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Changelog
Complete version history for the Deal Finder Web App.
- Vehicle-class-aware depreciation model — three separate depreciation curves for trucks/SUVs, standard vehicles, and luxury brands
- Truck/SUV curve: retains 58% at 5 years (was 44%) — trucks, pickups, and body-on-frame SUVs (Tahoe, Suburban, 4Runner, Wrangler, Expedition, etc.)
- Standard curve: retains 50% at 5 years (was 44%) — Camry, Civic, Accord, Malibu, etc.
- Luxury curve: retains 39% at 5 years — BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, Maserati, etc. (fast depreciation)
- Automatic classification from make/model — recognizes 40+ truck/SUV model names and 11 luxury brands
- Mileage penalty reduced from $0.12 to $0.05 per excess mile — old rate was wildly overpenalizing high-mileage vehicles
- Mileage penalty capped at 35% of base value (prevents zeroing out)
- Low-mileage credit: $0.025/mile under expected, capped at 20% of value
- Expected annual mileage updated from 12,000 to 12,500 mi/yr
- Vehicle database expanded to 474 entries — added BMW 1/2/6/7/8 series, M cars, i-cars, X2/X4/X6, Z3/Z4; Mercedes G-Class, CLK, CLS, ML, SL, AMG GT, EQ cars; Audi A5/A7/A8, Q4/Q8, TT, R8, all RS/S models; full Lexus lineup (GS, LC, RC, SC, TX, RZ); Acura TSX/TL/RSX/NSX; Cadillac ATS/CTS/XTS/SRX/STS; Lincoln MKC/MKZ/MKS/Town Car; VW Beetle/CC/Arteon/Touareg; Volvo S90/V60/V90/C70; Mazda6/RX-7/RX-8; Mitsubishi Evo/Montero/Endeavor; Jaguar XJ/F-Type/XE/XF; Infiniti G35/G37/FX; Porsche Panamera/Boxster/Cayman; Saab 9-3/9-5; Suzuki all models; and many more
- Fixed BMW 3-Series, 5-Series (hyphenated) not matching database — model matching now normalizes hyphens to spaces
- Source checkboxes restyled — single container matching dropdown aesthetic with native checkboxes
- Filtered out "buy here pay here" / down payment ads where listed price is actually a down payment ($X DOWN, BHPH, no credit check, etc.)
- Added Kia Rio and Kia Niro to vehicle database (were missing valuations)
- Multi-source search — Source filter changed from dropdown to checkboxes; search Craigslist and Autotrader simultaneously
- Results from both sources are merged, analyzed, and scored together
- Source badge on each deal card (purple for Craigslist, orange for Autotrader)
- Deep scan complete banner shows per-source listing counts when both are selected
- At least one source checkbox is always enforced
- Seller type filter now appears whenever Autotrader checkbox is checked
- Vehicle database expanded 5x — from ~48 entries to 243 entries covering virtually every vehicle sold in the US
- New makes: Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Buick, Genesis, Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, Infiniti, Mini, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Pontiac, Saturn, Scion
- Previously missing models now covered: Nissan Rogue, Honda HR-V/Passport/Ridgeline, Ford Maverick/Ranger/Escape, Chevy Traverse/Trailblazer/Colorado/Bolt, Toyota Corolla/Prius/Sienna, Hyundai Elantra/Sonata/Santa Fe, Kia Sportage/Sorento/Soul, Subaru Crosstrek/WRX/Ascent, and many more
- Fixed missing valuation on listings like Nissan Rogue that were not in the database
- Mobile-friendly responsive design — full layout optimization for phones and tablets
- Tablet breakpoint (768px): stacked filters, single-column results, smaller price text
- Mobile breakpoint (480px): stacked search row, full-width buttons, horizontal-scroll sort tabs, compact cards, touch-friendly 44px minimum tap targets
- iOS text zoom prevention (
-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%)
- 16px input font size to prevent iOS auto-zoom on focus
- Changelog page also made responsive
- Autotrader integration — new Source dropdown to search Autotrader alongside Craigslist
- Seller type filter — when Autotrader is selected, filter by Private/Owner, Dealerships, or All Sellers
- ZIP code mapping for all 20 cities for Autotrader location search
- PHP backend with 5 parsing strategies for Autotrader (Next.js JSON, embedded state, JSON-LD, HTML cards, link extraction)
- Deep scan support for Autotrader listing pages (description, images, VIN, attributes)
- Header combined into single line:
MARKETPLACE FLIP ANALYSIS BY JOHN E. JOHNSON
- Removed Sort dropdown from search filters (sort tabs in results are more useful)
- Updated landing page text and feature list for both sources
- 30-factor value analysis engine — 10 new extended value factors:
- #14 Color detection — parses exterior color, applies market multiplier (black +3%, pink −10%, etc.)
