Craig Whitney

Here's a quick update on RepairLync. We had to extend Beta due to unforeseen issues. We are still working on the highest quality software, but, moreover, high quality customers. We are heavily monitoring activity and not letting any nonsense activity pass through. So beta might be for another month, with less activity. However, I want to point out that OpenBay seems to be promoting a new service now, identical to RepairLync. However, there is no mention on risk mitigation and no mention on attempting to prevent a bidding war. They're backed by Google. So I'd keep an eye out if I was a shop owner. We, at Repairlync, took all your advice and changed a lot, but we can because we're not profit driven. They, especially with Google, might be. So just a heads up.

Hey all - just to keep those who signed up "in the loop" for Beta. We added new functionality, based on feedback from shops and users: 1) Repair Shops now have the ability to decline to estimate/quote a vehicle. There is a new link now that allows the decline, which informs the user. This way, early feedback can be given and you won't see these new requests as "new" anymore. An optional "reason" is available for you to write, when you decline. 2) Communication preferences can now be set, along with an "unsubscribe" type option that doesn't send any emails regarding new customer requests. The options are now: a) Email the repair shop every time a user requests services b ) Email the repair shop once a day if they have a new request in that day, but did not already reply to it. c) Do not email the repair shop about new user requests We are working on a few more items that will help prepare for a wider distribution and marketing launch. However, until then, requests will still be slow - we hope we still have your attention after this phase because we know things are slow. But the thing we're trying to avoid is an issue that would waste your guys' time. Thanks for your patience and please stay tuned for more announcements. Always remember to email [email protected] for enhancements or issues.

Quick update to those who signed up - We released the product to the Google Play store for vehicle owners to use. We're working on slowly marketing it so that customers will connect with you. However, we are planning on doing it slowly to ensure that there will be limited transactions so that we can get feedback and fix any issues. So in the coming weeks, you may start seeing some activity. However, we'll keep it considered in limited Beta mode, to ensure the highest quality for everyone. After we get a fair share of transactions and satisfaction, we'll open it up! Stay tuned!

Thanks for the comments! I definitely agree with you - we try our best to put shops in control after the readings, which is why we do not perform any translations or hints on the fixes. We give all the options to communicate, quote fixes or inspection fees, message, etc with customers. They are definitely in need if they use this product and we hope they go to you for their needs. If repair facilities do not agree with quoting fixes, that's not the only option available. However, most of all repair shops that signed up will probably notice very little or no activity so far. Just to clarify what's going on, Google's Beta testing process is extremely limited. We can't open it up to random people. You have to market it through all networks, then they have to opt in to be a qualified tester. However, we have tested with many local people and have performed quality fixes. We are almost ready to release to the public. Our target is to get released this week. We will be on top of it, ensuring that everyone's happy and will make any necessary adjustments accordingly, after release. Please stay tuned!

Hello all - just a quick message to those who have registered, or who tried to register via Facebook - We deeply apologize, but there was a bug preventing many registrations (users and shops) from completing, causing our user base to be extremely limited. The bug has been fixed and users can now login fully using their Facebook accounts. The good news is that we caught it in Beta. But in any case, for those registered, you are probably not seeing much activity in Beta due to this, and due to the fact that Google's Beta process tends keeps users very limited in size. If you already registered, there is no action to take. If you tried to, via Facebook, and couldn't, then you should be able to now. Thanks for your patience and always let me know if there are any questions or concerns.

