Vehicle Maintenance Software

[bangn]

Hello all,

Wondering if anyone here has any experience regarding vehicle maintenance software. I've come to the point where I need to keep more of a solid recording of maintenance, reminders and receipts list of the work done to my cars.

I downloaded a couple I found on the net (Free trial versions -

http://www.lonewolf-software.com/automotivewolf.htm

http://carcaresoftware.com/

Off the bat the lonewolf software does look better and more user-friendly
where as the carcare software comes across as more raw.

They have 30 day trials however I don't want to put all this info in one software to find out in 30 days I don't like it and have to do it again. So hopefully there are some others who have already run the gauntlet

thanks

[Farbin Kaiber]

There is a guy on this forum making something for this, right now.

[Farbin Kaiber]

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=389044

[Kershaw]

So the difference with my app and that software is the level of intricacy. I'm creating a lightweight mobile app instead of a comprehensive desktop solution because the users I interviewed always have their phone with them in the garage and might be working on their cars at friends houses. My app will be useful for my use case. Taking pictures of receipts and storing them, while nice, is not a feature I consider lightweight. Those apps and the ones listed below have a dozens of different views/screens/ways of displaying data. They're very comprehensive. I'm focusing on a simple way to keep track of maintenance. It needs to be easy because most of us are pretty bad with writing it down. I don't want to go through an enterprise level app to write down that I changed my oil.

And honestly, I think mobile is the way to go with a car maintenance app. You can add MPG entries at the gas station too.

Here are 5 mobile apps:
1. Car Minder (Seems like a great app, iOS only)
2. aCar (the most comprehensive, I also consider it bloated)
3. Car Maintenance Reminder (Kind of odd color choices, clunky, but seems ok)
4. Car Care (Seems like MPG is the main function and maintenance is secondary)
5. Remember the Oil (seems decent, very militaryish color scheme though, is camo good for visibility? Lol)

[bangn]

yeh it will depend on the user. I wouldnt rely on a phone to keep my record safe for the future however and the amount of info that needs to be recorded my end is huge. I am recording every date, every job and every part number put on the car. Its just too much info to input on a phone. I can setup backups to an additional harddrive as well and the data file is easy to move around from pc to pc.

The phone app would be fine however for just logging milage and dates on service items so you can check back to when you last replaced your fuel filter. It would be a handy thing for me to use on the santefe.

I spent the time today trying the wolf software and I am very impressed, its very well suited to what I want to do. I spent about 4 hours today inputing invoices and old services. I still have to scan the invoices in and upload them to each service file I recorded. Will be very handy to keep track of wax intervals as well.

anyone who is thinking on doing the same I recommend the wolf software.

The only scary thing is that it tells you how much youve spend on your car haha

[Kershaw]

I am recording every date, every job and every part number put on the car. Its just too much info to input on a phone. I can setup backups to an additional harddrive as well and the data file is easy to move around from pc to pc.

All the mobile apps allow you to record date, job, and part number. It's 3 fields, not much to enter on a phone. Also, exporting of data is a pretty seemless integration. Share -> email, done.

That said, it sounds like you're entering 10 years worth of back data, which sounds like it sucks regardless of whether it's on a phone or a desktop.