RideCache

RideCache (pronounced “ride-cash”) is a brand new web application and service designed to help car enthusiasts and collectors digitally organize, manage and preserve everything they do to and with their vehicles. And we are also Porsche owners – you will see our 981CS in the demo video below. Previously only available to private collectors and a few select car clubs and organizations, RideCache is now broadly available and we are excited to be new sponsors here at Rennlist.

Specifically, RideCache helps you digitally organize, manage and preserve the following things for your vehicles:

• To-do and task lists for maintenance, repairs, restorations
• Wish lists for future modifications, upgrades
• Parts installed, in inventory or needed for the vehicle
• Papers associated with the vehicle
• Events where the vehicle has participated
• Unlimited pictures for all the above

Here are answers to a few common questions about RideCache:

“Why an app when paper/spreadsheet works just fine?” Well, the old school method really is just fine for some folks and that is OK – we don’t expect RideCache to be for everyone – but here are 10 ways we believe RideCache is superior to the old methods:

1. Your information is safe, secure and not prone to loss through fire, flood, decay, loss, etc.
2. Everything is in one place – to-do lists, maintenance records, important papers, part records, event records, notes and pictures – all in an organization system purpose-built for car enthusiasts
3. Easy to share with others if you choose – with fine grain privacy controls over who sees what
4. Easy to associate records of different types (ex: this paper is for this part that is associated with this task)
5. Easily searchable across multiple vehicles (ex: show me all of my batteries across all vehicles – boom, instant answer with info, receipts, pictures, etc).
6. Advanced features like notifications, designated managers, services, etc
7. Easy to transfer complete record to a new owner
8. Accessible from any internet connected device, anywhere at any time
9. A system that gets better over time as we add new features
10. And finally – we won’t own these cars forever, there will be a next owner. And the likelihood is that the next owner will be from the Millennial generation (or even younger). These next generation car enthusiasts have grown up with, expect, and value digital solutions and they will value your car more if you can provide them with a well built RideCache record.

“OK, I get it, but there are tons of car sites/apps out there – how is RideCache different?” Great question – here are several reasons why we built RideCache and why we think it is different. (read more on our blog here: http://blog.ridecache.com/2016/01/13...ther-car-site/ )

• Professional Tool, Not a Social Media Toy
  Being the best possible software tool for car enthusiasts and collectors is our primary goal, social is secondary (some of our users share nothing, keeping their RideCache fully private – that is OK).
• Robust Privacy and Security
  With RideCache, you can confidently build a COMPLETE digital record of everything associated with your vehicles (yes, even titles, loan docs, appraisals, etc) - all in one place and safe from theft, fire, flood or loss.
• Deep, Purpose-Built Feature Set for Enthusiasts
  Features to organize and manage tasks, wish lists, notifications, parts, paperwork, events and more. Notifications to monitor usage by time and/or mileage. Assigned managers to allow other trusted individuals access to help manage your account (Enthusiast/Collector levels only). And more.
• Services and Support
  For those who want a great RideCache for their vehicles but don't have the time, ability or inclination to build their own, we provide the RideCache Build and RideCache Valet services where our professionals will take your information and deliver a great RideCache for you.
• Subscription-based, Pay Service
  That is a good thing! It is about focus and development. Our focus is on you and your success and enjoyment as an enthusiast and collector. We spend all of our development dollars investing in ways to make your experience better - if we succeed and provide great value to you, we get paid.
  • No ads
  • Not trying to sell you anything
  • Not trying to sell your car

“Sounds like a lot of work…” RideCache is a tool. And like all great tools – you have to use them to realize their value. Many of you are already doing the work to scan receipts, build spreadsheets, upload pictures, etc – so for you RideCache will be an easy transition and a welcome integrated solution. For those that are pure paper today – yes, it will take some work – but we believe the payoff is significant.

