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1/3) Auto repair / servicing. The internet has helped consumers in all kinds of markets - retail and travel, perhaps most obviously - compare equivalent goods t

by nudge 16y ago

1/3) Auto repair / servicing. The internet has helped consumers in all kinds of markets - retail and travel, perhaps most obviously - compare equivalent goods to ensure they are getting a fair price and good service. I would love for this to be applied to car repair and servicing. I confess that I know next to nothing about cars - I just want my car to run, and when it need repairs or services, I want to know that I'm getting a fair price. As it stands I have no idea really. There are two aspects to this problem: (i) the garage is both doctor and pharmacist - there is an incentive to take advantage of my lack of knowledge and propose unnecessary work; and (ii) I don't know whether, for the services and goods proposed as necessary (including labour), the price is fair. I know this is stuff that I should probably know, but I feel like there is an opportunity for this all to be made better.

percept 16y ago
That would be cool. Is anybody doing that now? Initially "incentivize" people to submit year/make/model, then repair/parts/labor and build up a database of prices (later users would do the same thing with estimates). I believe labor rates are the same across repairs so you could split that out as the dealer's standard rate. Add service reviews, etc.
jpalmer 16y ago
http://repairpal.com http://repairpal.com Techcrunch about them: http://techcrunch.com/2008/06/12/repairpal-its-like-google-health-for-your-car/ http://techcrunch.com/2008/06/12/repairpal-its-like-google-h...
- chrisa 16y ago
  Here's the HN thread about them from about a year ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=755665 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=755665
- Judson 16y ago
  I was thinking something more like iFixit, but for cars. Maybe user-generated repair tutorials. Might help mechanics "legitimize" their own business if they are active in a community like that.
d_r 16y ago
http://www.driverside.com http://www.driverside.com -- just what you describe, but not mainstream enough as I just found out about it the other day.
cake 16y ago
Yes auto repair is a big problem for me and for a lot of other people too I guess. Just last week the garage that took my car misdiagnosed the problem and charged me much more than necessary. Usually I try to get a grasp of what the problem could be and try to fix it myself if I can. This time I was under pressure to get it fixed quickly so I directly brought it to the garage. Had I tried to identify the problem (which I did later on with a lot of web browsing), I would have fixed the problem under 72h and $20 vs one and a half week, a lot of hassle and $150 at the garage. I wish there could be a robust platform to help you identify a problem. The forums are often full of people that really don't know what they are talking about but they still come and confuse you. I'm thinking about a website where you could identify you car's problem with community approved answers (based on their own experience or solid references from the repair manual).

by nudge 16y ago

percept 16y ago

That would be cool. Is anybody doing that now? Initially "incentivize" people to submit year/make/model, then repair/parts/labor and build up a database of prices (later users would do the same thing with estimates). I believe labor rates are the same across repairs so you could split that out as the dealer's standard rate. Add service reviews, etc.

jpalmer 16y ago

http://repairpal.com http://repairpal.com Techcrunch about them: http://techcrunch.com/2008/06/12/repairpal-its-like-google-health-for-your-car/ http://techcrunch.com/2008/06/12/repairpal-its-like-google-h...

chrisa 16y ago
Here's the HN thread about them from about a year ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=755665 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=755665
Judson 16y ago
I was thinking something more like iFixit, but for cars. Maybe user-generated repair tutorials. Might help mechanics "legitimize" their own business if they are active in a community like that.

d_r 16y ago

http://www.driverside.com http://www.driverside.com -- just what you describe, but not mainstream enough as I just found out about it the other day.

cake 16y ago

Yes auto repair is a big problem for me and for a lot of other people too I guess. Just last week the garage that took my car misdiagnosed the problem and charged me much more than necessary. Usually I try to get a grasp of what the problem could be and try to fix it myself if I can. This time I was under pressure to get it fixed quickly so I directly brought it to the garage. Had I tried to identify the problem (which I did later on with a lot of web browsing), I would have fixed the problem under 72h and $20 vs one and a half week, a lot of hassle and $150 at the garage. I wish there could be a robust platform to help you identify a problem. The forums are often full of people that really don't know what they are talking about but they still come and confuse you. I'm thinking about a website where you could identify you car's problem with community approved answers (based on their own experience or solid references from the repair manual).