Why Your Classic Car Club Should Be Using Custom Data Sets & Databases

Today, we are talking about vintage cars, which is the perfect excuse for me to share my potentially controversial opinions on the matter. The Lancia Stratos is the prettiest car ever made. No car before or since has looked better than the Stratos. Not a single one. I will not be listening to feedback. 

 

Let's get into it now that that's out of the way.

In NSW, they're historic or classic cars; in Vic, they're permit cars; in QLD, special interest cars; in SA, special interest cars; in the NT, they classic cars; in the ACT, they're veteran, vintage and historic cars; and in WA they're classic or code 404 cars. 

It seems that the Australian states and territories can't even agree on what to call- Crap I forgot Tasmania. 

In Tasmania, they're called special interest cars. 

As I was saying, it seems like the Australian state and territory governments can not land on a single name, let alone a set of rules for registering an older car with the government. Which makes my job of writing about it a little tricky. Nonetheless, I will persevere. For simplicity's sake, I will generally refer to them as classic cars unless I specifically need to use a different term. 

Here at Member Jungle, we have been helping car clubs run smoothly and in a more manageable way for a long time. In that time, we learned a lot about the ups, downs, and struggles of running a car club. We've noticed that one thing in particular continues to be a massive help to car clubs. That is, as the title suggests, custom databases. 

So that is what we will discuss today: custom databases, what they are and how they can help your car club. By the end of this article, you will have a much better understanding of what custom databases are and if they are right for your car club. 

 

What Are Custom Databases For Your Classic Car Club? 

Custom databases are just customisable digital forms you can give your members to fill out. You can use different custom forms to collect any and all information you need. You can use custom member forms to collect all the information you need about your members, and you can use custom datasets to collect all the information you need about their cars. 

 

 

Once collected, all this information is stored on your club's digital system, which can be easily searched for when needed. 

The member data collected by member forms is separate from car data collected by custom datasets. However, these can be linked to ensure you never confuse whose car belongs to whom. 

What Information Can Custom Databases for Your Classic Car Club Collect?

Custom databases are, as the name suggests, customisable to collect pretty much any information your club needs. You can customise your forms to collect all the information required in your state, including photos and documents. 

You can also choose how many cars your members can register with your club. This gives you the ability to upsell members to more expensive membership levels that offer a higher number of included cars, making your club more money in the process. You can also decide which sections of your form will be required to fill in, which will be optional, which will be for admins only and if your members can edit their details. 

Custom databases are flexible, too; you don't need to run a classic car club to be able to find a use for them. Even modern car clubs can use custom databases to make tracking and showing off their members' cars easier. Especially with the ability to add photos and control what information is and isn't private. Custom databases could be a very cool way to show off all your club members' cars, vintage or not. 

How Can Custom Databases Save Your Classic Car Club Time?

As you already know, in Australia, people who want vintage plates or specialised registration for their cars must be members of a registered historic vehicle club. This means that your club is responsible for keeping track of your members' cars, plates, logbooks, and everything else that goes along with managing a historic plate database.

Keeping track of all this information is vital to your club's operations, as your members depend on you to track their car and license details. If their car license details are lost, misplaced or recorded incorrectly, that could mean them losing their historic plates, specialised insurance and more. 

Using custom databases can allow you to ensure your members give you all this important information and that that information is stored securely plus is readily accessible when the time comes. 

Custom databases include an advanced search and reporting function that enables you to export all car data with your members' form details to CSV, search the car database in a dedicated reporting area, and filter all standard and custom fields to customise your reporting. Additionally, you can select which fields should be displayed in your report and search for custom fields within a date range. 

This means that with a few clicks, you can see every member up for renewals within a certain period. You can also check which cars need their rego renewed, logbooks replaced, or anything else you need to know. This can make running your classic car club a lot easier and with a lot less hassle.
 

 

Custom databases, plus powerful reporting features, give you the power to access any and all information about your members and their cars whenever you need it. So, if your state governing body suddenly asks you for the registration details of a particular member, those details are only a few clicks away. 

How Can You Get The Most Out Of Custom Databases

Custom databases can save your club a lot of time and effort by streamlining and reducing the chances of mistakes in collecting, storing and searching your members' car information. They can also make your club experience significantly better for your members. 

The system has a dedicated tab where your member's car information will be stored. As an admin, you can rename this tab for anything you like: My Garage, My Volvos, or whatever works for your club. This can add a nice little personal touch to your club's digital system. 

You and your members can also access all this information on the Member Jungle Mobile app. Giving your members access to their car and registration details right in their pockets. 
 

What Else Do I Need To Know About Custom Databases At Member Jungle?

Custom databases make collecting, storing and retrieving your members’ information a lot easier. They are absolutely something that could be a major help to your classic car club or even just a regular car club. 

If you want to know more about how custom databases work with the whole Member Jungle system to help your club, then have a look at How To Run Your Classic Car Club Better.

If you want to find out how the Street Machine Association of South Australia found using the Member Jungle system, please read this Street Machine Association of South Australia - Customer Story.