Customer Reviews (500)

Cee boo • 2025-03-28T04:18:41-07:00

Really cool * trying to get my mom to buy a 24888 dollar Bentley continental gt

llulua • 2025-03-27T17:24:34-07:00

This app is not good on my iPhone XR. Too quirky… won’t allow entering data.

WAPJOGG3R • 2025-03-27T17:02:06-07:00

Please

Summary of Key Insights

CarGurus: Used & New Cars app receives mixed reviews, exhibiting both strengths and weaknesses. While a significant portion of users appreciate the app's ease of use, comprehensive information, and deal-finding capabilities, a substantial number report issues with functionality, inaccurate listings, and a frustrating user experience due to recent updates. The overall sentiment is moderately positive, reflected in a 3.9-star average rating, but the significant number of 1-star reviews indicates serious problems that need addressing. Key strengths include the breadth of listings and the deal rating system, while weaknesses center around app stability, filter accuracy, and dealer integrity. There's a clear demand for a dark mode, better filtering options, and improvements to the app's performance and reliability.

Data & Methodology Overview

  • Data Sample Size: 500 reviews
  • Time Frame: Not explicitly stated, but based on the reviews, the data spans at least several months, if not years, with some reviews mentioning specific dates (e.g., March 2, 2025, June 27, 2024, December 2024).
  • Analysis Methods: Primarily qualitative analysis focusing on identifying recurring themes, sentiments, and feature requests within the provided reviews. Quantitative data, such as star rating distribution, was also used to assess overall sentiment. Keyword extraction was implicitly used to identify frequently mentioned issues and desired features.

Key User Pain Points

  • Inaccurate Listings/Pricing: Many users report that prices listed on the app are inaccurate and that dealerships add significant fees upon arrival, leading to frustration and wasted time.
  • App Instability/Bugs: Several users experience app crashes, freezing, and filters resetting unexpectedly, disrupting their search process.
  • Filter Issues: Problems with filter accuracy, limitations in filter options (e.g., radius limitations, inability to exclude states, missing engine search, etc.), and filters resetting are frequently mentioned.
  • UI/UX Issues: Recent updates have made the app less user-friendly, with confusing layouts and difficult navigation. Some features were removed or changed making the app less useful.
  • Shady Dealerships: Users report encountering shady dealerships that don't honor pricing, avoid negative reviews, and list vehicles that are already sold.
  • "Shipped To You" Listings: Users find it annoying to see listings from hundreds of miles away when they specifically set a local search radius.
  • Lack of Dark Mode: A recurring complaint is the absence of a dark mode option, causing eye strain, especially during nighttime use.
  • Problems with Saved Searches/Vehicles: Updates sometimes wipe saved lists and cars.
  • Problems with Selling: Users report negative experiences when trying to sell their car, including low offers, difficulty uploading photos, and removal of private seller options.

Frequently Requested Features

  • Dark Mode: The most frequently requested feature is a dark mode option for easier nighttime browsing.
  • Improved Filtering: Users want more granular filtering options, including the ability to filter by engine type, horsepower, truck bed length, towing capacity, exclude states, and specify more precise trim levels.
  • Ability to Exclude Specific Cars: Users want the option to mark cars they're not interested in to prevent them from reappearing in search results.
  • More Control over Search Radius: Users want to be able to search further than 100 miles and to reliably exclude cars from outside their specified radius.
  • Ability to Filter Hybrid Vehicles Only: A user specifically requested a filter for hybrid vehicles.

Strengths and Positive Aspects

  • Ease of Use: Many users appreciate the app's generally simple and easy-to-navigate interface (although recent updates have negatively impacted this for some).
  • Comprehensive Information: The app provides a wealth of information about vehicles, including accident history, price changes, and dealer reviews.
  • Deal Rating System: Users find the deal rating algorithm helpful in identifying good deals.
  • Wide Selection of Cars: The app offers a large selection of vehicles from various dealerships.
  • Personalized Recommendations: Users appreciate receiving personalized car recommendations and price drop alerts.
  • Finance in Advance Feature: Finding financing ahead of time is seen as a valuable feature.

Prioritized Action Recommendations

High Priority:

  • Fix App Instability and Bugs: Address the frequent crashes, freezes, and filter resetting issues to improve the user experience and app reliability.
  • Improve Filter Accuracy: Ensure that filters function correctly and accurately reflect the user's search criteria. Implement more granular filtering options (engine, horsepower, truck bed length, etc.).
  • Address Inaccurate Listings/Pricing: Implement measures to verify the accuracy of listings and pricing information to prevent bait-and-switch tactics by dealerships. Potentially penalize dealers with inaccurate listings.
  • Implement Dark Mode: Add a dark mode option to address the widespread demand and improve user comfort.

Medium Priority:

  • Refine UI/UX: Re-evaluate recent UI/UX changes and address user concerns about confusing layouts and difficult navigation. Consider A/B testing different UI designs.
  • Improve Search Radius Functionality: Ensure that the search radius accurately reflects the user's specified distance and exclude listings from outside that radius. Add ability to exclude states.
  • Enhance Saved Search/Vehicle Management: Fix issues with saved searches and vehicles being wiped out by updates.
  • Improve Review System: Ensure that users can leave reviews for dealerships, even if the dealership doesn't confirm their information.

Low Priority:

  • Add Option to Exclude Specific Cars: Implement a feature that allows users to mark cars they're not interested in to prevent them from reappearing in search results.
  • Enhance Picture Quality: Improve the quality of car pictures and allow users to easily flip through pictures in the search listings page.
  • Consider Hybrid Only Filter: Add a specific filter for hybrid vehicles.

Opportunities for Startup Ideas

  • Dealership Verification Service: A service that independently verifies the accuracy of vehicle listings and pricing, providing users with a "verified" badge for trustworthy dealerships.
  • AI-Powered Deal Negotiator: An AI-powered tool that helps users negotiate the best price with dealerships based on market data and historical pricing trends.
  • Hyper-Local Car Search App: An app that focuses exclusively on local car listings, excluding any "shipped to you" options, and providing users with highly accurate and reliable information about nearby vehicles.
  • Car Feature Comparison Tool: A tool that allows users to easily compare the features of different car models side-by-side, including detailed specifications and user reviews.
  • Dark Mode Enabler App: A third-party app that forces dark mode on apps that don't natively support it (though addressing it natively would be better).

Trends and Observations

  • Negative Sentiment Towards Recent Updates: A significant number of users express dissatisfaction with recent app updates, citing UI/UX issues and functionality problems.
  • Concerns About Dealer Integrity: Recurring complaints about shady dealerships and inaccurate listings suggest a need for greater transparency and accountability in the car-selling process.
  • High Demand for Specific Features: The consistent demand for dark mode and improved filtering options indicates that these features are highly valued by users.
  • Shift Away From Private Seller Options: The decision to remove private seller listings has generated negative feedback, potentially driving users to alternative platforms.
  • Language Preferences: The app is used by a diverse user base, including Spanish speakers.

Conclusion

The CarGurus app has the potential to be a leading car-buying platform, but it needs to address several critical issues to improve user satisfaction and maintain its competitive edge. Prioritizing bug fixes, improving filter accuracy, and addressing concerns about dealer integrity are essential steps. Implementing highly requested features like dark mode and enhanced filtering options will further enhance the user experience. By focusing on these improvements, CarGurus can regain user trust and solidify its position as a reliable and user-friendly car-buying resource.

Original App Link

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cargurus-used-new-cars/id814517475?uo=2