Cars.com: All the Auto Information you Need, under one Roof
Written: Aug 12 '02 (Updated May 10 '05)
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Automotive web sites are among my favorites on the world- wide web, in part because of my active interest in vehicles and also because of my occupation, which involves automotive software. It's always enjoyable to go on- line and take a look at the newest cars. It's also handy to consult the internet for information on existing cars, to find out facts on maintenance, insurance, warranties, and other topics that are important to the owner of a vehicle.
While surfing through the internet, looking for some financing and warranty data, I came across this site, www.cars.com, a web site with a simple title, but loaded with information on everything automotive.
Features of This Service:
Cars.com is divided into the following main sections:
Find a Car- This area allows you to search for either a new or used car, and it's readily available, right on the home page. With used cars, you can specify a price range and a distance from your home to search. After you enter your zip code, cars.com will search the classified ads to find the vehicle that you desire. With new cars, you begin by entering your desired make and zip code. On the following screen, you will select a year (presently, this is defaulted to either 2002 or 2003) and a model. You will then see a list of prices (base price) and possible options to add.
Sell a car- If you want to place an advertisement with cars.com to sell your present vehicle, all you need to do is fill out a form, including basic info on your vehicle. You can also download a picture, if you wish (not required, but recommended). The site will charge you $25 for this service.
Prices and Research- Here, you can lookup a new or used vehicle and find the blue book value (for used), the expected price, specifications, options available, etc. There is also a search component to this. If you are not sure what type of vehicle you are interested in buying, you can answer a few questions and let cars.com find a match. All you need to do is select the type of vehicle that you want (coupe, convertible, SUV, etc.) and then select a few other criteria (2- dr, 4- wheel drive,, 200+ horsepower, etc.) and cars.com will provide you with a list of possible vehicles to purchase.
Reviews- Maybe you just want to read some commentaries on vehicles, to get a human perspective on just how good or bad a certain vehcile really is. If so, just logon to the reviews area of cars.com. This section takes its articles from well- known auto publications like Car and Driver, Road and Track, Autoweek, and others.
Care and Repair- Even if you have no interest in buying a car, you will still be able to find some useful information in this area. When I first logged in, this was where I went, to find out about warranties. One useful feature that is offered here is the option of having e-mail sent to you, from cars.com, advising you about routine maintenance and recall notices, along with techinical service bulletins. This is a free service, but you must begin by setting up a profile that indicates the specifics of your vehicle.
Finance & Insurance- This area includes a calculator that will compute your expected monthly payment based on vehicle price, down payment, sales tax, interest rate, and the term of your loan. There's a loan vs. lease calculator, too, and advice on choosing insurance coverage and how to file claims. A few links into financing sites are present as well, to help get you on your way to owning that new car.
Other Services:
In addition to the above, cars.com will help you with additional advice on warranties, buying extended warranties, available rebates, safety/crash test ratings, etc. There's even a glossary of terms that can help you improve your automotive IQ.
Final Thoughts:
Cars.com is one of the better automotive web services that I have used on the internet. The web is cluttered with these sites, which isn't surprising when you consider the fact that vehicles are high- ticket items and the fact that automotive sites are popular places to visit in cyberspace that often receive large numbers of visits every day. Cars.com stands out from the pack, mainly because of its depth of information.
The research area of this site is very good. When you lookup a vehicle, you can quickly find a summary, along with pricing information, ownership costs, specifications, performance ratings, safety info, standard features, available option packages, and much more. The picture gallery is nice, too, featuring 360 degree views of the vehicle (only on new- used just show you a simple outside photo).
Are there any negative points to this site? Yes, there are a few. For one thing, I noticed that the data for some of the 2003 models is completely blank. For instance, I was looking up product information on a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am and I wanted to see the ownership costs (things like fuel cost per year, financing, fees, maintenance, etc.) but the entire area was blank. The least the site could do is show an estimate of some of the data (like fuel cost). Another bad point is the load time of some of the functions, particularly the photo gallery. Maybe my pc just has a hard time with this, but it sure does seem to take a while to open up this window and it has even locked my pc, on occasion.
Overall, this site gets a recommendation from me. It would be nice if cars.com would get its act together and update the data on the 2003 models, but I still can't complain. There's a lot of automotive information to be found in cars.com, and it's all in one convenient location. Logon now, and find yourself a new set of wheels!
Be Sure to Click on the Links Below to Read More Reviews on Related Web Sites:
Cars Direct.com
Autoweb.com
Invoice Dealers.com
Discount Tire Direct.com
Car Prices.com
Carmax.com
Pricequotes.com
Autonation.com
Recommended:
Yes
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