that does not exist. Niche is one thing, creating a site that does nothing better than established sites except a few things no one ever asked for is a recipe for failure. Your first step should have been to determine what the need actually was.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

Market research is important when you are spending thousands of dollars and/or quitting your day job. I am doing neither. Also, MJ didn't do market research. He saw a niche and exploited it. I know what the need is. But thanks.

 

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[GuestUser303]

As the most casualest of casual car buyers, I visited the site, and it's definitely not for me. Info overload.

Also, when you post an ad posing as a request for feedback, probably best to not double down when you get actual feedback.

I agree it's not for casual car buyers. It's for serious buyers or just people that like researching new cars.

If it is constructive feedback, I don't double down.

 

[GuestUser303]

grabbing popcorn now.

Yeah, stupid question.

 

[lowtek]

Market research is important when you are spending thousands of dollars and/or quitting your day job. I am doing neither. Also, MJ didn't do market research. He saw a niche and exploited it. I know what the need is. But thanks.

That's some sidewalker mentality right there.

You're still spending the most precious capital you have - your time. You can always beg, borrow, steal, or earn more money - but you're not getting another second on this earth. People who understand opportunity cost will gladly spend a reasonable sum of money / time conducting market research to avoid wasting a year of their life down a rabbit hole with no payoff at the end.

Your continued rejection of the very pointed and constructive feedback here doesn't bode well for your venture. Many of us are car guys, and we're telling you that the site doesn't do much for us. You may not like what we have to say, and granted the folks here don't use a velvet glove, but the feedback is on point and genuine.

Comparisons of your business to other successful businesses that were built 15 - 20 years ago is not a sufficient justification for your course of action. Even if MJ didn't do market research during the birth of the internet age, even if Craigslist looks like it fell into a coma in 1999, those facts don't justify some of the decisions you made in this venture.

It's entirely possible what we're experiencing here is a statistical anomaly and all of us are outliers in the distribution. But, unless you're getting rave reviews at the other places you've posted links to your site, you should really consider the advice given here in earnest.

Please understand - none of this is personal. We all root for each other, but if we turn this into one big circle jerk of yes people then the community will cease to have value.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Comparisons of your business to other successful businesses that were built 15 - 20 years ago is not a sufficient justification for your course of action.

Hallelujah!

I do have a great idea though for people looking for used cars. I hope you steal it and become huge, or someone else does. For many months, I was always looking for the right deal. I had 4-5 model cars I wanted, I knew the color I wanted, I knew I wanted stick, I knew I wanted something with under 50K and I knew the exactly market price for it, but was looking for a deal, a few K off. I was in no rush, and every day I looked and looked, until months went by and I found the deal. The guy had 25 people message him, but I was the first and I got the car.

The issue with the above scenario was my time wasted every single day checking for a new listing. I tried to automate it on kijiji (similar to ebay marketplace in US) but the automation tool is a complete joke and never worked. Autotrader had this feature to notify me of new postings which fall in to my criteria but it was very very buggy and only worked 20-30% of the time, resulting in lost deals. I had no choice but to manually search every site, every day, multiple times per day.

If you can come up with a tool which properly notifies me via email, text or the app on any new postings across all platforms (kijiji, craigslist, trader) which match my criteria, this is the winner. This is an actual need, it saves me time and hassle and provides extreme value for the daily car shopper or hustler/flipper. When you save someone time and provide value, those are the key ingredients to success with such a website/tool.

Great example of finding a need and offering a solution. And it's here for the taking.

We all root for each other, but if we turn this into one big circle jerk of yes people then the community will cease to have value.

I don't think he understands this and that we are all "haters" -- there is nothing better for the forum than having someone come here and wildly succeed. It's great for the community so our vested interest in this thread is not to pile on, hate, and be critical. We want to build success stories.

IMO, I don't think the need exists here. (Again, my opinion and 10 others here doesn't constitute a market, but it gets close.) @ddzc 's idea? Now that I seems interesting.

 

[GuestUser303]

I don't think you are all haters. There are a couple that have actually taken the time to check out the website and seem pretty impressed. The haters are just jumping on here and giving their .02 without actually looking at the product, which seems to be most of the people. They see a post asking for their feedback, and by golly, they are going to give it!

 

[GuestUser303]

That's some sidewalker mentality right there.

You're still spending the most precious capital you have - your time. You can always beg, borrow, steal, or earn more money - but you're not getting another second on this earth. People who understand opportunity cost will gladly spend a reasonable sum of money / time conducting market research to avoid wasting a year of their life down a rabbit hole with no payoff at the end.

That assumes I have learned nothing from this venture or that I had something better to do with my time. The only ones that are guaranteed to not fail are the ones that don't try.

