Why You Should Trust Our Content
Most people are very suspicious and reluctant when it comes to trusting online content and reviews, and for good reason!
Unbiased Product Reviews
You should be very careful with sources that promote a product or products from one single brand or supplier.
“Whose ever bread one eats, his language one speaks.”
That’s why we partner with multiple brands and affiliate partners.
We want to stay completely independent and free to make the right choices and do unbiased testing.
Beware Of Copycats
A huge and underestimated problem, let’s call it “the elephant in the room”, is that many reviewers don’t put in the work.
They just copy-paste and live off the sweat of others without adding value.
That’s the main reason why so many reviews recommend the same products, regardless.
To spew out as many reviews as possible, they don’t even check if the review sites they copy from did a good job at their fact check, research and product comparison.
This often results in wide-spread misconceptions because errors and wrong, misleading information is copied from one copycat to the next.
Copycat behavior is a growing concern nowadays, because if misinformation gets picked up by enough sites, it’s often perceived as truth…
Our Added Value
To start with, you should know that all our website content and reviews are 100% unique, protected and based on our own thorough research.
We do the work ourselves, all of it!
We do not steal, rip or copycat!
No matter if we’re researching a cleaning product, material, tool, an appliance of some sort or other content, we always go right to the source to verify all information and specifications as a first check.
The same goes for all of our How To Guides.
Again, we do not blindly copy information from any online reseller or review site.
If after thorough research and comparison manufacturer values and information are still unclear, doubtful or misleading, we will not publish them.
We refuse to spread misinformation.
Hands-On Experience
35+ years of hands-on experience in business and international trade have trained me well when it comes to testing, analyzing, comparing, purchasing and selling all kinds of goods from DIY stuff and tools to electronics, travel goods, lighting, flooring, electrics, leather goods, decoration, office supplies, heating, air conditioning, architecture, safety gear, security systems, camera systems, logistic material, packaging, fashion items, umbrellas, you name it…
Along the way I’ve planned and led about a dozen of real-estate renovation and business-related expansion projects to house my growing businesses.
I’ve saved tens of thousands, maybe more, by doing many things myself like painting, flooring, electrics, lighting, plumbing, roof repair, installing cameras and security systems, installing racks and shelves in my warehouses,… I even designed my own furniture and drew all blueprints for every project.
I was the first one on the construction site and the one to turn off the lights, often late at night, to set the pace and lead by example.
An important part of each project was and still is to find the best tools and materials for the job at the best price.
This has become a passion for me, a second nature.
As you might have understood by now, I’m an avid DIY’er with loads of toys, I mean tools…
Most of my family home, except the structural work, I DIY’ed before and after working hours too.
I also did the planning for my yard and swimming pool, planted trees, plants, flowers, hedges and bushes, seeded my lawn, laid wood and stone terrasses and did the gardening and maintenance myself.
I was in my early twenties back then, I don’t think my body would agree if I were to decide to do it all over again…
Later on in life, when my sons were big enough to take some of my after-hours gardening and maintenance chores off my hands, I was able to invest some time and money in a life-time passion of mine: cars. I love anything on four wheels: classics, future classics and modern cars alike.
I bought my classics in a rough state and methodically sorted and restored them, mostly in the evening, late at night or on Sunday whenever time allowed.
As with all my projects, I don’t bodge but research and do it the right, original way using original workshop manuals, books, tools and products and sifting the internet for specific or missing information.
Call it perfectionist or whatever you want. It’s just the way I do things, my “M.O.”.
I do it the right way or not at all.
I hope to continue doing this hobby with passion for as long as I physically can.
When I’m not writing content for you guys, of course 😉
Built-in BS-radar
Being in the trading business for 35+ years buying and selling goods using my own hard-earned money, I had to learn quickly how to buy nothing but the best, most competitive products on the market.
If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have lasted so long.
No matter if you’re dealing in budget or premium products, if you buy inferior, damaged or non-competitive goods, you’re gonna lose money fast.
After a while you develop a BS-radar to distinguish truth from sales-pitch and added value from bogus marketing.
It’s a matter of survival.
It’s nothing short of a life-or-death situation (financially, that is…) each and every single day.
I’ve learnt that while success lies in constantly making the right choices, catastrophic failure can be just one misjudgement away.
The market is an unforgiving place to be in.
There’s no room for error.
Bottom line: I think it’s only fair to say that my experience and expertise gives me an edge over the vast majority of reviewers.
Allow me to share my well-equipped backpack and help you along in every way I can in your product search.
All my content and product reviews are free for consultation for personal use, be my guest!
A Family Venture
I’ve partnered up with both my sons who run the technical side of the site and manage the data analytics.
They’re both academically skilled with multiple MBA’s under their belt and are a huge asset!
Their involvement takes a load off my shoulders and allows me to focus 100% on research, product testing and content creation.
They are as determined and dedicated as I am to expand our site and make it the online reference for trustworthy content and reviews.