Thank you so much for your feedback. I stated earlier that I would not step out and defend the product's concept at this point because I believe some are viewing the responses as me "not getting it". However, in this case, there are quite a bit of misconceptions that I need to clear up - many only read the last few posts, and there's some ideas I need to clarify here. 1) You raise a good point of losing you as a consumer - we will look into clarifying further so that the average layman can understand the product. 2) OBD-2 scanning in retail stores is and has been illegal in California and Hawaii (and more states are putting legislature into effect). So no, it is not free in those states. 3) We know about the AutoZone fiasco in states where it's currently legal. The positive thing about this product is that we put shops in the front line instead of AutoZone techs who know nothing compared to you guys. You are right that the Bluetooth reader costs money, but $24 is one of our main supported products - so it's not that pricey, and it can be have an ROI for future scans. Customers may not understand it, but it's up to us to try to convince them. 4) For the use case you mentioned, the product is not for fixing a car with major issues that needs to be fixed ASAP. We probably need to convey that better. We did get that question a few times when we presented to random consumers. The purpose is for the consumer that has a driveable car with a check engine light. On the consumer side, I can't stress enough on how many people will drive their car with the check engine light until it completely breaks down or a smog check is due. I'm not sure if you see those, on the shop side, because you are a main point of repairs. People who do not have a connection to a shop have a fear - fear of cost, fear of unknowns, fear of finding a trusty location. I've been through the other side. Being one of the first to own an OBD-II scanner way back when, I can't tell you how many times I've driven out to friends, friends of friends, more than 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, to lend a hand with the scanner. Maybe you don't want those types of customers though, but we're lending them a hand in getting their stuff fixed as best as we can, giving you to the front of the line. Thanks again for your comments and we will look into further improving, based on your feedback. [Edit] Forgot to mention that I want to point out (for those who wonder about the full suite of features): the check engine light diagnosis is heavily talked about, but it is not the only feature of the product - although standard repair quotes electronically have been done before, that is also another major feature. I know many aren't free for consumers and shops, but RepairLync is.

Hello all, Just wanted to quickly mention that Beta is now continuing for RepairLync. Once again, thanks to everyone for their feedback and info - we know the app doesn't work well in many scenarios, so if that's the case for your shop, thanks again for your time and feedback. The improvements so far are: - Shop video updated with full process implementation and new features - Process implemented for protection of shops and customers, along with expectations - "Physical inspection only" checkbox for shops who have any doubt in the request - User app bug fixes for OBD reading - User app detailed information on expectations. They will know the process, next steps, etc. - Change of focus on various features to inform customers of process and expectations - including app messages, terms of use, popups, page documentation, etc. Informing customers that shops want to help them to the best of their abilities, along with expectations of remote diagnosis. - Many more minor features/enhancements/bug fixes. If you're interested, please sign up today at https://shop.repairlync.com Beta will continue through a targeted mid February and be open to the public after then. Thanks!

