Carscope

CarScope is a free browser extension that helps you make smarter used car buying decisions on CarGurus — without paying for a subscription.

Open any CarGurus listing and CarScope instantly shows you what dealers don't advertise.

─── SAFETY ───
⚠️ NHTSA Recalls — see every open safety recall for the exact make, model, and year. Expandable with campaign links and remedy descriptions.

💬 NHTSA Complaints — real owner-reported issues flagged by crash, fire, or injury severity.

🔑 VIN Decode — full manufacturer spec sheet decoded from the 17-character VIN: plant, engine, series, restraint systems, and more.

─── PRICE INTELLIGENCE ───
📊 Price History — CarScope silently tracks the listed price every time you visit a saved car. See if the price is rising or falling.

🔔 Drop Alerts — get a desktop notification the moment a saved car's price goes down, even when the browser is closed.

🔄 Auto-Refresh — prices update automatically in the background every 24 hours, or on demand.

─── BUYING TOOLS ───
💰 Monthly Cost Estimate — instant loan calculator with adjustable down payment (10/20/30%), loan term (48/60/72 months), and APR (5/7/9%). Includes estimated monthly fuel cost.

📋 Pre-Purchase Checklist — a structured checklist covering everything to do before and during the dealer visit. Shareable with □ checkboxes for your phone or a printout.

⚖️ Side-by-Side Comparison — compare up to 3 saved cars across price, mileage, year, fuel economy, drivetrain, deal rating, and recalls.

📤 Share Shortlist — copy your entire shortlist as formatted plain text: price, dealer, phone, MPG, deal rating, notes, and a clean
link — ready to paste anywhere.

─── ORGANIZATION ───
🚗 Save & Track — save any listing with one click. Add star ratings, notes, and tags (Top Pick, Test Drive, Inspect, Negotiate,
Issues, Pass). Filter by visit status.

🕒 Browsing History — recently viewed cars are automatically logged so you can go back and save them later.

─── PRIVACY ───
CarScope never collects, transmits, or stores your data on any server. Everything stays in your browser. No account required.

─── DATA SOURCES ───
All data comes from free public APIs:
• NHTSA Recalls API (api.nhtsa.gov) — no key required
• NHTSA Complaints API (api.nhtsa.gov) — no key required
• NHTSA VIN Decode / vPIC API (vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov) — no key required

─── SUPPORTED SITES ───
• CarGurus (cargurus.com, cargurus.ca) — full support
• AutoTrader UK, AutoScout24 — partial support, more coming

─── FROM THE SAME DEVELOPER ───
Also by Risa Studio: StayScope (Airbnb/Booking.com assistant) and HomeScope (Taiwan real estate assistant).