AutoTempest wants your input on their new used car search!

"Court AutoTempest" (CourtAutoTempest)
06/05/2014 at 13:05 • Filed to: used cars, autotempest

Hi Oppo! My name's Court, I'm the lead designer of AutoTempest, that web app that !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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For those of you who haven't heard of AutoTempest, we bring together used car ads from Craigslist, AutoTrader, eBay, Cars.com and more so you can be sure you find your ideal car for the best price.

The Oppo community has consistently given us some of the best feedback, so I wanted to get your feedback on our !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! so we can make it the best tool it can be for you guys! We've got rid of the tabs and streamlined just about everything, improved tools like saved searches and started pulling from a whole whack of new results. Your input is what drives us to make awesome new features, so whatever feedback you can give is appreciated!

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and let us know what you think in the comments!

Thanks to the Oppo mods for giving me the OK to get your guys input!

DISCUSSION (26)

CalzoneGolem > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 13:09

I haven't used it in awhile if that one big list isn't new than ignore me but that's sweet!

thebigbossyboss > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 13:10

That's cool. I wish I needed a new car....hahaha!

Saracen > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 13:12

So I wanted to point out a potential bug when I was using your website yesterday.

I searched for and found a particular car on the San Diego Craigslist site (Alfa Romeo GTV)

However, when I put in a search for an Alfa Romeo GTV on Autotempest with the same search string, that listing in San Diego did not appear under the Craigslist tab. I get a hit for Los Angeles, a hit for Yuma, but not for San Diego. Just tried it again today, and the listing still does not appear.

Having said that, I love your website!!

Anon > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 13:13

I'll check it out, but I have to say this: Have you ever considered going to law school just so you could refer to yourself as "court of law"?

Edit: I have checked it out and this is awesome! Though if you could add cars.com and autotrader classics support that would be pretty awesome.

Meatcoma > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 13:16

Would be nice to be able to view prices(if avail) of the listings from craigslist.

Also, I found a listing that shows 4 pages of listings from craigslist and when you click on next the other pages disappear.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 13:18

I really appreciate all the hard work trying to make sure that all models are included for each manufacturer, I do. I often run into models I'd forgotten about, or even never heard of. However, a couple of models/makes (a number I like) are rife with misspellings and inconsistent naming in typical CL posts. Will it be possible in future to use an "input your own" feature rather than "all models"? I.e. that would enable tailored posts for "Camero", rather than needing a misspellings ref to tailor to variants.

Meatcoma > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 13:19

Getting a lot of postings that have been deleted, as well as cars that do not have the keywords anywhere in the body.

RyanFrew > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
06/05/2014 at 13:49

Couldn't you just click "All Models" and then put "Camero" in as a keyword?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > RyanFrew
06/05/2014 at 13:53

I guess. Now I feel dumb.

Court AutoTempest > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
06/05/2014 at 15:39

When you click the craigslist button, it will open a second window with the SearchTempest search page. You can modify your search keywords there!

Court AutoTempest > Anon
06/05/2014 at 15:42

I did briefly consider law school for pun purposes, but decided that having a Lady Justice sleeve tattoo was a cheaper and easier option :)

We're working on having Cars.com be it's own site, but you'll actually get all the Cars.com results if you add Oodle to your results under the Options tab. Oodle pulls results from Cars.com and a variety of other places.

I haven't seen AutoTrader Classics before. We'll look into adding that one as well :)

Court AutoTempest > Meatcoma
06/05/2014 at 15:45

We're definitely working on getting the prices for craigslist. We search craigslist through Google though, so our listings are only as good as their indexes.

Not totally sure what you're saying about the other pages disappearing though. Are you saying that when you're on SearchTempest and click next page, the results that were previously showing are no longer shown on the page?

Court AutoTempest > thebigbossyboss
06/05/2014 at 15:46

Keep it bookmarked for when you do! :)

Court AutoTempest > CalzoneGolem
06/05/2014 at 15:46

Yep! The one big list is the biggest change of the new results. Glad you like it :)

Court AutoTempest > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 15:48

Oh wait, I get what you're saying. Since the results are powered by Google, Google returns an estimate of how many pages there will be until the end. Often, that estimate is wrong. You'll often find the same thing happening on the regular Google search.

Meatcoma > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 15:49

Ahh.

Court AutoTempest > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 15:49

Also! If you really want to see the prices directly, try clicking the "Direct Results" mode in the SearchTempest window. It's a little more complicated to use, but has a lot of the search options we just can't use through Google.

Court AutoTempest > Meatcoma
06/05/2014 at 15:51

Again, this is one of the difficulties of being powered by Google. If you really want to filter out those deleted listings, try using the "Direct Results" mode in the SearchTempest tab!

Court AutoTempest > Saracen
06/05/2014 at 15:54

Glad you like it!

The listing is likely missing because SearchTempest, the tool we use to search craigslist for you, is powered by Google, and is only as complete as Google's indexes. Sometimes, Google will miss a page because it's too new or a variety of other reasons. An easy way to get over this though is switching to the "Direct Results" mode in the SearchTempest window, which will allow you to access listings directly from craigslist using a fancy little widget to switch between cities.

Hope it helps!

thebigbossyboss > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 16:01

Great website. Too bad people can't get their car names right. That is not a Lincoln Continental...that's a pickup truck.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/22145…

Why do I have to fill in my name to get a new car quote? I shop from canada so it's more just for pleasure than actual seriously buying.

Court AutoTempest > thebigbossyboss
06/05/2014 at 16:46

Ya, sadly our tool is only good as the people who write the ads :P

The new car quote tool works by having your local dealerships contact you to see what sort of deal they can do for you, and it's easier to get ahold of someone when you know their name :)

We're also in Canada!

thebigbossyboss > Court AutoTempest
06/05/2014 at 17:05

Oh ok cool. In a few years when the Cavalier has breathed it's last...I will be on auto tempest. Thanks for the work and the website and responding to my idiot comments.

Court AutoTempest > thebigbossyboss
06/05/2014 at 17:41

Not idiot comments at all! It's my pleasure :)

Have a good one!

DailyTurismo > Court AutoTempest
06/09/2014 at 17:52

Court,

I've used autotempest to find all sorts of whacky cars for DailyTurismo.com and can say it is my favorite aggregator for auto searches. I like the tabs layout, but can get used to the new layout.

Another site you could consider adding is torquelist.com — it is a new site, but looks focused on enthusiast cars. Last thought - is should you have a free-for-all google search for name/make/model focused on the last few days in an attempt to find active forum listings?

-Vince

Court AutoTempest > DailyTurismo
06/18/2014 at 17:27

Hey Vince!

Sorry it's taken so long to respond, I was out of town for a week.

This is the first I've heard of your site, and I really dig it! Expect to get some shares from our Facebook and Twitter pages. Super stoked to hear you like what we do!

We've had a couple people mention that they would like a way to search similar to the old tabs layout, so we'll be adding a search that will separate results by site.

A forum searcher is in the works! We have a list of sites we plan on adding - which I'll add torquelist to - and it will be one of the first features we work on after the full launch of the site!

Let me know if you have any other questions or comments! You can email me at court@autotempest.com.

Cheers!PS If you want to keep up with what we're doing, feel free to sign up to our Think Tank or Press newsletters!

Daniel > Court AutoTempest
07/19/2014 at 15:04

yes is a good start this engine, but wipzz.comdoes a better job.