Xrac, A little background on myself, sure, this may be long, but I want to give you the history on why this product started, and my knowledge in the field... I grew up loving cars. My dad always worked on his own cars and I was the type that would be his little helper in the garage. I was able to learn a lot of basics in there, but it wasn't until age 16 that I started working on them, on my own. My friend had an '84 GT 5.0 that needed a lot of work. We did a lot to it, such as replacing the radiator, carb, etc so it would run well and pass smog. It did. It also ran a decent 15.6x @ 87, which isn't bad for bone stock and a bad 2.5 60'. From then on, I realized that I loved fixing and modifying cars - and wasn't scared to do so on my own. My first car was a used '94 Trans Am GT. It ran well but needed a little TLC under the hood. I started college right before the .com bust, so I became a computer science major, thinking I'd join the tech boom of getting a good job. The bubble burst when still in college, but I still kept my major since I was well into it, and was pretty good with computers. As a poor college kid, I tried to figure out ways on how to make the Trans Am run well and faster. It went from "free mods" to bolt-ons. I also helped out with my freind's 76 Jeep. Out of college, I couldn't find a full time job with the bad economy, so I only held misc part-time jobs while working on cars and helping fix friends' cars. Then it went to friends of friends. Then friends of friends of friends. I didn't charge anything and did it for fun since most couldn't afford to pay. But as some mentioned earlier, I did fix some of these with "backyard" techniques because I didn't have the fancy tools. Once I found a full time job, the real modding on the Trans Am began...22x cam, fully ported heads, tubular suspension and subframe, full race trans w/ big stall, 9" rear, etc. most done by hand. And although I don't agree with CA smog laws (especially after cutting 30% allowables for older cars and keeping the new car allowables much higher), I believe in being honest, rather than cheating. So the car became a low 12 second daily driven, smog-legal car. I still wish I could've put a 24x extreme lift cam to run 10s, but I'm not going to cheat. In the meantime, I started learning about OBD-I. I purchased all of the tools, including FreeScan, Scanmaster, LT1Edit, etc. But I was too scared to tune on my own. So I purchased pre-defined tunes, but they were bad - ran it too lean to get the dyno #s for publicity. Those tunes also made it fail smog. So I started looking into the OBD-I protocol and was able to start tuning the car myself. Went from simple things like coolant temperature and rev limiter to more complex like A/F ratio at specific RPMs, start and end shift patterns + lockup for throttle %, etc. But besides my car and fixing friends' cars, I enjoyed modding other cars too. I worked on a fair share of a GN, LT1s and LS1s, 5.0s, LM7, etc. So much, that I permanently screwed up the skin on my hands (ok, TMI). Since 2013, my dad and I have been building up a 55 Chevy from the frame up. 410 LS3, 9", big stall, everything custom - literally everything from scratch. Back to fixing cars...When I was fixing my friends and friends of friends cars, I sometimes was clueless on where to start. So I purchased one of the first publicly available PC OBD-II scanners from ScanTool. It helped a lot - guiding me on where to start, and in some cases, immediately showing the culprit. In other cases, there were struggles, but I am appreciative to OBD-II to helping me start in the right direction. Fast forward to 2012, I was in graduate school. In my "capstone" class, we all had to come up with project ideas - and each project was to address a "problem". Of course, the first thing I thought of was something about cars. Out of every single one of my friends, what is one thing they are most afraid of with their car - the check engine light and high cost repairs. So I pitched an idea to have a user friendly check engine light reader. All of the current apps that read codes aren't quite user friendly and are more for enthusiasts - which is a good and bad thing. So I thought about creating it for the average user (yes, AutoZone failed in this, but now we're going to try to fix it). But when we pitched the ideas, I played it down. I didn't want my idea to be picked because if it was, I'd have to lead the project and pick several classmates as team members. But we all know how that goes - the leader of a school project does all the work, and that is what happened. I didn't even vote for my project, but had overwhelming votes that students wanted to see a friendly check engine light helper. But still, this concept already existed. So I thought, how about making this diagnosis available to shops? Somehow get those DTCs out to get a rough idea on fixes, while giving shops business. Be a positive to both worlds. But yes, this is definitely over simplified. At the end of the class, I had a prototype I presented to get my Masters. The audience was a large group of students, marketers and staff. The end result was a huge hit for the consumer side. Instead of grading the project, their response was "when can I get it?" From then I started believing in it. So I performed various interviews among shops and did broad surveys among dozens of shops, including dealership service centers and local repair facilities. The simplified result was, 37% would be interested in this product if it didn't involve too much extra work. An additional 33% would possibly be interested if it brought more customers in. Of couse, 67% said the biggest technical challenge was the lack of confidence in quoting/diagnosing without seeing the vehicle. These numbers seemed to imply - if we are able to make good software, we could have a huge market interest for consumers, and a decent market with shops onboard. From there, I and a few others created our company. The prototype wasn't production ready so our company created RepairLync to re-create the software from scratch. We hired staff, software developers, user experience artists, voice overs, video artists, etc. And I still have my day job to fund the project. The same thing is true with the others. I don't expect anything in return because the software is free for everyone. But we do need to incorporate ads because the server and infrastructure costs are adding up quickly. Come to today, we tried to release to Beta, but we realized we have some flaws, which we're fixing now. So in the end, I may get blasted by some for not having formal training or certification in the automotive industry. That's fine, but I think I can bring something decent to the industry, being an expert in the software world, and having at least some background in autos.