We sincerely hope that we can really make a difference and help people, along with their families, to save a buck while getting better stuff and doing things the right way all by themselves using our How To Guides and product reviews.
We’ll put in the hours, so you don’t have to!
Our Mission
In need of a new challenge, we built this website to help people make the right purchasing decisions and guide them with any project or DIY job.
Our mission is to protect them from the many pitfalls and sharks in the marketplace.
We’ll be doing this with product reviews and How To Guides, shortening your learning curve dramatically and avoiding unnecessary expenses.
It gives us great satisfaction that through this channel we can provide useful content and reviews 100% free for all!
To keep the lights on we earn small commissions from affiliate partners, we’re very transparent about that. This is however at no cost to you.
It’s the only way to pay the bills without having to charge subscription fees to our website visitors.
Knowing we can freely choose and switch between partners and don’t owe anyone, we can remain 100% independent and unbiased.
We’ll always select the best deal in the market with you, our visitor, in mind. Products are selected regardless of applicable commission rates.
That’s our guarantee!
We’re here for the long run, so your trust is key to help us grow our site.
We’d be shooting ourselves in the foot by breaking your trust.
That’s a no-brainer, right?
How We Do Our Research
Exploring The Subject
The first thing we do is study all options, techniques, ins-and-outs and collect all available data concerning the subject, project and / or product(s) concerned.
Walking In Different Consumer’s Shoes
Once we’ve explored all options, we’ll be looking at different ways to go about selecting a product or solving a problem, tackling it from all angles and perspectives.
We’ll be walking in different consumer’s shoes, so to speak.
We imagine what people would need for their specific goal, with different budgets and usages in mind.
Hunting The Internet
With these different profiles in mind we then go out hunting on the internet for the best products for each situation or budget.
Just like a personal shopper would, with a shopping list in hand.
Then we select all possible options for each profile.
It’s not uncommon that we end up partnering with a new brand or affiliate partner because their product is a better choice than the ones the other partners provide.
It’s a lot of extra work but we don’t have “teachers’ pets” and don’t mind getting our hands dirty, so to speak…
Our focus is always on you, the consumer, our visitor, and what’s best for you in your specific situation.
Product Facts Check
Next up is a product facts check: specifications, product and material descriptions and different product variants are thoroughly checked via several different sources, starting with the manufacturer’s website and several other trustworthy resellers.
If things don’t add up, we’ll expand our search.
If uncertainties still remain, you’ll find “n/a” in the specifications listing.
We don’t do guesstimates, we don’t mislead.
Customer Review Check
Next we check the customer reviews on different sites.
We don’t just check the star rating but we read all customer reviews and check their relevance along with their pictures and videos that may support or discard their claims.
A software check is then performed to estimate the percentage of real vs fake reviews.
This is also taken into account.
Although analytic software isn’t as accurate as it should be, it gives a general indication, it rings an alarm bell, a red flag.
If the product’s, manufacturer’s or reseller’s review credibility score is suspiciously below par, the product is dropped to eliminate the risk of recommending a manipulated, falsely presented product.
Real-Life Tests
Real-life tests are used to compare between different tools, products and their applications.
Because every situation is different, our own experiences are compared to other user experiences.
Findings are then assessed to get a general performance indication of the tool or product.
No Second Bests
We don’t do silver or bronze medals, second choices or runners-up.
Nobody wants the second best. Why should you?
What you will find in our reviews is different “Best” options given a certain situation or use.
Examples are: “Best Overall”, “Best Budget Choice”, “Easiest To Install”, “Best Premium Choice”,…
The same goes for our How-To’s: If we advise several ways to tackle a problem or job, they are all the best ways to do it, considering different priorities (time, budget, tool- or skill set,..).
We’ll never advise a second-choice solution if a better solution is available, all circumstances considered.
Commissions
The vast majority of consumer websites rely on small commissions on generated sales to keep the lights on (as do we), which often leads to distrust.
Most get commissions from third party ads too, by the way.
We try to avoid this to keep our site clean and enjoyable.
Yet these commissions shouldn’t be an issue, because they come straight out of the pockets of the online sellers and advertisers.
They consider these commissions a marketing cost, just like ads in magazines and on TV were a similar marketing cost decades ago.
Web reviews and content involvement are arguably one of the most effective ways to reach consumers for them in this new internet-dominated world.
Because commissions between products normally only differ marginally, objectivity is not an issue in the vast majority of cases.
It’s important to know that consumers who buy stuff through a review site’s links don’t pay a penny more than they would buying straight from that webshop.
On the contrary, affiliate websites often link to special unique promotions, making them the least expensive option in many cases.
Moreover, if a good review helps consumers in making a more informed purchase and get many hours or even days of research for free from a professional reviewer who put in the work so they don’t have to, it’s a clear win-win situation!
Now you know why you can trust our content, we hope we can help you find what you’re looking for!
The Classic Car Maintenance Team