I built a private car sales search engine (so could snag the perfect M3)

porsche959 · 09-05-2018, 10:58 AM

Hi all, so I wanted to share: https://hiddenrides.com/.

This is a project/hobby for me - mainly because I enjoy browsing various car forums to see what cars I can afford at any given time.

Shared this on a few other forums and got positive feedback so thought i should spread the love.

The inspiration for this project was a clean green/caramel e46 6spd i missed out on years ago - but hopefully this can help out the fellow bmw brethren as well.

Any thoughts/feedback would be appreciated!

otay · 09-05-2018, 03:32 PM

Nice! Looks pretty cool. Now all you need are some advertisers and then you can retire.

_BSMM5 · 09-05-2018, 03:49 PM

This is really awesome.. Thank you!

ill250 · 09-05-2018, 08:14 PM

wow, this is what I needed, thank you. I'm looking for a weekend car and this will definitely save me time going from forum to forum

rjd_F30 · 09-05-2018, 08:24 PM

Wow, that's a genius idea. Well designed and easy to use website. Double thumbs up from me

50shadesofhockenheim · 09-05-2018, 09:42 PM

That's so awesome. It's instant too

oranga · 09-06-2018, 12:27 PM

Cool project! I'm a front end developer myself and have some (minor) UX feedback that I think could be helpful.

- in the search keyword box, it seems like you can search multiple keywords separated by a comma, which is great! But as a user, it's not obvious i can do that. Maybe you could add a message or popup that mentions that. You could also instead of the "Clear filter(s)" button, create a button for each filter with it's own 'X' button.
- it might be cool to add a "Model" dropdown field based on Make, like you see on a lot of car sites
- when i click on up/down arrows in the min/max year input fields, it starts counting at 0. you could put in an upper bound of current year + 1 (so it'll start counting at 2019), and a lower bound of 1901, or whenever cars were invented lol.
- In the year/price/miles input fields, you could make it so the numbers increase/decrease with scroll wheel

Overall though it looks great! The information presented on each vehicle's card is super helpful and makes it easy to see important details at a glance, ie: price being in the top corner, and mileage and transmission below the title

adhrp · 09-06-2018, 01:21 PM

Looks great, OP! This should be pinned to the top of every forum. Both buyers and sellers will benefit a lot from the increased visibility of the classifieds.

porsche959 · 09-10-2018, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oranga

Cool project! I'm a front end developer myself and have some (minor) UX feedback that I think could be helpful.

- in the search keyword box, it seems like you can search multiple keywords separated by a comma, which is great! But as a user, it's not obvious i can do that. Maybe you could add a message or popup that mentions that. You could also instead of the "Clear filter(s)" button, create a button for each filter with it's own 'X' button.
- it might be cool to add a "Model" dropdown field based on Make, like you see on a lot of car sites
- when i click on up/down arrows in the min/max year input fields, it starts counting at 0. you could put in an upper bound of current year + 1 (so it'll start counting at 2019), and a lower bound of 1901, or whenever cars were invented lol.
- In the year/price/miles input fields, you could make it so the numbers increase/decrease with scroll wheel

Overall though it looks great! The information presented on each vehicle's card is super helpful and makes it easy to see important details at a glance, ie: price being in the top corner, and mileage and transmission below the title

Thanks for the detailed feedback! You are correct in that the search engine is fairly robust - acts like google (you can search multiple keywords, etc).

We have considered adding model as a field, but it would take a fair amount of work, and probably some type of advanced scraping since some people don't list which make of car it is specifically.

Other input field suggestions have been noted. Thank you again!

porsche959 · 09-10-2018, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adhrp

Looks great, OP! This should be pinned to the top of every forum. Both buyers and sellers will benefit a lot from the increased visibility of the classifieds.

Thanks man - would love for it to be pinned

just gotta figure out how...

porsche959 · 09-10-2018, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by otay

Nice! Looks pretty cool. Now all you need are some advertisers and then you can retire.

ha! maybe someday...

