MediCar

MediCar: Car Help for Non-Car People

Pop the hood? Nah. Just pop open MediCar.

Inspiration

MediCar was born out of frustration — my frustration. There have been so many mornings when my car simply wouldn’t start. I didn’t know what was wrong, didn’t have jumper cables, didn’t know who to call, and ended up waiting forever for help to arrive… only for the same thing to happen the next day.

I'm not a car expert — and I realized, most people aren’t either. I wanted to build something I wish I had on those days. A friendly tool that helps everyday drivers understand what’s going on with their car without feeling overwhelmed or helpless.

What it does

MediCar helps everyday drivers understand car problems and what to do about them.

Users can:

Enter their car info (via VIN or Make/Model/Year)
Describe the symptom they’re experiencing (e.g., “ticking noise” or “won’t start”)
Instantly see:
- Possible causes
- Urgency level
- What steps to take
- Roadside help contact info, if needed

It’s like WebMD, but for your car — minus the panic spirals.

How we built it

Frontend: Built with Next.js, using App Router and modular CSS for clean UI.
Backend: Python Flask API to receive and respond to vehicle symptom data.
State Management: Used localStorage to persist user input across steps.
CORS: Configured Flask-CORS to allow smooth frontend↔backend communication.
Design: Sketched in Figma and built with a focus on clarity and comfort.

Challenges we ran into

Handling cross-origin requests between ports during local development
Passing car and symptom data cleanly across multiple frontend pages
Designing symptom input that’s both simple and flexible
Mapping plain-English issues to believable technical explanations
Creating a UI that’s informative without being overwhelming

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a working prototype that actually feels useful
Turned a frustrating real-life problem into something helpful and empowering
Created a user-friendly experience that speaks to non-technical users
Worked collaboratively across frontend, backend, and UX in just a short timeframe