Car Prices Review

Automotive web sites are among my favorite places to visit on the world wide web. Part of the reason for my strong affection for car sites is my love for vehicles and these sites rank among the few that I will logon to even when I have no interest in making a purchase. One site that I was unfamiliar with until recently is Carprices.com, an automotive site that specializes in buying/selling vehicles, financing, insurance, and warranty information.

Web Site Commentary:

Carprices.com seems to be an adequate service, but it's not necessarily the best one I've ever used. I originally logged into this site to shop for auto insurance. What I found was that the site was big on insurance facts and terminology, and it did a good job of explaining insurance. But there wasn't much in the way of information on actually buying insurance. I was able to get a quote from Progressive Insurance, and I filled out a generic form which was then sent to several different insurance companies for quotes. The direct quotes I received back were from Travelers, AIG, Hartford Group, AMICA, and a few others. A few of the other companies sent me an e-mail quote. I wasn't impressed with the offers, which ranged very widely, or the amount of time it took to produce a quote.

The car search function is ok, but again, there are other sites that are much better and that offer more selections and options for "building" your dream car. The classified ad system seems to be pretty good, allowing buyers several options on contacting the seller, which is nice. With many other sites, you have to forward an e-mail to the site itself, who then forwards your message on to the seller. At least with this site, you are often given a phone number so that you can eliminate the middleman and call directly.

Most other services offered here are just links into other sites. If you want to buy parts for your vehicle, you will be linked into jcwhitney.com. If you want a quote on a warranty, you will be linked into warrantybynet.com. Even the purchasing of a vehicle is powered by autobytel.com.

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Overall, Carprices.com is an ok site, but I'm not very impressed. The first thing this site needs to do is update the layout and appearance. Then, it needs to enhance some of its basic features and product offerings and expand on some of its search functions. When that happens, I might come back and visit again. But until then, there are better auto sites to visit and enjoy. Carprices.com is about as middle- of- the- road as you can get.