Ask HN: Would it be possible to get feedback on our project? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Would it be possible to get feedback on our project?

3 pointsringstraindt4 comments

I am a chemist by profession, but after visiting SF I was amazed by the startup culture and since my return from SF, I have been working on the project “RepairShift” with a friend of mine who is an iOS developer.

We followed a simple guideline: build a product to solve a problem or simplify the existing process.

We are in beta mode and were wondering if we could get feedback?

Any input would be greatly helpful.

bit.ly/rsbetaaccess

Features for users under current beta version:

• Help you stay informed about your car’s scheduled maintenance. • Conveniently submit repair requests. • Receive quotes from local mechanics for all your repair needs. • Maintain online invoices and repair history, no more paper trail. • Cashless transaction

Services under current version: • Scheduled Maintenance (based on your car make and model) • Oil Changes • New Tires • Tire Rotations • Pre-Purchase inspection • Road side assistance • Diagnostic services • Alignment • Battery replacement • Transmission fluid

If it is recommended to place the product under “Show” I can do that.

Thanks

This has potential, but you need to quickly evaluate whether you should be going:

- Direct to consumer

OR

- Via dealers/mechanics

I don't like that you used a bitly link though. This is HN, you shouldn't be tracking people here who can provide feedback.

This has a lot more "value-add" under the hood than 1 would realize in the start (think about how valuable it would be for buying a used car when you could get a "qualified logbook" of maintenance on a car via your app, big potential indeed).

You need to put the app out there and through usage, see which parts are important and what users use the app mostly for.

I don't think many mechanics would like "cashless", but maybe in your market it is different (although I doubt a mechanic in 1 part of the world could be that much different to another).

If I were your marketing guy, I'd try these marketing segments to use the app: car enthuasists, buy/sell "on the side" kind of people, small carshop salesmen and any other folks you can identify in the used-car market.

Beware of big automakers, as they may have an app like this or 1 of them steals the idea (eventually, unless you scale fast enough).

Good luck though!

Thank you for your feedback.

My intent to post/share bitly link was mainly to get email so we can send you the test version of app via test flight or crashlytics.It certainly wasn't to track. I apologize if it came across that way.

In regards to the "cashless" transaction, handful of mechanics that we reached out to early on were supportive of the idea. Mostly the independent shops. We have seen some reluctance from franchise shops though.

We have not reached out to the small auto shops yet, but will certainly reach out to them in next day or two.

Thanks once again.

>In regards to the "cashless" transaction, handful of mechanics that we reached out to early on were supportive of the idea. Mostly the independent shops. We have seen some reluctance from franchise shops though.

It goes both ways.

In 1 way, every business loves cash-in-hand over having it processed (unless they're a massive company that prefers e-money, as it is less expensive to deal with).

On the other hand, people normally screw around with service-men for payment, so having them able to bill electronically is a good way to market cashless transactions.

Think of it this way "Don't you hate when you fix a clients car and it takes them 6 months to pay, with our app, you can get paid quicker and without needing to run around for clients. Just push an update requesting payment and clients are notified immediately." . etc etc

I really like this app.

Just don't "Uberize" or "Snapchatify" it. You aren't "making the world a better place", but you sure are addressing inefficiencies in the used-car market, which is a multi-billion dollar industry.

This is what show HN is for - you should file this post under that.

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