RentCar Platform
A peer-to-peer car rental marketplace where owners list vehicles and renters search, view, and request rentals. Includes a superuser analytics dashboard with charted platform metrics.
Overview
A peer-to-peer car rental marketplace where owners list vehicles and renters search, view, and request rentals. Includes a superuser analytics dashboard with charted platform metrics.
Problem
A client needed a two-sided rental marketplace with admin moderation controls and visibility into platform performance through analytics charts.
Solution
Django marketplace with car listing, rental request, and approval workflows. REST API serves a JavaScript frontend. Admin dashboard displays key metrics via Django ORM aggregation queries.
Architecture
Django backend with PostgreSQL and Docker. REST API for JS frontend. State machine for rental request lifecycle (pending → approved/rejected → completed). Admin analytics with ORM-level aggregation.
Challenges
Designing an explicit rental request state machine that prevents invalid transitions.
Building performant analytics queries over rental data without dedicated analytics infrastructure.
Outcomes
Two-sided marketplace with superuser moderation and analytics delivered to the client.
Lessons Learned
State machines should be explicit enumerations — string status fields without enforced transitions cause subtle bugs.