You are right - the system could be used in such a way to promote this type of behavior. One thing we're working on is to portray reviews and reputation are just as good as price. Of course, we know that many people will always go to the lowest price. However, I'm not sure if it's just me, but have you ever saw two identical products, one at a no-name online store, and the other at Amazon. If they are relatively close in price, but no-name is cheaper, I still buy at Amazon, to get the guarantee of good service, fast shipment and a brand new item. We'll try to work on getting that portrayed. If the customer is "cheap" enough that they'd rather go for the no-name, then maybe the high quality shop wouldn't want this type of customer (which was one of the feedback in an earlier post). Of course, this is all theory yet. However, based on RepairLync's Terms of Use, your statement of "The customers assume the risk based on a third party's diagnosis" isn't true. After taking their vehicle in, the policy for registered shops is to verify the quoted "most common fix" is the actual problem. If it's not, then the shop charges only for the physical inspection, and the customer decides whether or not to fix it there. If the hack shop doesn't properly verify the diagnosis and fixes the wrong part, then the customer's car's symptoms won't change. Then it's treated like a walk-in where work is done to the car, but it still has the same problems.

Xrac, I very, very much appreciate your feedback. Excellent suggestions and info - that is invaluable to making a more useful product. As you can see, the product has evolved since the first post and this is only approx 10% of the intended new items. I will admit that the first revision literature, videos and artwork were too much on the optimistic (magic) side, and we're fixing all of that. The Autozone free diagnostic readout, and how it affected your shop, is also very interesting. That reinforces that RepairLync needs to do a good job on training consumers. We'll work on that more with more ideas and another revision on the video. This alone would drive us to want to become an authority in this matter - to give some visibility into the problem, while giving them the realities of it. We'll work with our team to figure out new ideas on making this better. I mean, I see articles like this and I cringe...http://20somethingfinance.com/the-service-engine-light-your-mechanics-dirty-little-secret/ But trying to educate users on an individual basis of scan results will probably be a far release. Since the project all privately funded without investor capital, it will be a big challenge in getting all of the code combo details completed quickly and accurately. We'll think about this one... The pricing matrix is an excellent idea! We were looking into that when first starting the project, but couldn't figure out a quick way to automate that, unless we simply show the hourly matrix for all scans, regardless of result. Otherwise, if we were to develop a "most common fix" matrix, we'd have to have a combination of all feasible codes + year/make/model + shop hourly rate + hours to fix + parts cost. Or were you thinking of just a static hourly matrix? In some ways, we've even been considering replacing quotes with a cost range for the "most common fix" and a list of shops, highest rated with the best visibility. The worry there, though, is that this becomes too similar to RepairPal and less shop interaction before they take their car in. If the "most common fix" is wrong, then we're back to the Autozone issue because there was no shop interaction before they took their car in.

Guys, I know plenty of you are pretty annoyed with me and this product, so I'm going to stop defending the RepairLync product at this point. It's fine if you wish to keep the debate going, but it will only be one sided now. I will only post to this thread if there are any questions or constructive feedback on making the product better (but not how the core concept doesn't work). But again, to those who disagree with our core concept, I humbly respect your opinion and thank you for your time as we'll go on our merry ways. I think I've said enough defense of the product, that someone "on the fence" can judge on their own, based on our debates above. Let's just say that it may seem to some that RepairLync is on a losing battle with a lot of negativity in this thread, but we are getting just as many shops on board for our Beta, to help with our product (yes, they are the quiet ones). FYI, we've even halted Beta as we are finishing the fixes that incorporates your feedback into our product: Other fixes mentioned in this thread, but not mentioned below, are set for a more future release. Fixes: - Customer Training on Realities of OBD-II We have incorporated the following features to help improve customer knowledge on how OBD-II works. We have added the following: - (Not yet complete) Intro video to RepairLync now has an explanation of OBD-II and how it can't possibly pinpoint the exact part many times. Also included provision information so they don't expect a magic diagnosis and estimate in their inbox. - Website literature updated to explain shop quoting provisions and how OBD-II is just the start of the diagnosis. - Terms of Use for users heavily updated. Terms of use include shop provisions and as long as they stick to the provisions and terms, they cannot write negative feedback upon it. Also updated to map shop disclaimer agreements as legally binding. Added specifically that shops are not bound to the exact amount quoted. Many more. - New popup in Mobile app - when scanning a vehicle, the following message shows: "Estimates sent by shops only are estimates, due to the limitations of remote diagnosis. Shops are not bound to amounts they quote, but they will try their best to serve your needs. Please read the (clickable) "Terms of Use" for more information." Buttons: I agree allows them to scan. I disagree does not allow them to scan. Disclaimer popups are not affected and still occur when a user accepts a fix or inspection estimate. - Terms of Use now updated for a new review policy and disputes. We have updated the customer Terms of Use to have a procedure on how to get rid of bad reviews - and even included that we're willing to try to help remove those reviews from 3rd party sites (e.g. Yelp, if their policy allows it), since we are a neutral 3rd party with potential evidence.

