3 ms·

>'If there is a better way, I'd like to do that.' I gave this a little thought a few years ago, it's an interesting problem in. There are lots of variables ge

>'If there is a better way, I'd like to do that.' I gave this a little thought a few years ago, it's an interesting problem in. There are lots of variables generated (estimates) and validated (bills) by disparate sources (dealerships / independents) which are not at all inclined to share. Though some vehicle owners do share I'm not sure I've ever seen anything more prone to exaggeration and selective reporting. Folks like Mitchell [1] surely have loads of great information obtained via the usage of their shop-facing products, but as far as I know they don't offer a data service. Also, standard maintenance items like brakes, fluids and tires aren't terribly interesting or costly. The really noteworthy maintenance concerns are the brand and model specific time-bombs like plastic cooling system bits in various BMWs. Coming up with a way to collect or somehow infer these things would be a killer feature for any service of this sort. 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_International,_Inc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_International,_Inc.

darksim905 12y ago
I take contention with your first sentence as if you find a good enough mechanic, you'll be able to ask them to see what their cost is with parts. They'll be very level with you & show you what they get as far as dealer pricing. You're right that this is still a variable in & of itself as Joe Schmo might get completely different pricing than STS Tire or (Insert Chain Here). But, I digress. You can easily look up the cost estimates for a lot of stuff like this, but it still depends on the "skill level" of a given mechanic. I've pulled the time required to do certain jobs on my car saying it's a 1.3 or 4.5 hour job when the mechanic I was talking to said it's double that, or half that given you know some tricks. Lastly, model specific time-bombs are becoming more obvious as people complain about a given part (see carcomplaints.com) - it's just a shame it's hard to get access to the relevant TSBs for a vehicle unless you have access to the right networks.
- incision 12y ago
  >'I take contention with your first sentence as if you find a good enough mechanic, you'll be able to ask them to see what their cost is with parts.' Sure. I think we're talking about totally different things. The question isn't whether you can get one mechanic to share with you or even drive/call around and get dozens to share. It's how to get large numbers of them from all over to share continuously in some hands-off fashion so that you can present recent, accurate data to a site user regardless of their location, year, make and model without loads of legwork. Obviously, narrowing the scope could help with that. >'You can easily look up the cost estimates for a lot of stuff like this...' Again, the issue isn't how to fact-check an estimate or haggle for a deal as an individual with a car or two. It's how build a service out of it in a way that scales for large numbers of people and all manner of vehicles - in the US that's 200-300 models per year. That implies automation and building any sort of business from it implies using legitimate, reliable, legal sources.
  - darksim905 12y ago
    I think that's very very difficult to do to be honest, though. There are variables such as prices based on location, and within that location, what the shop or store wants to charge you. The same person with the same car can go to the same location twice for an oil change & get two different prices. I know because I've had it happen to me. The price differed by a few dollars, but still. Take it one step further & any shop that's established will have tools built specific to them where they can charge whatever they want on a sliding scale. Go to STS Tire in a nice, fancy area. Ask for a quote on a particular service. Note the price. Ask for the same work to be done in an impoverished area & ask for the same work to be done. The price will be radically different, especially if the shop owner isn't greedy. I think you're on to something, I just think it would take a substantial amount of work but figuring out how to do that in the most efficient way to collect all those data points makes everything easier. Smells like a project to me. :D

darksim905 12y ago

I take contention with your first sentence as if you find a good enough mechanic, you'll be able to ask them to see what their cost is with parts. They'll be very level with you & show you what they get as far as dealer pricing. You're right that this is still a variable in & of itself as Joe Schmo might get completely different pricing than STS Tire or (Insert Chain Here). But, I digress. You can easily look up the cost estimates for a lot of stuff like this, but it still depends on the "skill level" of a given mechanic. I've pulled the time required to do certain jobs on my car saying it's a 1.3 or 4.5 hour job when the mechanic I was talking to said it's double that, or half that given you know some tricks. Lastly, model specific time-bombs are becoming more obvious as people complain about a given part (see carcomplaints.com) - it's just a shame it's hard to get access to the relevant TSBs for a vehicle unless you have access to the right networks.

incision 12y ago
>'I take contention with your first sentence as if you find a good enough mechanic, you'll be able to ask them to see what their cost is with parts.' Sure. I think we're talking about totally different things. The question isn't whether you can get one mechanic to share with you or even drive/call around and get dozens to share. It's how to get large numbers of them from all over to share continuously in some hands-off fashion so that you can present recent, accurate data to a site user regardless of their location, year, make and model without loads of legwork. Obviously, narrowing the scope could help with that. >'You can easily look up the cost estimates for a lot of stuff like this...' Again, the issue isn't how to fact-check an estimate or haggle for a deal as an individual with a car or two. It's how build a service out of it in a way that scales for large numbers of people and all manner of vehicles - in the US that's 200-300 models per year. That implies automation and building any sort of business from it implies using legitimate, reliable, legal sources.
- darksim905 12y ago
  I think that's very very difficult to do to be honest, though. There are variables such as prices based on location, and within that location, what the shop or store wants to charge you. The same person with the same car can go to the same location twice for an oil change & get two different prices. I know because I've had it happen to me. The price differed by a few dollars, but still. Take it one step further & any shop that's established will have tools built specific to them where they can charge whatever they want on a sliding scale. Go to STS Tire in a nice, fancy area. Ask for a quote on a particular service. Note the price. Ask for the same work to be done in an impoverished area & ask for the same work to be done. The price will be radically different, especially if the shop owner isn't greedy. I think you're on to something, I just think it would take a substantial amount of work but figuring out how to do that in the most efficient way to collect all those data points makes everything easier. Smells like a project to me. :D