tow-lots

This project is up for adoption.

Problem Statement

KCMO runs monthly auctions of cars and other items (boats, scooters, etc) that are unclaimed from city tow lots, but information about the items up for auction isn’t easily accessible by the salvage dealers.

There are current auction attendees who know how to work the system, and most of the items for auction are purchase, but we believe there may be an opportunity to increase revenue, reduce waste (into the landfill), or even connect more people to low cost vehicles with greater accessibility and transparency to the data.

What we need

Is a person or team to take ownership of this project and create a KC Auto Auction site with timely, searchable info about items available at auction.

A MVP might allow the buyer is able to see all items, narrow items by search & filter, and see the time and date of the upcoming auction.

Avaliable Data

The list of auction items is online at  https://data.kcmo.org/Traffic/Kansas-City-Monthly-Car-Auction/2uje-k9n5. This page will show you the existing data and how to download it or ascdess it using a RESTful API (JSON). It also contains documentation about the data.

• Lot #
• make
• model
• year
• VIN
• mileage
• keys (if the vehicle comes with keys)
• reason vehicle is for sale
• vehicle number (to identify during auction)

Future Opportunities

• Addition of photos to vehicle listings (may be available in second version, will not be included in first)
• Wishlist - ability to select desired items from a "frequently sold" list, where the site will send the buyer a notification when one of these items is listed for sale (via email or tweet?)

Possible steps:

• Review the existing data source

• Design a system

• Create a road map and issues that can be followed to implement

• Implement

• See Issues

How to help

• Come to Code for KC HackNights