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SaneLot vs doing it by hand
The honest competitor to SaneLot isn't a software suite. It's you, a phone camera, twenty browser tabs, and whatever's left of your evening. Here's the fair accounting.
The short version
DIY looks free. Counted honestly, it's a photo service at $15–20/car (or your Saturday), hours of pricing research per trade-in, listings typed at 9pm, cars taking one to three weeks to reach the web while holding costs tick, and sold units still online taking phone calls. SaneLot does that loop in fifteen minutes for $99.99/mo flat — and the 14-day free trial lets you test the claim without betting a dollar. And if DIY is genuinely working for you? Keep doing it. We'll say that in writing.
At a glance
| SaneLot | By hand | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash cost | $99.99/mo flat; 14-day free trial | "Free" + $15–20/car photos + your evenings |
| VIN to live listing | Fifteen minutes | Days to weeks, holding cost ticking |
| Pricing a trade-in | Live comps in the app, you stay the appraiser | Twenty tabs and a gut feeling |
| Listing copy | Honesty-gated AI draft, you edit every word | You, at 9pm |
| Recall & odometer check | Automatic on every VIN | If you remember, per-report fees |
| When a car sells | Off your site that second | Still online, still taking calls |
| Leads | In your app with a drafted reply | Voicemail after 6pm |
Photo-service and turnaround figures are typical published lot-service rates and industry-reported listing timelines, June 2026. Your market may vary.
When DIY is the right call
Honesty gate applies to us too: a five-car lot moving a couple of units a month runs fine on hustle and a phone camera. No tool required — ours included. If that's you, bookmark us and get back to work.
The line where it flips
The flip happens quietly: a trade-in sits a week unphotographed, a priced-wrong car eats sixty days of holding cost, a 9pm website browser calls the number on a car you sold Tuesday. Every one of those is margin leaking through process. The DIY hours weren't free — they were just unbilled.
What the app actually changes
Scan the door jamb — specs decode, recalls and odometer math run automatically. Walk the car — the AI files and checks each guided shot. Set your price against real comps. Tap publish — website, QR window sticker, feed files, all live, every claim fact-checked by the honesty gate. The 9pm browser becomes a lead in your pocket with a reply already drafted.
FAQ
- Is SaneLot worth it for a small lot?
- Do the hours math. If listings eat your evenings or cars sit offline for weeks, $99.99/mo is cheaper than the leak. The 14-day free trial lets you verify that on your own inventory.
- What does DIY actually cost?
- Typically $15–20/car for photos, hours of pricing research, one to three weeks of holding cost before a car is even online, and the evenings nobody invoices.
- Can't I just keep posting on Facebook Marketplace?
- You can — small lots do. Known risks: personal-account restrictions, stale listings, and retyping every post. SaneLot publishes to your own site instantly and generates feed-ready marketplace files from the same data.
- When is DIY genuinely fine?
- A handful of cars and a couple of sales a month? Keep your money. The free trial is there when the evenings start disappearing.
See it run a real lot
The demo is a live dealership website running on SaneLot — real inventory, verified listings, working lead forms.