And yes, I know the story from the book about all the people waiting hours in line for some free chicken. Also, I have had business classes and understand market research.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

The haters are just jumping on here and giving their .02 without actually looking at the product

But I have looked at the product. Because you don't like the feedback, it's hogwash? Because some says its impressive, then it's valid?

You are letting your confirmation bias run wild.

 

[BobW78]

I put in the specs for the car I bought a couple weeks ago(Subaru Imprezza). 2017, AWD, gas, CVT. The car doesn't show up. I also tried automatic trans, that would be an easy mistake.

 

[GuestUser303]

But I have looked at the product. Because you don't like the feedback, it's hogwash? Because some says its impressive, then it's valid?

You are letting your confirmation bias run wild.

I didn't think you were a hater. The haters are the ones being aggressive. You just don't see a need for the website.

 

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[GuestUser303]

I put in the specs for the car I bought a couple weeks ago(Subaru Imprezza). 2017, AWD, gas, CVT. The car doesn't show up. I also tried automatic trans, that would be an easy mistake.

This one?

 

[JWelch]

First of all, show me. Second of all, can cargurus also let you select cars that are less than 4000 pounds, less than 200 inches in length, under 55 inches in height, have only six cylinders, are turbo, and are less than 13 pounds per horsepower?

I wonder if there's actually a big enough market out there where people need to get as specific as to needing to know the exact length and height of their car.

 

[Hicks]

This one?
View attachment 14554

I quite like the site. I think it could be useful for people like me. In fact I think I could be your target audience as I don't care about cars and want to simply find cars in my price range that would suit my needs. So, basically I think it needs to be simpler. I tried to use it but it requires lots of input....which as I don't know about cars I can't do....
I wanted to check electric cars in a certain price range but couldn't without doing all the other inputs. Hope that helps.

 

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[becks22]

I am not a car person and no practically nothing about cars so I am not your Target market

There are lots of people in the last 3+ pages giving you constructive criticism, you don't seem to be taking any of it to heart.
You also seem to be leaving potential markets on the table. You search only goes back to 2015 (so used cars are out) and you have lots of info on there that people like me (the majority of car buyers) don't care about/ don't understand.
Your website needs work, I know you said it was just finished but it still seems '2007ish' to me. You have to go to the about page to look up what the stuff on the front page means. Honestly, that seems odd and too much work if you want people to use your site. I shouldn't need to go back and forth between pages re-opening up new tabs to use your site. I also agree with the other comments, the name isn't good and is to long

Just the opinion of a girl who drives an unassuming Toyota Corolla

 

[MJ DeMarco]

The only ones that are guaranteed to not fail are the ones that don't try.

Absolutely, whether you succeed or fail at this, you've won anyway by learning, taking action, and engaging the marketplace. To be honest, that's a lot more than most people will do after they read my book.

 

[MidwestLandlord]

"hundreds" is spelled wrong on the landing page.

I think the donation option is kinda tacky.

So...I understand WHAT this website does, but I don't understand WHY it does those things.

Who would use this site, and why? Who is your ideal customer?

Also, just curious if you paid for this site or if Keenmade is also your company?

 

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[GuestUser303]

I quite like the site. I think it could be useful for people like me. In fact I think I could be your target audience as I don't care about cars and want to simply find cars in my price range that would suit my needs. So, basically I think it needs to be simpler. I tried to use it but it requires lots of input....which as I don't know about cars I can't do....
I wanted to check electric cars in a certain price range but couldn't without doing all the other inputs. Hope that helps.

Unfortunately, I am not sure what the best way is to overcome that. I did a short video tutorial in hopes of helping people. I also put notes about what to do and tool tips describing what everything means. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am also happy to help.

For your search you would just want to uncheck all engine types except electric. It will automatically deselect options that are not available for electric vehicles. For price, just put in your price range and click search.

 

[GuestUser303]

"hundreds" is spelled wrong on the landing page.

Great catch! Thanks I will get that fixed.

I think the donation option is kinda tacky.

I will have to think about that. Maybe place it further down?

Who would use this site, and why? Who is your ideal customer?

Anyone that is interested in finding out what options are available for a particular configuration on a new vehicle. So mainly anyone looking to buy a new car.

Also, just curious if you paid for this site or if Keenmade is also your company?

I paid. Keenmade is not my company.

 

[GuestUser303]

There are lots of people in the last 3+ pages giving you constructive criticism, you don't seem to be taking any of it to heart.

