Keeping track of your service and maintenance records

[joeNmass]

Hi All,
I don't know if anyone would be interested but as a long time car buff and a decade old web designer geek I just wanted everyone to know that I made a website that some might find useful.
It basically is a place to keep track of all your service and maintenance records for free. I also made it so you can keep track of part numbers of the most commonly replaceable parts on your vehicle. Some might find it a place to put a lot of useless information about your car but if your like me I like to know this useless...uummm...useful information at my finger tips.
My original website was for desktop use but this newer one was made primarily for use for mobile phones. I find it much more convenient when I am waiting for my car to be serviced and I can just take out my iPhone and enter the service being done.
Did I mention it is totally free!

I am new to this forum so I can't enter the website name just yet, but I would like to know if this is something that any of you would be interested in or is this just something that I should keep for myself?

 

[Alexus]

I think that is a great idea! I am surprised that no one has done it yet. You may have something there. Good luck to you, I think it will go over well!

 

[joeNmass]

Thanks for the encouraging comment Alexus, it is good to know that you think it's a great idea.
I put quite a bit of work into it and it would be great if people such as yourself will find it useful.
Hopefully soon I can put the link up on this thread. I want to do it following this forums rules.

 

[joeNmass]

Just in case people are interested the website name is carbaron.com I hope people find it useful and if there is a feature you would like me to incorporate into the website to make easier please let me know and I will see if I can make it work. Again the website is free to use.

 

[MaximumSpeed]

It sounds like a neat idea! One minor thing that you might consider is changing the font on your Terms of Service page. It is really hard to read and looks kind of blurry. As for the program itself, I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, since I don't agree to ToS without reading them.

 

[joeNmass]

Thanks for your suggestion. I have the font set to 11pixels and I increased it to 12 pixels. Twelve pixels should be good.
May I ask what type of mobile phone are you using if at all, or are you using a desktop?
Is there a font setting on your phone?

I am using an iPhone 4 when I made this website so I am not too sure how it will look in other phones. I have a friend that has an Android and it looked perfect on his phone also.

I was told to put in a disclaimer just to protect myself from lawsuits. I think its the only way to go now-a-days with everyone so suit happy. I am only one person trying to share something so I can't afford not having some protection from lawsuits. I don't know why anyone would file a lawsuit with my website but you never know.


Please let me know if the text is okay now.

If anyone else has any issues at all with CarBaron.com please let me know so I can fix the problem. I have tested it quite vigorously and I believe it is working as it should, but I might have overlooked something and I won't know about it unless someone tells me about it. You can even make a request for an added feature, I would be glad to do it if I can.
Constructive criticism is welcomed.

 

[Skippy]

That seems like a great idea. I tend to lose the papers so an online place to keep that information would be fantastic. I am going to check it out now.

 

[Hotrod25]

I agree, a great idea. I have a folder system now and it's a mess. I will certainly check it out to see if it will work for me.

I wish you well with your new adventure!

 

[joeNmass]

Thanks for the encouraging comments.
Yes, please try it out. Enter a lot of dummy information and see how it works. You have the ability to delete and edit records. Add as many cars as you like, you can also edit and delete vehicles and of course your account information.
It also has a running total of the repair and service costs for each vehicle.
I am planning on adding new features later on as time permits, maybe some graphs, ability to add your car photo and maybe the ability to track fuel consumption.

 

[lamborg25]

That is a wonderful idea and I bet there are a few or no people at all who have in the past come with such an idea. Do you plan to diversify in the future and perhaps sell automotive stuff from your website?

I took a look at it and must say that is information anyone will find useful.

 

[joeNmass]

I personally don't think that I will personally sell anything from the website, I just leave that to those that do that better than I can ever do.

But I do have a few automotive parts sellers that advertise on the website. I allow one advertisement at the bottom of each page away from the users vehicle information. These advertisement are for automotive parts sellers that I get a small stipend from any sale that originates from the CarBaron.com website. I checked out each advertiser before I allow any ad on the website.

That's how I can offer the website for free to anyone who wants to use it. I get the advertisers to offset any cost that I incur hosting the website.

 

[joeNmass]

I finally received my new logo that I had professionally made for CarBaron.com to better reflect the website.
I hope everyone likes it also. Any opinions about the new logo below?

http://www.carbaron.com/images/logo.png

 

[Gomera]

I'm always leery of putting things in cyberspace; once it's there, it stays there. I have files that I routinely stick my papers in, and they are very accessible, so I guess I don't really need this, but good luck!

 

[joeNmass]

I can understand how people can be leery of putting any information in cyberspace like popular social websites.
All information that is stored in CarBaron.com can only be accessed by the account holder with the correct login information. And the only information that CarBaron stores for all practical purposes is pretty useless information to everyone except to the person who's information it belongs to. I mean does anybody really care how much John Doe paid for a set of brake pads that he put into his Volvo last month?

 

[vroombaby]

I keep a detailed list on both our cars and our home. The latter being great now since we are actually going to become landlords and rent the place out while we move into a larger place for ourselves. A way to view this info online via laptop or cell would be useful though.

 

[joeNmass]

I finally finished the first phase of adding a new feature to the CarBaron.com website.
You are now able to calculate your miles per gallon of your vehicles.
I will be adding more features to this phase soon.

I wanted to get this feature all coded up sooner but with a full time job it was a little hard to find the time to code it all up.

 

[joeNmass]

I just updated the fuel stats section of the website. You are not able to keep track of your fuel costs and also calculate your vehicles miles per gallon.

 

[Sweet16]

Are you supposed to keep track of all that stuff? Wow. My mom doesn't keep track of anything, so I haven't, either. Maybe I should start now, so I will know what I'm doing when I get my own car.

 

[joeNmass]

Lol...no, your not supposed to keep track of all the stuff I have listed.
The options are there for some real automotive buffs. You will be suprised what people keep track of on their cars.
For me I basically keep track of the basics so I don't have to look up part numbers when I need parts for my car (ie oil filter numbers, spark plug numbers etc).
I alway enter all of my service records. It comes really handy when you need service done.

 

[joeNmass]

I just added the ability to add your automobile insurance information. I thought maybe that would be handy to have at your finger tips if you need to contact your insurance company at a moments notice (i.e. accident).
I just added the fields of insurance company name, your agent telephone number, insurance telephone number and your policy number.
If anyone thinks that I should add more fields please let me know.