Wootiewoot · 09-10-2018, 10:23 AM

Thanks for sharing! Sweet engine

porsche959 · 09-14-2018, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjdnyy224

Wow, that's a genius idea. Well designed and easy to use website. Double thumbs up from me

Thanks man - appreciate the feedback

KOWTOWN · 09-14-2018, 10:25 AM

Nice, I tried a Spec-B as they're pretty rare and was able to find 2. Most searches won't come up with any

rjd_F30 · 09-14-2018, 04:54 PM

Can we have this pinned please? I know I'm gonna be using it frequently from now on.

otay · 09-15-2018, 01:59 PM

OP, when will the mobile app be available??

Humdizzle · 09-15-2018, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porsche959

Hi all, so I wanted to share: https://hiddenrides.com/.

This is a project/hobby for me - mainly because I enjoy browsing various car forums to see what cars I can afford at any given time.

Shared this on a few other forums and got positive feedback so thought i should spread the love.

The inspiration for this project was a clean green/caramel e46 6spd i missed out on years ago - but hopefully this can help out the fellow bmw brethren as well.

Any thoughts/feedback would be appreciated!

im using it everyday to try and find an e92 6spd comp. Funny you mention looking for a OG/CN e46. My old roommate had one in chicago for a little while (5-6 years ago), but it was SMG.

porsche959 · 09-17-2018, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjdnyy224

Can we have this pinned please? I know I'm gonna be using it frequently from now on.

Awesome - I agree, should be pinned

but seriously, thank you. we love power users.

porsche959 · 09-17-2018, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by otay

OP, when will the mobile app be available??

been getting that request quite a bit. will look into it.

that said, the website looks great on mobile too

porsche959 · 09-17-2018, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

im using it everyday to try and find an e92 6spd comp. Funny you mention looking for a OG/CN e46. My old roommate had one in chicago for a little while (5-6 years ago), but it was SMG.

yeah...that's the stuff (cept the smg)

this will have to do for now...

2006 325i 6 speed

- chatty and slow but lovely

Mouse · 09-17-2018, 12:30 PM

Well done Sir.

kern417 · 09-18-2018, 11:40 AM

Looks great. What forums does it pull from? I did a couple searches that I expected to return more results, but maybe it's based on your search criteria.

Also would be cool if it browsed fb marketplace and craigslist. I know forums are pretty segregated but it's also difficult to do broad searches on those sites that force you into searching by region.

If you started a fbpage you'd get a lot of hits. It reminds me of 500plus taking off.