Such as? As I already posted, I understand a lot of people don't like the look of it. I am looking into seeing if I can improve that. As to the name of the website, no one has suggested a different name, just that they don't like it. That's not very constructive. Others have just said they see no use for it. That also is not very constructive. So I really don't know what you all think constructive criticism is, but I haven't seen a lot of it here.

You also seem to be leaving potential markets on the table. You search only goes back to 2015 (so used cars are out)

Used car data is not very readily available.

and you have lots of info on there that people like me (the majority of car buyers) don't care about/ don't understand.

If you are spending tens of thousands of dollars on a product, than don't you think it warrants your time to find out about it? Also, if it can mean the difference between life and death, don't you think it is something important to know about (AWD/4WD vs RWD vs FWD)? Whichride4you.com will make that process a lot easier. It gives you a lot of important criteria right up front.

Your website needs work, I know you said it was just finished but it still seems '2007ish' to me. You have to go to the about page to look up what the stuff on the front page means. Honestly, that seems odd and too much work if you want people to use your site. I shouldn't need to go back and forth between pages re-opening up new tabs to use your site.

You don't have to go back and forth. There are tool tips that pop up if you hover over the criteria on the search page. But thank you.

 

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[MidwestLandlord]

I will have to think about that. Maybe place it further down?

I'd get rid of it. Just my opinion.

Anyone that is interested in finding out what options are available for a particular configuration on a new vehicle. So mainly anyone looking to buy a new car.

Not very specific, which leaves the company directionless, especially when it comes to monetizing it.

For my brick and mortar company for instance, I have 3 avenues to sell through. I know EXACTLY who the customers are in each avenue, and how I should pursue them. How I should sell to them. WHAT I should sell to them. And why they would buy from me and not someone else.

I know the habits of my ideal customer, what goes through their head when deciding where to purchase, their income levels, etc etc.

But most importantly, I know their NEEDS...and how to fill that need.

WHAT are you selling?
WHO are you selling to? Males? Females? Young? Old? Middle-class? New car buyers? Used car buyers?
WHY should they use your service? What is the customer trying to accomplish? What is their end goal?

See, customers have a need...and they try to get it filled. It's your job to identify that need and provide a solution.

It's very easy to identify needs that either don't really exist, or don't exist in the way you understood them to exist.

So...what's the need? How can you be more specific?

You've gotten tons of good advice here already in this thread. Is there anything in that feedback that assists you in narrowing a very broad idea into something sell-able? I think there is...

 

[MJ DeMarco]

That's not very constructive. Others have just said they see no use for it. That also is not very constructive.

Are you FN kidding me? This thread is 4 pages long and you see little constructive advice? I don't see a NEED is about as constructive as you get. You can't turn a turd into a diamond. And yet, you've contributed NOTHING to any other thread.

Sorry my friend but you're testing my/our patience.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

So...what's the need?

There is no need. But he's got a cool site that lets you search for TORQUE / FOOT LBS / and WHEEL LENGTH. No one else does that!

(See, I'm getting perturbed here.)

 

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[ddzc]

Are you FN kidding me? This thread is 4 pages long and you see little constructive advice? I don't see a NEED is about as constructive as you get. You can't turn a turd into a diamond. And yet, you've contributed NOTHING to any other thread.

Sorry my friend but you're testing my/our patience.

We've seen this around the forums a few times, people posting ideas/sites which are just not good, and here we have a classic example of 4 pages with in a day filled with solid advice and feedback, yet the OP hasn't taken any of it in to consideration. The only feedback he liked was the donation button moved to the bottom of the website. This guy copy and pasted this same thread in a few acura forums and no one has responded to them. OP won't get any solid feedback or responses anywhere else, I guarantee it, he should start listening and taking action.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

The only feedback he liked was the donation button moved to the bottom of the website.

There shouldn't be a donation button unless he does personal branding on it, links a story and his picture to it, and says he's doing it "for fun". Asking for donations is tacky, unless you're just writing a blog or providing free scripts, plugins, etc.

It's too bad my next book is already written ... I would have dropped this thread in as a case study for multiple things; bullheadedness, stubbornness, askholing, confirmation biases, man, I could go on and on...

 

[G-Man]

askholing

New word! I'll use it in a sentence before the day is up.

 

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[GuestUser303]

I'd get rid of it. Just my opinion.

I'll get rid of it. Thanks.

Thanks for your thoughts on a customer base and needs. I just don't agree.

 

[GuestUser303]

There is no need. But he's got a cool site that lets you search for TORQUE / FOOT LBS / and WHEEL LENGTH. No one else does that!

(See, I'm getting perturbed here.)

Just to be clear, how would I prove to you that there is a need, besides my website being successful? And besides the fact that most people that have actually taken the time to figure it out find it very exciting and useful?