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. 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 MBWorld.

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 a few ways we believe an online app (and RideCache in particular) is superior to the old methods.

• Your information is safe, secure and not prone to loss through fire, flood, decay, loss, etc.
• Everything in one place – maintenance records, important papers, part records, event records, notes and pictures – all in an organization system purpose-built for car enthusiasts
• Easy to share with others if you choose - with fine grain privacy controls over who sees what
• Easily searchable across multiple vehicles (ex: show me all of my batteries across all vehicles – boom, instant answer with info, receipts, pictures, etc).
• Advanced features like notifications, designated managers, services, etc
• Easy to transfer complete record to new owner
• Accessible from any internet connected device, anywhere at any time
• 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.
• 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. 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
  And 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

“Why does it cost money?” We do offer a free version plus a discount for MBWorld members for the advanced levels. RideCache is a subscription based service with plans that start at $20/yr for the Basic Plan that lets you manage 2 vehicles. The most popular plan is our Enthusiast Plan that lets you manage up to 8 vehicles for $50/yr (let’s face it, for many of us, this addiction goes way beyond 2 vehicles! And this allows you to also manage daily drivers).

• The free version lets you manage 1 car with a few feature limitations (does not track events or resources). That version will be good enough for many people – and makes it easy for enthusiasts and collectors to try before subscribing. (we reserve the right to run ads on the free version – but there are none there now)
• Professionally developed, highly secure, data intensive web applications cost money to develop, host and maintain. To pay for them and run a profitable business you either have to sell advertisements, sell the user’s data or charge a fee. There are lots of car sites that do a combination of the first 2; however, we believe that car enthusiasts that want and need this service are willing to pay a small fee for a service that is not covered in ads, not trying to sell them anything, and not mining their data for profit.
• It is cheap! Considering the money we invest in our cars – the $50/yr cost for the enthusiast level subscription is probably less than the cost of an oil change on a single car (and with enthusiast level you can track/manage 8 cars). Plus we strongly believe that a well documented RideCache will easily pay back in tangible value when you go to sell your vehicle.

“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 love building their own RideCache for their vehicles.
• 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 out 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.
• 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 a PM and we will get you the details.

Finally, a demo is worth a thousand clicks!

• Here is a short video demo of the main features of RideCache using a 2003 Mercedes-Benz W209:
  
  RideCache Demo - 2003 Mercedes Benz CLK500 - YouTube
• Here is a nice video walkthrough from Danny Reed, a RideCache Collector Level subscriber. Danny worked with our team and utilized the RideCache Build service to build his RideCache for his 3 very special Corvettes. Watch a video tour of Danny’s RideCache here:
  
  Danny Reed Collection - RideCache Walkthrough - YouTube
• You can access Danny’s RideCache for yourself here and have a look around. Note that much of what is in Danny’s RideCache is private, or only shared with his approved “Riders” so there is a lot more behind the scenes in Danny’s RideCache – but there is still a ton to see. Be sure to click through the Tasks/Parts/Papers and Events tabs for each vehicle: https://ridecache.com/#/users/dannyreed

Offer: As a new sponsor, and for an introductory time period, we are offering forum members 50% off of your first year’s subscription with the code: MBWORLD50. Sign up at ridecache.com.

Mike5215

Very nice! It seems slightly better than my current system of burning my service and repair receipts on the grill before my wife sees them. Is there a "wife" function that displays an alternate fake page showing almost no money spent on the car? Like if she comes into the room you click CNTRL W and it toggles? Keep that gem in mind for the next update!

RideCache

Too funny! But seriously, you are not the first person to ask about having "2 sets of books". The reality is that we don't have many "money" features in RideCache at the moment - just some very basic cost fields for tasks, parts and papers. We will be rolling out some enhancements there in the next few weeks that will show cost rollups at the task and vehicle level. But many people choose to just leave those fields blank - I think many people just really don't want to know or be reminded how much they are spending! For those that do, we will support the basic cost functions.

Thanks for the comment - we would love to have you try RideCache!

Gary

alx

Question- do you datamine the data and what do you do with the results? Some of us have quite a few toys, but generally do not like to announce it to the world.

RideCache

Thanks for your question. The short answer is no - we do not mine and sell your data. We built RideCache specifically for serious car enthusiasts and collectors. While we do support some sharing and social aspects, those features are secondary. We have implemented significant security features and privacy levels so that people with serious investments in their vehicles are comfortable organizing and preserving everything they do to and with their vehicles on RideCache. Many of our largest users keep there entire collection fully private, while others share some things and keep some private. We also have a middle privacy level called "Riders Only" that allows you to share some things (or entire vehicles) only with people you know and trust.

A little longer answer on the data mining question... Our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy do allow for us to collect aggregated data in an anonymous fashion - and we could sell that. For example, we could collect data that shows how many W209 owners have replaced their third stop lamp multiple times (I happen to have some personal experience with that one - ugh). But we will never collect your personal info connected to that data. And frankly that is NOT our business model. Our model is that we make money if we provide a service that car enthusiasts and collectors find valuable and are willing to pay a small fee for. If we were running a data mining service for profit, we would be pretty dumb to charge a subscription fee to use the service.

