About CarScout

CarScout is a small, independent tool for used-car shoppers who know exactly what they want. I'm Bruno, and I build and run it myself.

Why I built it

I built CarScout after my own car hunt, when I refreshed the same listing sites every morning for one exact spec. I also watched my parents search for a long time to find the right car for my mom, checking site after site.

That daily routine is the problem CarScout takes off your hands. You set your criteria once, and it does the checking every day.

Who builds it

I'm a software engineer and a longtime car enthusiast. I own several cars and work on them myself.

What CarScout does

  • Checks a nationwide dealer listing source for each of your scouts about once every 24 hours.
  • Supports spec scouts (make, model, trim, year range, color, mileage, price, distance) and VIN scouts that follow one exact car.
  • Emails one daily digest of new matches and price drops, only on days when there is something new.
  • Publishes public market pages with listing aggregates, plus a free VIN decoder and recall lookup.
  • Costs $5 per week, $15 per month, or $99 per year. Every plan includes 3 scouts, and you can cancel anytime.

Where the data comes from

Public market pages use weekly AutoTrader listing aggregates, NHTSA recall and complaint records, and EPA fuel economy ratings. The data and methodology page explains each source, its update schedule, and its limits.