How often do you update databases?

For European manually-made database

(Car Models List, Car Models Database and Car Models & Engines Database)

I update constantly, adding new launched models as soon they are announced on car news websites, as well as backward updating, adding old models plus exotic and defunct brands, as soon as I discover them and find enough data.

Cleaning up the Excel tables and reuploading on server every day due to an “update” with +1 added model would be stupid. Instead, I publish updates every few months, when sufficient new cars are added and depending by sales volume.

Once per year I do a main yearly check-through, adding missing new models, adding new engine versions in existing models, and adding production end year for the discontinued models.

I was doing the yearly check-through in October, as the main source of data, AutoKatalog magazine from Germany, is published yearly in late September. Temporary updates for new cars are possible any time of year by sourcing data from other sources such as Wikipedia, ADAC Datenbank and Parkers. At main yearly update I check all new cars and if needed I replace temporary data from online sources with permanent data from AutoKatalog, plus adding more detailed data. AutoKatalog was surprisingly discontinued in late 2014, and after a year of hiatus in which offered only partial updates for Car Models & Engines Database (Car Models List and Car Models Database were less affected), I started using ADAC Datenbank to update Car Models & Engines Database every 3 months, after a programmer helped me making an application to copy data from ADAC website automatically, then I manually manipulate data from ADAC and add into my Excel database, keeping similar format with the former AutoKatalog. Getting busier with new databases I made via scraping for other continents, that require less effort per update, I had to decrease update frequency for Europe to 6 months in 2017. Each update takes about 20-30 hours of manual work.

For American Year-Make-Model

This is another manually-made database, I do the main yearly update in May, adding all cars of the next model year. Additionally I offer minor updates and corrections at random moments of year.

For American Year-Make-Model-Trim-Specs

This database involve manual work to search pages of new cars and automatic scripts to extract data from each page. Each update takes about a week, after updates of November 2015 and May 2016 number of sales was rising so I decided to increase update frequency to 3 months.

It exceeded sales of European databases in 2017, becoming best-seller product made by me, so I made additional scripts to further automatize updating process and it was reduced to 1-2 days. I decided to update once ~500 cars are launched, that means ~6 updates per year, with higher frequency in July-December when most cars are launched.

For Indian database

Indian Car Database takes few hours using an automated scraper, sales volume was initially low, 1 sale per month of less, so I updated database in the day of new sales if the customer requested to have it up-to-date. After doing about 8 sales, I decided in May 2016 to update Indian Car Database database monthly (1st day of every month).

Indian Bike Database gets one sale per few months so I update at request basis rather than at regulated intervals.

For other databases

Starting from 2015 I create databases by scraping data from websites. There is no longer necessary to have a minimum of X people interested, is sufficient YOU to give link to a specific website I code a scraper, create Excel database and sell it to you and post it on website so other people can purchase if are interested.

In some cases, nobody else purchase same database, and the original customer who requested database creation did an one-time project thus never require updates, these databases last update date may remain unchanged over year. I start providing updates only if a second customer purchase it and require update.

Each update require minimum of manual work, I just need to open scraper, click START, wait few hours, click SAVE DATA and upload it on website. Is more effective to do this at request basis instead of regular basis (every X months). Especially in case of Condo Management Corporations database used for telemarketing, because phone numbers change often, for best results I need to update database 1 day before the day you intend to do telemarketing.

Notes

The SAMPLE / PREVIEW files are posted at the main yearly update. They may not represent the latest numbers of models included in the saleable database, you usually get MORE models than indicated in sample database.

The FREE / 1 EURO products (Car Models List, Car Models Timeline, Car Length chart, etc) do not come with regular updates. I update them only when I have free time and I get interested in them, usually once per year. You should buy a paid product (10+ euro) if you want regular updates.