09-05-2018, 10:58 AM	#1
porsche959 Banned 471 Rep 996 Posts Drives: porsche Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: chicago iTrader: (0)	I built a private car sales search engine (so could snag the perfect M3) Hi all, so I wanted to share: https://hiddenrides.com/. This is a project/hobby for me - mainly because I enjoy browsing various car forums to see what cars I can afford at any given time. Shared this on a few other forums and got positive feedback so thought i should spread the love. The inspiration for this project was a clean green/caramel e46 6spd i missed out on years ago - but hopefully this can help out the fellow bmw brethren as well. Any thoughts/feedback would be appreciated!
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09-05-2018, 03:32 PM	#2
otay Major 826 Rep 1,342 Posts Drives: 2015 335i Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Raleigh, NC iTrader: (0)	Nice! Looks pretty cool. Now all you need are some advertisers and then you can retire.
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09-05-2018, 03:49 PM	#3
_BSMM5 Second Lieutenant 124 Rep 238 Posts Drives: 2015 M3 Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Somewhere in Texas iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 BMW 335i [0.00]	This is really awesome.. Thank you!
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09-05-2018, 08:14 PM	#4
ill250 Private 15 Rep 70 Posts Drives: 2013 f30 Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Fremont, CA iTrader: (0)	wow, this is what I needed, thank you. I'm looking for a weekend car and this will definitely save me time going from forum to forum
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09-05-2018, 08:24 PM	#5
rjd_F30 Brigadier General 2000 Rep 3,679 Posts Drives: 2013 335i 6MT Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: New Jersey iTrader: (0)	Wow, that's a genius idea. Well designed and easy to use website. Double thumbs up from me __________________ Instagram: rjd_f30 \| Current: EBII 2013 335i 6MT RWD & Sprint Blue 2008 Audi RS4 \| Retired: 2013 328i, 2000 XTerra, 2022 Civic Si \|
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09-05-2018, 09:42 PM	#6
50shadesofhockenheim Colonel 2153 Rep 2,317 Posts Drives: 2005 Toyota Prius Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: boca raton, fl iTrader: (6)	That's so awesome. It's instant too
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09-06-2018, 12:27 PM	#7
oranga Second Lieutenant 87 Rep 221 Posts Drives: 335 6mt Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Houston iTrader: (4)	Cool project! I'm a front end developer myself and have some (minor) UX feedback that I think could be helpful. - in the search keyword box, it seems like you can search multiple keywords separated by a comma, which is great! But as a user, it's not obvious i can do that. Maybe you could add a message or popup that mentions that. You could also instead of the "Clear filter(s)" button, create a button for each filter with it's own 'X' button. - it might be cool to add a "Model" dropdown field based on Make, like you see on a lot of car sites - when i click on up/down arrows in the min/max year input fields, it starts counting at 0. you could put in an upper bound of current year + 1 (so it'll start counting at 2019), and a lower bound of 1901, or whenever cars were invented lol. - In the year/price/miles input fields, you could make it so the numbers increase/decrease with scroll wheel Overall though it looks great! The information presented on each vehicle's card is super helpful and makes it easy to see important details at a glance, ie: price being in the top corner, and mileage and transmission below the title
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09-06-2018, 01:21 PM	#8
adhrp Lieutenant Colonel 1281 Rep 1,606 Posts Drives: 2020 M550i (G30)/2021 X3 (G02) Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	Looks great, OP! This should be pinned to the top of every forum. Both buyers and sellers will benefit a lot from the increased visibility of the classifieds. __________________ 2020 M550i (G30) \| Carbon Black/Black Nappa \| DHP \| DAP \| Executive \| Luxury Seating \| Park Asst \| Ceramic Controls \| Front/Rear Heated Seats \| 20" 668M wheels 2021 X3 (G02) \| Dark Graphite Metallic/Cognac \| Premium \| DAP \| Front/Rear Heated Seats Sold/Retired: 2012 328i (F30)
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09-10-2018, 10:23 AM	#12
Wootiewoot Enlisted Member 8 Rep 30 Posts Drives: 2014 Bmw 435i black sapphire Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Southern California iTrader: (0)	Thanks for sharing! Sweet engine __________________ BMW F32
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09-14-2018, 10:25 AM	#14
KOWTOWN Private First Class 310 Rep 181 Posts Drives: 335i M sport Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Sacramento iTrader: (0)	Nice, I tried a Spec-B as they're pretty rare and was able to find 2. Most searches won't come up with any
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09-14-2018, 04:54 PM	#15
rjd_F30 Brigadier General 2000 Rep 3,679 Posts Drives: 2013 335i 6MT Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: New Jersey iTrader: (0)	Can we have this pinned please? I know I'm gonna be using it frequently from now on. __________________ Instagram: rjd_f30 \| Current: EBII 2013 335i 6MT RWD & Sprint Blue 2008 Audi RS4 \| Retired: 2013 328i, 2000 XTerra, 2022 Civic Si \|
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09-15-2018, 01:59 PM	#16
otay Major 826 Rep 1,342 Posts Drives: 2015 335i Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Raleigh, NC iTrader: (0)	OP, when will the mobile app be available??
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09-17-2018, 12:30 PM	#21
Mouse Second Lieutenant 95 Rep 279 Posts Drives: 2013F30 335i Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Cypress, TX iTrader: (0)	Well done Sir. __________________ 13' F30 335i - BMS Intake -- VRSF DP -- VRSF CP -- VRSF 5" Stepped Intercooler -- Corsa Touring Catback -- JB4 -- H&R Springs -- Miro Flow Formed F25's
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