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Accolades

Greenlight.com
www.greenlight.com

Forbes Review: 

"This car-buying site has a no-frills approach, but its prices are outstanding. We found that two of our three cars came in about $500 cheaper than our former favorite, CarsDirect.com. Backed in part by Amazon.com (which will soon launch a cobranded version on its site), this new player lets you choose your make and model, pick a color scheme and options. Then, up pops a full quote—including taxes and fees—without having to put money down. No haggling, either. Prices are frozen for seven days after you make a $200 deposit and you can arrange for pick-up or delivery from the nearest Greenlight-affiliated dealer. The site posts road-test reviews from NewCarRoadTest.com and lets you compare models side-by-side in your virtual showroom. It also offers finance and trade-in information, with links to Kelley’s Blue Book. Greenlight is expanding quickly, but has not yet made it to major states like Texas and Ohio.

BEST: Greenlight will set up a road test at one of its dealers.

WORST: Pictures are too small and not all options appear on the site."

Forbes Top-Rated Favorite in Best of the Web 9-11-00

New Cars

Used Cars

Auto Agent

List your car for sale

Extended Warrantee

PC Magazine: "The all-encompassing site does a great job of presenting comprehensive information and offers three ways to purchase a new car" (PC Magazine--click here for full review)

Forbes Review: "Stoneage.com supplied the buying engine for a number of the lesser sites in this category, and their site isn't much better. It's a dealer referral service, and it also offers used cars through a buying agent that will go out and try to match you up with the car of your choice. Or you can just search their database of over 500,000 listings" (Forbes--click here for full review)

Forbes 9-11-00

Top Overall Rating from PC Magazine 3-10-00

Autobytel.com
www.autobytel.com

Forbes Review: "Autobytel.com operates mostly through an affiliated dealer network. Pre-owned vehicles can be purchased from classified ads posted on the site or through auctions. New car shoppers should also check Autobytel’s Virtual Lot. The dealers we spoke to scored points for rapid response, but one refused to quote a price over the phone and was generally pushy and unhelpful. Useful features: 360-degree views of vehicle interiors and MyGarage, which helps you track maintenance and repair history.

BEST: New car safety section which includes government crash-test and injury ratings, insurance premium ratings and recall information.

WORST: When configuring your car, the site offers numerous irrelevant “common options.” Bench seating and an extended cab for a BMW sedan?"

"both a dealer referral service and an auto auction site...The site is well organized" (PC Magazine--Click here for full review)

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Overall Rating from PC Magazine 3-10-00

Forbes Review: "This used-car auction site acts as a quality-control middleman for cars under ten years old with fewer than 100,000 miles. Sellers can take a vehicle to a CarDay certification center, where it’s checked over, brought up to spec and posted on the Web for auction up to 21 days. The listings boast numerous high-resolution photos and nice extras like exterior damage schematics and a CarFax lemon check. Sellers pay $149 for the service plus 20% of selling price over wholesale, while buyers pay $175 and get a CarDay six-month, 6,000 mile warranty—double what most competitors offer.

BEST: Via e-mail or phone you can query the mechanic who examined the car.

WORST: Limited to the Northeast and volume can be low: When we visited only three Lexus and two Audi listings."

Forbes Selection  in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Forbes Review: "Wonderfully designed and easy to use, CarsDirect does exactly what it promises: gets you a car over the Web without having to go through a dealer (except for pick-up and delivery). Selecting options is a snap, as is comparing car models side by side. CarsDirect provides plenty of data on each car and nice high resolution photos, but has skimpy road tests and offers no safety tests or ratings info. You can only purchase from CarsDirect in 29 states, and lease in seven more.

BEST: The site has 360-degree exterior views of many top models, and you can even view the car in different colors.

WORST: A $250 credit card deposit is required before you can see a real price with the fees and taxes figured in. Prices are only valid for 48 hours after you save a car to your personalized garage."

"From a design perspective, CarsDirect.com has the advantage over the others. It has very clear graphics and is simple to use, but you'll find very little research information" (PC Magazine--Click here for full review)

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Forbes Review: "DriveOff will give you an instant quote on a new car, but the quote you get doesn’t include sales tax or any local title and inspection fees. Nor will it provide you with the actual taxable amount so you can figure it out. To see anything of real use, you have to pay the $250 deposit. Yet the site is nicely designed and offers an excellent lease research center, complete with a lease vs. buy calculator and descriptions of manufacturers’ leasing plans.

BEST: Deal Kits, containing the necessary papers, are overnighted to you.

WORST: Dubious explanations of terms: the $200 advertising fee is 'A fee charged by the manufacturer.'"

