Build a personal AI mechanic site for your project car
He built a local site for his own project car: a checklist with subtasks, notes, photos and a parts tracker, with an AI tuned for part searches and identification. Adding a note or photo triggers the AI to analyze and identify it.
Source
CableNinja on Hacker News · 2026-10-20
Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-23.
What they did
He built a local site for his own project car: a checklist with subtasks, notes, photos and a parts tracker, with an AI tuned for part searches and identification. Adding a note or photo triggers the AI to analyze and identify it.
Result (as claimed)
A private side-mechanic that knows the whole history of his car.
Tools they used
Cost: Pricing depends on the tools you pick; check each official pricing page.
Set it up
Define the job
Say exactly what you want done and what the agent may and may not do on your behalf.
Share only what is needed
Give AI agent the minimum files or access required. Avoid sharing passwords in chat when a safer login flow exists.
Review the plan
Ask the agent to show its plan or draft before it acts, and approve each step that has real consequences.
Check the result
Confirm the outcome yourself (order placed, request sent, document understood) and keep a record.
Copy the full setup prompt
Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code. Goal: Build a personal AI mechanic site for your project car What the original author did: He built a local site for his own project car: a checklist with subtasks, notes, photos and a parts tracker, with an AI tuned for part searches and identification. Adding a note or photo triggers the AI to analyze and identify it. Reported result (as claimed by the author): A private side-mechanic that knows the whole history of his car. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50161066 Tools they used: AI agent, ThinkCentre Category: Personal & life Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex. Goal: Build a personal AI mechanic site for your project car What the original author did: He built a local site for his own project car: a checklist with subtasks, notes, photos and a parts tracker, with an AI tuned for part searches and identification. Adding a note or photo triggers the AI to analyze and identify it. Reported result (as claimed by the author): A private side-mechanic that knows the whole history of his car. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50161066 Tools they used: AI agent, ThinkCentre Category: Personal & life Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot. Goal: Build a personal AI mechanic site for your project car What the original author did: He built a local site for his own project car: a checklist with subtasks, notes, photos and a parts tracker, with an AI tuned for part searches and identification. Adding a note or photo triggers the AI to analyze and identify it. Reported result (as claimed by the author): A private side-mechanic that knows the whole history of his car. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50161066 Tools they used: AI agent, ThinkCentre Category: Personal & life Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
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