mspecperformance, great post. I'm sorry about the bad review on Yelp. That's really bad when that happens - and I can see that Yelp would never remove it. Since Yelp operates so many businesses, I'm sure they'd have to do a full investigation to ensure the customer is worng. I'm sure for one review, they won't bother because they're too "big and bad". RepairLync's review system is open to anyone who registers, but we have a conduct policy. In our Q&A added recently, we accept feedback from shops on consumers directly. If a customer is found to be violating our policy, we have the right to ban them and remove the review(s) completely. We're still working on the policy for that because it's not super straight forward. We can't just remove reviews upon request because then our reviewing system will be considered questionable. However, since we have a smaller market than Yelp, we will have the power to contact both sides and resolve the review based on our findings. We're working on getting that in our terms of use. In the future, we're even trying to work on a shop-only customer review system. So if there's someone who's not-so-nice, you will have the ability to see and can choose never to service this type of person. Excellent feedback and we're looking into tweaking our policies on this one!

Russ, For the examples I mentioned, it would only work theoretically. Since it's a new product, things don't always go its way, but this is why I'm trying to further develop and release it so it's closest to the theories. 1) In your example above, why would you want to link an already fearful consumer with a shop that charged $500 for a $10 repair? Is that good for anyone except the shady shop? In this case, RepairLync first provides visibility into the problem. The shop would be less likely to charge $500 if they connected to RepairLync. If they were not connected to RepairLync, then any user with RepairLync won't take thier car in there. So this is good for the consumer. 2) The consumer's belief that shops "Rip people off" has now been confirmed by your product Taking a step back. Product development 101 states that a product's purpose is to solve a problem. If you see no problems in the industry, then this product will solve nothing. However, based on experience, I found the following problems: a) Some people are scared when they have no knowledge. If they don't have a trustworthy relationship, they would tend to believe they're being scammed when it comes to high dollar amounts - it's a natural tendency for many. With this product, shops can explain the details on why it costs this amount, so it can even be a positive thing. It may not make sense to the consumer, but now they have 3rd party confirmation to help with trust. If a shop has problems with accountability, then they'd be afraid to join. The legit reason I'd see they'd be afraid is, they're afraid of remote diagnosis - which is perfectly fine. It's on RepairLync to train the consumer, which is what we're working on. But RepairLync also has standard work item requests, so DTCs are not the only thing we do (similar to OpenBay, but we're free). Note, this line item is not a problem for well established businesses with great relationships with clients. b ) Some shop businesses do not operate with the utmost conduct. We are trying to keep them in check with our product. They may not become a partner with our product, but if they do, then chances are, they are less likely to take advantage. And if they don't, then unsuspecting consumers who use RepairLync won't take their car there. BTW, the shop in my examples ($500 for $5, wires for syrup in the gas tank) is the same shop. They've been there since the 80s or 90s, and get 4.5 on Yelp, so maybe some will consider this not a problem, if you can get away with ethical issues, yet get high ratings) c) Some shops are new businesses and need customer leads while trying to build reputation. Customers also want to find the best shops around. We are trying to be the means to electronically connect consumers to shops. 3) In the second example, how would Repairlync help to prevent that type of a misdiagnosis? RepairLync has an online review system that users post reviews - (DTC connection is only a small portion of the product). These types of blatant misdiagnosis (in theory) are less likely to happen if they know that their work reviews are publicly posted. Of course, people can do this on Yelp, and this example occurred in 2004, before Yelp. So maybe things are better now.

