

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

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.<p>We followed a simple guideline: build a product to solve a problem or simplify the existing process.<p>We are in beta mode and were wondering if we could get feedback?<p>Any input would be greatly helpful.<p>bit.ly&#x2F;rsbetaaccess<p>Features for users under current beta version:<p>•	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<p>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<p>If it is recommended to place the product under “Show” I can do that.<p>Thanks
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phantom_oracle
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!

~~~
ringstraindt
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.

~~~
phantom_oracle
>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.

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