We would be honored if you entrusted your many toys to us at RideCache - that is why we built it. Thanks for the question and we appreciate the feedback.

Gary

RideCache

Here are 5 ways that RideCache might be able to save you some money - or even make you some!

1. Avoiding an expired registration/inspection fine - I know these fines can often be dismissed, but not without a fair amount of hassle and effort. By entering a simple notification for your registration and/or inspections, RideCache will include escalating yellow, orange and red notification flags in your notification email summary for your vehicle as these expiration dates get closer - making it much less likely you will forget to renew on time.
   
   RideCache Paper notification for a required vehicle inspection (comes in an email summary for each vehicle)
   
   
2. Get ahead of a dead battery - as car enthusiasts, we are usually on top of the warning signs for something like a dying battery, starter or alternator. But what about the other daily drivers for your family? Or that kid off at college? With RideCache you can set notifications for parts like batteries to alert you when it crossed that 4 yr old mark so you can replace something before it leaves you or a family member stranded and in need of an expensive tow.
   
   RideCache can track notifications by time, mileage or both
   
   
3. Keep track of warranties - many warranties go unused even when there are legitimate issues that could be claimed - simply because the owner doesn't know or remember the warranty terms, or still have the paperwork. It is simple to enter a warranty paper for any given part or service in RideCache, then set the notification to alert you when you are within 10% (or whatever % you choose) of expiration. That way you can remember to claim a warranty that you may be entitled to - or at least be aware to check for faults that may be covered.
   
   Example of a longer warranty that will probably want to be claimed to have this clear bra refreshed before the 10 year expiration
   
   
4. Researching upgrades and modifications - doing this research, complete with needed parts, part numbers, suppliers, websites, notes and references to forum threads, etc can be very time consuming. With RideCache - you can easily create wish list tasks where all of this information can be organized and stored so that when the time comes to pull the trigger you don't have to spend hours trying to find things you researched and found a year ago. This can save you valuable time - and as we all know - time is money these days!
5. Increasing the value of your car - the most important value that a well-built RideCache provides is a tangible increase in the value of your vehicle. We all know that one of the things we value when purchasing any vehicle is a well-documented history for the car. More and more, the buyers of our cars are going to be from the younger generation who will appreciate and value a robust, easily accessible digital record for these vehicles. That translates to an increased sales price for you as the seller if you can provide a beautiful RideCache record that you can transfer to the new owner with one easy click.

Of course there are other ways to manage the items listed above, but RideCache offers a fully integrated solution that is fun and easy to use, and offers many additional features designed specifically for car enthusiasts. And starting at FREE for a single vehicle, or just $20/year for the Basic level subscription for 2 cars, we believe you will easily realize a great return on your investment by creating and maintaining even the most basic RideCache for your car.

Get started for free today at ridecache.com or use code MBWORLD50 (all caps) to get 50% off of your first year for any advanced level subscription.

mercedesbenzs55

Is this app available for windows phones?

RideCache

RideCache is a web application - which just means that you access it through your web browser on any device. It is highly optimized for mobile devices and works great on all smartphones including the Windows Phone. Simply open the web browser on your Windows Phone device and go to ridecache.com to get started for free. Please give it a try and let us know what you think!

Gary

mercedesbenzs55

I don't like that I have to pay $20 in order to add a second car on Ridecache.

1bad540

I don't see the purpose of this? maybe its just me.

mercedesbenzs55

I don't either. All they will do is charge me for uploading data for them to sell back to MB as future fixes.

As far it raising the value of my car through records of service, ect. I believe having paper proof far outweighs any inaccuracies one of have about maintenance.

RideCache

We are delivering RideCache as a professionally developed tool for car enthusiasts that value the advanced features, organization, security and privacy that we offer. There are many free car sites out there but most of them have limited features and privacy control and are ad-based.

We have found that people who have made significant investments in their vehicles are willing to pay a reasonable fee for a tool that is purpose built for car enthusiasts and not covered in ads. But we understand the free options may be good enough for some.

If you want to read more about why we think RideCache is different click here.

Thanks for the feedback!

Gary

mercedesbenzs55

My question is what benefit to car collectors of there to use this program vs. The old fashioned file cabinet with physical paperwork of services performed?

RideCache

A fair question. Here are a few ways we believe RideCache is superior to the old methods.

• Your information is safe, secure and not prone to loss through fire, flood, decay, loss, etc.
• Everything in one place – maintenance records, important papers, part records, event records, notes and pictures – all in an organization system purpose-built for car enthusiasts
• Easy to share with others if you choose - but not required (many of our users keep everything private) - with fine grain privacy controls over who sees what
• Easily searchable across multiple vehicles (ex: show me all of my batteries across all vehicles – boom, instant answer with info, receipts, pictures, etc).
• Advanced features like notifications, designated managers, services, etc
• Easy to transfer complete record to new owner
• Accessible from any internet connected device, anywhere at any time
• 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.

Gary