[lnsru]

I didn’t check the proposition. But is there a problem for this solution? Every car brand has an online community for every model. Every community has a forum and checklist with all the possible problems. Also most people know some car guy to ask the basics.

[cpwright]

You might not actually care about any particular brand or model. When I bought a new car in September 2023 (probably one of the worst times to do it), I was pretty much content with any AWD sedan or small SUV new or used that was not too old or too high mileage and had Carplay. I would have liked a power driver seat, but ended up compromising on that. Even reminding yourself of the list of features you want at each point.

There is a lot to think of with a car transaction that goes beyond mechnical function. The basic four boxes of finance or leasing/trade-in/price/"extras" are a lot to keep in your head all at once when you only rarely buy a car. I ended up going to about 6 or 7 dealerships to get what I wanted at a good enough price taking into consideration the trade value on my truck and what they had in stock.

[jiehong]

I think it’s fair to have generic points to check for a car. Maybe later they’ll add sub lists for each car model/make?

From my experience, not knowing anything about cars and what basic things to look for, forums seemed not that great and the “top 10 things to look for” kind of articles either.

I ended up asking chatGPT, and turns out it seems to know exactly about the model I was looking at and I then crossed check if the commons problems were real online.

[xyst]

yes, it’s called getting an independent opinion from your trusted mechanic.

Some used cars can appear “fine” on the surface, but once a mechanic looks under the hood (ie, under carriage inspection, checking for recalls, oil check).

A used car I found online in Ohio looked perfect but paid a mechanic to check it out. Turns out the under carriage was rotted to hell. Which is honestly typical for cars in the rust belt (ie, due to salt from roads)

[auxym]

Yep, I live in eastern Canada, and cars here typically don't reach end-of-life due to engine mileage, but due to the frame eventually being too rusted.

[FireBeyond]

> checking for recalls

Why would that be a problem? A manufacturer is obligated to fix an open recall at no cost to you.