Thanks Gonzo, for the honest feedback. It is all welcome, appreciated and taken into consideration, evolving the development and marketing of the product. With your comments, it sounds like you don't agree with the core fundamentals of RepairLync, so I'll agree that it's not a good product for you. I agree that it's easy for me to sit here and say that diagnosis can be done, when you guys have to perform the actual work. I'm in no way disagreeing to your assessment. A reputable shop like yours, with great customer relationships, won't ever need a product like this. In fact, as you mentioned, it will likely make yourselves worse off. If DTCs are not ready to be even considered for a remote quote, I can respect your opinion. I personally believe it "can" be enough to lead in a general direction. Maybe enough to quote in some cases...you say no, I say yes if we have our "provisions" in place. Now what I will completely disagree to is your mention to parts, scanners or phone apps being not available to the public. Also on home appliances. If you haven't purchased a new home appliance lately, many models now have on-board diagnostic systems. And some even display the failure code, visible to the consumer on the front facing panels. And you can Google these codes for the diagnosis - with even some sites, you paying an service rep to guide you through fixing. Times are changing and diagnostics are evolving because everything is becoming electronic. Google, Wikipedia and the power of the internet has changed the world. Not all internet knowledge is truth, but compare to how it was 30 years ago. Things are better, but is there enough "bad" knowledge to make everything worse? Maybe some say yes, in some cases, where I'd leaning towards trying to use it for the "greater good". Now if a shop would rather keep the customer completely in the dark, that is perfectly fine too, but you have to remember that some new shops without your reputation are going to have their skeptics. And some shops will (yes and you know they will) purposely rip off a consumer because they have no visibility into the problem. I will always agree that working hard and earning trust is always the #1 thing people can do to win over customers, rather than these apps. We would like to try to help in that realm. We are trying to adjust our product into making people understand this the issues of remote diagnosis. If it's impossible to train them, then the product will probably not work. Lastly, this is just our first phase of the product. We are coming up with full diagnostic algorithms to help pinpoint the issue better, so that the diagnosis would be more on us, and less on the repair facility. This is still work in progress, but at least we are researching all aspects of this. Thank you again for your comments and they are well received :-)

Russ, Thanks again for all of your feedback. It may not seem like it, but I'm taking your feedback into consideration and evolving the product and target market. Let's just say that reputable shops like yourself, with great customers, do not need RepairLync. Also I believe RepairPal was even backed by cars.com and Castrol for $13m in furthering their product. So yes, they have big investment. I'd definitely say though that we are not trying to do what they're doing. They're looking to certify individual shops, which takes time, money, and good honest management. This is is good, as you pointed out earlier. However, once the shop is certified, why would we need visibility anymore? IMHO, it's good for a stamp and attempting to build an online trust between shops and vehicle owners. I'm not sure if it's working? But I can't see how to physically see the ROI. Just my opinion and I could be wrong. But this is what RepairLync can try to help (of course, again, not a shop like yours), but that is debatable for all. In the end, it appears that you're implying that RepairLync is good for nothing. I honestly respect your opinion. I slightly disagree and maybe will agree to the point of saying it's not good for shops like yours. But we've had so many cases of: 1) Customer is clueless about cars, but needs service, whether check engine light or not. They are too scared to take it in anywhere, or has no knowledge on diagnosis, etc. 2) Shop needs customers or needs some visibility into their work. My example earlier of the shop that charged $500 for $5 in parts and 10 min of labor - could RepairLync help that? You'd probably say no, but I would disagree, and say "maybe" but how would we know without trying. Another example is that I had to take my car into a shop due to vandalism - someone poured syrup in my gas tank and had to take it in to a shop for insurance purposes. After a "full physical diagnostic", guess what - they replaced the plug wires. Even after countering, they said they fixed it. $475 later, and about 2 miles down the road, the car died again. Now would RepairLync provide help in that? Maybe, because of our online visibility presence and review system, maybe it could have been avoided. It may seem like I'm just being "smart" and countering everything that's been said. But I'm not. I'm agreeing with most of what you said, and I'm learning what you guys are saying, and figuring out different ways on how to make this work. Maybe it will only work for the 2 use cases I mentioned above, but if I throw the product away, we will never know. Thanks for the honest feedback, as always.