• There are many that love organizing and documenting everything that is associated with their vehicles – it is part of their joy of owning special vehicles. These people will get great satisfaction in building and maintaining their RideCache.
• There are others who may love the idea of having a beautiful RideCache for their cars, but do not have the time or ability to build it on their own. For these people we offer the RideCache Build service. Starting at $250/vehicle (depending on the amount of documentation and assets that will need to be converted and uploaded), the professionals at RideCache will do the work for you and leave you with a professionally built RideCache you can enjoy, share and ultimately transfer to the next owner.
• We also offer a RideCache Valet service that will help maintain your account on an ongoing basis for a monthly fee per vehicle.
• If you are interested in either the RideCache Build or RideCache Valet services, send us an email and we will get you the details.

Finally, a demo is worth a thousand clicks! As I mentioned, we are happy Porsche owners ourselves.

• Here is a demo walkthrough of our own RideCache for the 981:
  
  RideCache Demo - 2014 Porsche Cayman S - YouTube
• The RideCache for the 981 from the video above is here: PC3.ridecache.com
• Here is another nice video to give you an idea of how RideCache is used by a collector of some high-value classic cars. This customer took advantage of our RideCache Build service and had our team build out his RideCache from documentation he provided (as well as some phone interview time with our team).
  
  Danny Reed Collection - RideCache Walkthrough - YouTube

Offer: Get started for FREE with one vehicle at ridecache.com. Then get 50% off of your first year’s subscription for advanced levels (manage more cars with more features) with the code: RENNLIST50 (be sure to type all upper case!). Sign up today at ridecache.com.

sugarwood

I enjoy reflecting on peoples' start up ideas.
They tend to run the gamut from tragically naive to enviously clever.

While this does seem like a quality professional development effort,
I can't see people using this because ...well....a spreadsheet works just fine, and it sounds like a lot of extra work.
So, I do give you credit for anticipating the adoption issues you will face (and then ignoring them)

Your target market, OCD car geeks who love data, currently have their folder of paper receipts and possibly an Excel/Dropbox/Google Docs spreadsheet with their maintenance history.
They might have some photos saved of when they bought the car, stored in the cloud, flash drive, or their phone. A real photo maven is going to have albums on Flikr or Picassa, etc.
Maybe they use a forum to document their ownership history.

In reality, people don't access their car history very often.
"When did I change the rotors?" You probably access car history a few times a year.
It can be answered very easily via the folder/cloud spreadsheet method.
Incentive to switch to your system?
Having to export, scan, and/or re-enter all that into a new system is not going to appeal to many people.

The ability to digitize your paper records already exists.
Scan papers, save to PDF, store on cloud. Give to next owner.
So, this is not a paradigm shift. It's just yet another place to store a PDF file, like Google Drive.

The question becomes: What is the cost/benefit of pulling it all into one place?
How does the whole become greater than the sum of its parts? Or is it a solution without a problem?

Security? The house is probably not going to catch fire, and Dropbox and Google Drive are not going away any time soon. "If it ain't broke.."

Plus, you have the issue of the privacy militants who think you (or hackers) plan to mine their oil change intervals and sell this immensely precious data to Big Oil.
The more realistic security risk is the risk of you deciding to shut down the service if it fails to catch on.
Now, the user needs to export all his data and start all over it again, or go back to his old method.

A guy who doesn't want to share his oil change interval with the world doesn't need this app. He's got a spreadsheet and a folder and the cloud.
Ironically, you say it's not a social media toy, but that may your only value add to justify the overhead costs of adopting your system.
Actually, scratch that. Who cares about the fact that you changed your tires? This is even worse than posting pics of your kid's dinner.
The only people who care are people on car forums, and he’s already posting there.

Your conundrum of viability is that:
1) old people will be afraid to use your app.
2) tech savvy middle aged people will not think your app adds enough value over existing cloud tech.
3) and young social media addicts who don't understand desktop PCs, spreadsheets, scanners, and PDF printer drivers aren't going to pay for "Car Maintenance Facebook"

Even as a free tool, it's not an easy sell.
I think the death blow is getting people to actually pay for it.

Good luck with the venture, and please post an update to this thread a year from now.