Introducing: Honest Wheels
Choosing Your Next Car with Confidence
40 million used cars are sold in the United States, every year. Outside of dense cities like New York and San Francisco, people still need cars to get around. While we work to make our world greener, safer, and more walkable, cars aren’t going anywhere, whether gas-powered today or electric-powered tomorrow.
People will still need to buy cars, too, even if the process of researching and buying cars is painful for many. 61% of buyers find the process stressful. More than half are uncertain about key decisions during their research. Few enjoy the hours of negotiation and paperwork to get the best deal.
Enter Honest Wheels.
Honest Wheels is dedicated to help people choose their next car with confidence. We see dozens of opportunities to arm people with knowledge throughout the car-buying process, whether they’re just starting to research cars or whether it’s time to make the final decision about a specific car. Today, Honest Wheels starts with two core offerings: Reliability Reports and VIN Check Reports.
Reliability Reports
Cars break. Some break more often and more dramatically than others. Some are much more reliable than others. Some brands have sterling reputations for quality, while others do not. A vehicle’s reliability—it’s ability to last longer with fewer mechanical issues—impacts so much, from the price buyers pay for a vehicle to the ongoing maintenance costs they face. It’s no wonder that reliability is the number one factor influencing a buyer’s vehicle selection.
Honest Wheels offers Reliability Reports that illuminate which parts break and when for over 700 models. We use official complaints to the NHTSA to paint a picture of a vehicle’s reliability. Our Reliability Reports cover:
- Which model years to avoid, and which to seek
- Which years have the most recalls
- Which components cause the most trouble, and
- When those components fail
Take, for example, the humble-yet-mighty Toyota Prius.
Let’s say that you, dear reader, have made up your mind that the Prius is the right car for you. Now what? Which model year of the Prius should you shop for and what problems should you watch for while searching? This is where our Reliability Report comes in.
As you can see, the 2010 Prius had more than its fair share of trouble. This isn’t too surprising, knowing that 2010 was the initial production year for the third-generation Prius. After 2010, not many owners complained. That’s that Toyota reliability!
Let’s say you want a Prius made before 2010: you know there are issues, but what are they? Our Reliability Report dives even deeper into the most common issues, such as exterior lighting:
Looks like the second-generation Prius had troublesome exterior lights that failed throughout the lifetime of the vehicle. Sure enough, a little Googling reveals that the second-generation Prius was notorious for headlight problems: definitely something to bring up with the previous owner and ask if they’ve had the same trouble!
We look forward to adding more to our Reliability Reports over the coming months, including normalizing our data and answering questions such as, “Is the Prius more reliable than other hybrid vehicles?” We’re excited to share our Reliability Reports today, completely free at Honest Wheels.
VIN Checks
Buying a used car is risky. It’s hard to know what secrets a car is hiding, especially previous damage. Insurance companies, fire and police departments, the federal government, and others all track vehicles based on a unique Vehicle Identification Number or VIN. Honest Wheels offers VIN Check Reports that reveal the past lives of a used car and make it clear whether you can buy—or sell!—a car with confidence.
Our VIN Check Reports reveal accidents, damage, manufacturer buybacks, mileage discrepancies, and more. We combine and refine data from several sources to create a meaningful, easy-to-understand reports. Honest Wheels also uses the power of maps and data visualization to add even more clarity to an individual vehicle’s story. We do all this and more for 80% less than our competition and your first report is free. Buyers and sellers both benefit from a clear picture about a vehicle’s past.
In the future, we’re excited to add more to our VIN Reports, including more information about what to check for specific model years of a vehicle (check those headlamps, Prius buyers!) and provide more guidance about what questions to ask during the car-buying process.
Above all else, we want Honest Wheels to offer more knowledge to buyers to help them choose a car with confidence. There’s so much to do and we’re looking forward to building on what we already have!
Thanks for taking the time to read. Check out honestwheels.com for more details, send us your feedback, and please help us out: pass our name along to any friends or family members looking to buy a car. We look forward to helping them choose their next car with confidence!