- #21 Seasonal adjustment — 4WD/trucks +5% in winter, convertibles +5% in summer
- #22 Technology scoring — detects 12+ features: CarPlay, leather, heated seats, sunroof, tow package, backup camera, keyless start. Penalizes pre-2015 without touchscreens
- #23 Warranty remaining — estimates factory warranty status. Recognizes Hyundai/Kia 10yr/100K powertrain
- #24 Emissions/regulatory — flags DPF/EGR/cat deletes, failed smog, older diesels
- #25 EV battery health — detects aging EV/hybrid batteries, low range, degradation
- #26 Smoke/odor/pet — detects smoke damage, pet damage, musty/mold odors with negation checking
- #27 Body type market trends — classifies 10 body types, applies trend multipliers (trucks +8%, sedans −8%)
- #28 Running costs by brand — Toyota/Honda boost, BMW/Mercedes/Land Rover penalty
- #29 Completeness — detects keys, service records, single owner, new tires/brakes, fleet/rental/PPV history
- #30 Listing quality score — rates photos, description detail, presentation (0-100%)
- New 📋 Value Factors panel on each deal card
- Asking vs Value side-by-side comparison — bold price bar with green/red coloring and directional arrow
- 📝 Listing Info percentage tag with hover tooltip
- 🎨 Color tag and body type tag on each card
- Copy for Claude prompt now includes city market, estimated value, flip score, and all detected value factors
- City-specific pricing — 20 cities with market multiplier and repair multiplier
- Search radius filter — 10 to 500 miles
- Deep scan complete banner — summary with auto-hide after 4 seconds
- Total repair cost in issues panel with city name in header
- False-positive fix — negation checking ("no rust", "not damaged" no longer trigger)
- Full repair database — 80+ patterns across 8 categories (engine, transmission, body, mechanical, electrical, interior, condition, electronics)
- High mileage detection — 200K+ flagged with $1,500 reserve + 10% value reduction. 150K-200K: $800 + 5%
- Now shows ALL listings — old version hid everything below score 30
- "Deals Found" stat renamed to "Hot Deals" (60+ score)
- Fixed
.htaccess preventing PHP execution on NearlyFreeSpeech
- Initial web app release — full analysis engine deployed as a website
- PHP backend — server-side Craigslist proxy with search and listing detail endpoints
- Dark dashboard UI with Outfit + JetBrains Mono fonts
- Search with 20-city selector, min/max price filters
- Vehicle parser, depreciation model (50+ vehicles), repair detection, statistical scoring
- Parallel deep scan — fetches individual listing pages for descriptions, images, VIN
- NHTSA VIN decode + recall lookup (browser-direct)
- Deal cards with images, score rings, valuation panels, VIN panels, issue panels
- Sort tabs: Flip Score, Net Profit, Gross Profit, % Savings, Lowest Price
- 📋 Copy for Claude — copies analysis prompt to clipboard, opens listing for photo saving
- Designed for NearlyFreeSpeech.NET deployment