How to Build Your Own Car Comparison Tool in 5 Minutes

During your vehicle research, it is always a good idea to do a direct comparison of the vehicles you are considering to buy. This would help you see what each vehicle has to offer and provide you with enough information to select the vehicles you like the most. In order to do this, you need a list of prospective vehicles and their most important attributes. If you already have those, then doing a comparison should be a quick and painless affair. Here is how you can make it happen.

Focus on the Attributes That Matter the Most

When comparing different cars, you should focus on the attributes that will benefit you the most. For instance, if you want a low-priced family vehicle, then you should look at size, safety and price. If you are looking for a driver-focused sports car, then you may want to prioritize aesthetics, features and engine power. Ideally, you should figure these out during your vehicle research – as detailed in this article.

Once you have these parameters nailed down, use them to arrange the vehicles from best to worst. To make the process easier, you may also want to rank the attributes in order of importance. By doing so, you can focus only on one attribute for each vehicle and use the other ones in case of a tie.

The most efficient way to accomplish these tasks is by having the vehicles and their attributes listed in a spreadsheet – to be able to see them all at once, as shown here:

You don't have to follow this exact format, but be sure to make everything as clear as possible. You don't want to come back to your spreadsheet sometime later and feel utterly confused!

Shorten Your Vehicle List

After arranging the vehicles, it’s time to shorten the vehicle list to make the final stages of your research more manageable. Start by eliminating the “worst” vehicles on the list until you have only about five of them left. These vehicles will make up your focused vehicle list.

Use Specialized Online Resources

If you do not wish to go through the trouble of listing vehicle attributes in a spreadsheet, you can use special tools that compare vehicles for you. Simply configure your desired vehicles and examine the features that interest you the most. Here are the websites that have the comparison tools you can use:

Canadian

American

Autonet.ca

Cars.com

Autos.ca

Edmunds.com


What to Do Next

Once you have your short list of vehicles, pick your payment method and make your first visit to a dealership.