"a fairly sparse-looking site, but it's backed by good information" (PC Magazine--Click here for full review)

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Overall Rating from PC Magazine 3-10-00

Forbes Review: "The most powerful of all of the major auto manufacturers’ sites. Offers details and specs on all GM models, but no fancy pictures. (You’ll have to click over to the individual brand sites for those.) Build your dream car, view the MSRP and then search dealer inventories online. Be as specific as you want; either search for all Corvettes in your area or just green coupes with the Active Handling package. If the vehicle is in stock, you can see a complete report, schedule a test-drive or ask the dealer to hold it. If not, you can have the dealer’s BuyPower rep order it from the factory.

BEST: Loan and lease calculators help you estimate how much car you can afford and what your payments will be.

WORST: Site is poorly designed and some menus and buttons don’t work properly."

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Forbes Review: "New-to-the-Web Imotors is trying hard to offer buyers a fresh way to buy a used cream puff. Here’s how it works: tell Imotors what you want, say, a 1995 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 decked out in German racing silver, with premium wheels and a CD player. Select your payment options, plunk down your $250 deposit and Imotors will try to find you that car someplace in the U.S. The car is then fully reconditioned by Imotors and ready to pick up within a few weeks. Prices are competitive relative to private listings. Not a great informational site. Go elsewhere to browse.

BEST: Deposit is refundable and there is a seven-day return policy.

WORST: Three month/3,000 mile warranty is stingy, considering the oldest cars Imotors sells are only five years old.

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Other Sites and Description

Link to Reviews

buying and selling classic cars

"Sadly, this service is looking a bit outdated these days owing to hot competition in the direct buying field" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"When you purchase a car, ACS handles the paperwork and delivery. We like that the site promises consultants who are available to help at all stages, but we were less impressed by the heavy use of customer testimonials" (PC Magazine--Click here for full review)

Overall Rating from PC Magazine 3-10-00

"A nice site design and a big picture of the sexy new Viper concept car cannot cover up a weak site" (Forbes--click here for full review)

check out inventory in AutoNation lots in 48 states

"although you can actually drill down to search actual inventory - as well as build your own car for a dealer referral - for both new and used cars, there are some major drawbacks to the site. The menus are buggy, you need to fill in your own options for AutoNation to find you a non-listed car, and information on the cars themselves is often skimpy or non-existent" (Forbes--click here for full review)

no frills site to hire an agent to buy car couple hundred dollars over dealer cost

"Surely one of the worst designed sites on the entire Web; AutoSeek can potentially be a useful last step in buying a car" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"There is a decent amount of info here, but there's nothing you can find at manufacturer sites or at Edmund's" (Forbes--click here for full review)

search over 1.5 million listings of used cars

"The quality of the information is largely dependent on the seller – some have pictures, specs and a features lists, while some just have the color and mileage. AutoTrader gets a big thumbs up for their search mechanism’s easy to use pull down menus and for a CarFax lemon check link from the ad page which remembers the car’s VIN. Sellers can post their ads for free" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"Auto Vantage offers its members savings on gas, service and parts, as well as roadside assistance and even a bail bond service! The site is also a dealer referral service and used car mart. Both are flawed" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"A run of the mill dealer referral site, complete with lemon check, price quotes, side-by-side comparisons and Kelley Blue Book information. Response is quick and the site is easy enough to use" (Forbes--click here for full review)

inspection service and private used car network

"BestOffer.com adds a helping hand to conventional private listings. Cars are inspected by BestOffer mecahincs, who then post their report locating problem areas and giving overall exterior, interior and mechanical grades" (Forbes--click here for full review)

reviews and 18 years of 10 Best Cars awards

"More mainstream than its sister publication, Road & Track, Car and Driver's site is well organized easier to use for car buying purposes...100 Best Roads in America. Just plug in your state of choice, and up comes a road profile - from driving conditions to tourist attractions" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"CarClub.com offers savings on everything from gas (through a program with MasterCard) to car parts to insurance....Membership is $5.99 per month....Other than the savings, there's little content that you can't find for free elsewhere" (Forbes--click here for full review)

car branded watches

used-car buying and selling

vehicle history reports

car buying service

classified sections of more than 130 major-market newspapers

"Although it's yet another dealer referral site for new cars, Cars.com offers a large used car database gathered from newspapers and dealer listings... But the site really scores with extras: photo-rich previews of some hot 2001 models like the Lexus IS300; copies of newspaper reviews - one step up from the usual Web car fluff - of many models; an interactive car applet helps you understand the basic mechanical working of a car; and content from the NPR hit Car Talk, including Car-O-Scope, which will determine if the car you're driving fits your psychological profile" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"Both services are free and impose no obligations on the buyer, but you complete the negotiations yourself for the final, all-inclusive price" (PC Magazine--Click here for full review)

"CarSmart’s service is free, a big plus. It gets you in contact with a nearby CarSmart affiliated dealer, but doesn’t really do a whole lot more than that. However, their quote request mechanism is a mess" (Forbes--click here for full review)

inventory of cars at 7000 dealers and distance from you

"The problems lie in the details.... The site needs to consolidate its informational and quote sections to improve the user experience... Plenty of information, including side-by-side comparisons and estimated trade-in-values. Seeing the dealer inventory is helpful, as well" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"Car pages tend to have plenty of info and pictures – a step above normal classified ads" (Forbes--click here for full review)

MSRP and options pricing information

"Go to a car magazine for road tests, but come to Edmunds for MSRP and options pricing info....car info from an objective source" (Forbes--click here for full review)

brochureware on Ford Cars

"Ford has a much prettier site than GM, but it's not quite as powerful.... You can search dealer inventory for both new and used cars. Unfortunately, you have to specify the model type and year, making browsing almost impossible. For research, the site sends you to CarClub.com" (Forbes--click here for full review)

used cars and airplanes

almost 3000 cars for sale by classic car dealers

"For anyone who’s unhappy that the 2001 model year cars don’t have tailfins or carburetors, pop over to Hemmings.com, the online counterpart to the classic car bible. There are thousands of classified ads, mostly offering American iron like Chevys and Cadillacs, but there are enough Mercedes, Jags and Porsches to keep it from becoming a Detroit-only site....Search from almost 3000 cars for sale by classic car dealers." (Forbes--click here for full review)

auto insurance comparisons

instant price quote from local dealer of 35 car brands, geared to novice car buyers

"This site presents an interesting dilemma. It claims to offer up-front pricing without forcing you to talk to a dealer and to let you comparison shop from among "the most aggressive online dealers," but more often than not, you are referred to Stoneage.com, which is, guess what, a dealer referral service" (Forbes--click here for full review)

accurate MSRP information and dealer invoice amount

"The Kelley Blue Book has been around since 1926, and it has been on the Web since 1995. It's too bad that it hasn't kept with the times" (Forbes--click here for full review)

car leasing

brokerage service created by luxury car specialists

auctions of any kind of vehicle with a motor

Buy, sell and trade motorcycles and accessories

48 top ten lists by type of buyers

"There is one saving grace that makes this site worth a quick visit: Its top ten lists. Whether its the "Gen Xers' Top Ten," the "Top Ten Fuel Guzzlers" or "America's Most Stolen" these 48 lists which rank cars provide good informaiton. Otherwise, with boring graphics and an overly-buttoned interface, this site is a jumble of used cars, car reviews and shill advertising." (Forbes--click here for full review)

"packed with information. It provides car specifications, photos (including surround video), prices, and reviews" (PC Magazine--Click here for full review)

Overall Rating from PC Magazine 3-10-00

most reliable and trustworthy safety information about cars

"Much of the site is devoted to obtuse bureaucratic-style briefs and reports of ongoing NHTSA projects, including one of the new studies on cellular phone and mobile Web safety. The heart of the site, as far as the consumer is concerned, is the crash test section - both current cars and archived results - and safety recalls notices. The problem is that the results are sorted by government class (mid-size, compact, etc.), so it can be tough to figure out where to go." (Forbes--click here for full review)

"a site for the proactive buyer. If you know which brand and model of vehicle you want to buy (there's not a lot of research information here), Priceline.com Auto Service will let you specify the price you'd like to pay and the distance you're willing to travel to pick up the vehicle" (PC Magazine--Click here for full review)

reviews and road tests from best car magazine

"Why mess around with bland reviews from the Web’s less than impartial car buying sites? Go to the source: Road & Track is perhaps the finest car magazine in the country and is certainly #1 for enthusiasts. Use their buyer’s guide for a quick run down of the car, but search the archives for a road or comparison test to really see what the car is made out of. Not the place to come for option or pricing lists." (Forbes--click here for full review)

Trade cars, Trucks, Planes, RVs, Cycles and Equipment

"Two types of auctions are offered on UAutoBid.com: In both, you bid on vehicles, sight unseen, at dealerships in your general area" (PC Magazine--Click here for full review)

Buy, sell or trade all kinds of vehicles, from cars to snowmobiles to watercraft

"Standard stuff, really. You can buy new, used or research. There is a pretty decent number of used car listings - placing an ad costs $19.95 per month, which isn't a huge bargain compared to some of the more-trafficked sites which will do it for less or even for free. Side-by-side comparisons sound nice, but the specs don't line up properly on several screens." (Forbes--click here for full review)