#12: The Life Plus Used Cars Buyer's Guide (and Other Stories)

I turned the key over and it flashed some kind of crazy warning lights at me that made this

scary clunk.

I remember you called me after that happened.

I sure did.

You were like, distraught.

You were like, what do I do?

Look, it made this noise.

I was like, is it running?

You were like, it did start.

I was like, yeah, drive it.

See what happens.

Hello, everybody.

Welcome back, listeners, to the Life Plus Cars podcast.

For this week's episode, we are going to be talking about buying a car and what that whole

process looks like.

Brendan has a lot of experience in that field as he's going to talk about.

I've bought and sold quite a few, yes.

As I mentioned, I think in an earlier episode, I've always seen Brendan's garage as a revolving

door more than anything, so.

That's a good way to put it.

Yes.

I think you were the one that had the famous phrase of, I always love when you show up because

you never know what you're going to be driving.

Oh, it's the best.

Yeah.

It's always something new.

For the listeners out there, Brendan and I live about two hours apart, so whenever

I do get a chance to come up and visit his garage, I'm always like, what's going to

be in there?

It's got to be something new.

Leading into today's conversation, it makes me think of a car that I bought, which

was a 2011 Volkswagen GTI.

And I bring it up because this was 100% an impulse buy, though I bring it up because there were

definitely things that Brendan's going to talk about today that I should have done in

that moment and thought about it.

I mean, it was the bright, shiny new toy moment for me when I went from a 2009 Nissan

Versa, which was blunted to an extent, named Clarence, we'll save Clarence for

another episode, but then I went and did a 180 to buy this bright tornado red VW GTI that

I just fell in love with, had to have it and then discovered it like, oh, there's some

things that I should have been aware of and just doing more due diligence when it comes

to buying a car.

So I bring that up.

I do, I did love that car for what it was.

I do miss it.

Especially what led me into my current car, which is a 2019 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack.

In a way, it was like the bridge to the car that I'm in now.

Yeah, but no, but you have to give more, like you got a backup.

So go to the beginning of the GTI.

So it's like you had Clarence, right?

Oh, yes.

And then I remember talking to you about it years ago and you were like, I want

a fun car.

So you got to tell that story of like you found the red GTI.

That's very true.

So, so I got to hear it.

Yes.

So, OK, so setting the scene, my first car out of college was a 2009 Nissan

Versa, which in its own right was a great car, did everything I needed to.

It was a little tractor.

It ran in spite of itself.

It was not fun.

Like it was, it was a four speed automatic practical, practical, very practical.

And that's it.

Like that's why I do still love that car for what it was.

It was so practical, got me to where I needed to be.

Didn't have to give it a second thought.

So when I got to a point where I'd owned that car for three years and I had

at the time I just paid off my student loans.

So I was in a mode of like, you know what I should do?

Buy a new car.

And so I was then searching and then it was that summer.

So searching for a new car.

And so I've been listening to podcasts and reading articles all about

like hot hatches, the idea of like a fun turbo charge, stick shift,

hatchback that was like the do it all while also being a ton of fun to drive.

So I had that in my head.

The dream.

Yes, the dream.

The all arounder.

Yeah. Oh, I'm Olivia.

And so I'd test driven lots of different options in that segment.

That summer, just try a little bit of everything within like that kind of

drivers focused segment of cars.

And I landed on like, OK, I really like the GTI and I actually

test driven a brand new one.

And it was it was almost leaning into buying a brand new one at that time.

And then on Craigslist, this this this 2011 GTI pops up.

It's bright red, 31,000 miles on it.

So I thought, oh my gosh, like, look at this, like I was looking at a brand

new one, but this one's like half the price and went to find it.

And car was in really good shape, like very well taken care of.

I test drove the car, had a ball with it.

Now granted, this was also me early on in my stick shift driving career,

if you if you will.

And so I was still like fumbling a bit with driving a stick.

And this was my whole motive was that, OK, I want a stick shift car.

So therefore I'm going to buy a stick shift and have to live with one.

And then I'm going to master it.

Because prior to that, I had driven a handful of stick shift cars,

but hadn't really gotten the hang of it until I really just leaned

into this car buying season.

I was in at this point that summer and said, I'm just buying one.

I just want a stick shift car and I'm going to buy one.

And I'm going to push myself to actually work.

So that was the whole motive there.

So back to this GTI and I I test drive it really and taken with it.

It's bright red.

It's got the plaid cloth seats in it, like the golf ball shifter.

This thing like I mean, just signature GTI elements.

If for those of you out there who are familiar with the GTI or GTI fans,

like that that is like that's just the wicked fun.

I want to have like those 18 inch like Detroit alloys.

Like, I mean, now if you if you know, you know, the good looking car.

It was a good looking car, very good looking car.

So I came at it from like, wow, look at this like shiny, bright,

as I said, like the brand new toy moment.

And I just like have that moment like I need to have this.

And so I went forward with it.

So what I did not do was get a pre-purchased inspection,

just went for it and bought it.

A week later, showed up, completed the deal, drove the car home.

That day, I was still like elated to like look at this car.

I mean, this is like this was a complete 180 from my Versa.

My Versa was dark gray, black cloth seats.

Again, like four cylinder is very mundane, like but very practical

Versa to now this screaming red

GTI with the big, like shiny alloy wheels and the plaid interior.

I mean, this thing just was such a different car.

And I just was beside myself like, wow, like, no, this this is an enthusiast car.

Like, yes, I've done it.

I have like crossed over into the enthusiast realm

because that was the biggest thing that like I was like, I kept I'm like,

I want to be an enthusiast so bad.

And I have like the antithesis of an enthusiast car with the Versa of like,

so I'm going to just like fully commit and buy this GTI, which I did.

So, yeah, and so I as I came to learn more about the GTI

and did my research post purchase where I read more about the

and this goes to the 2011 GTI.

So and they had this issue between 2008 and 2012

where they had this timing chain, tensioner issue where they could fail

and basically grenade the engine.

And I didn't find this out where I didn't do this research

until after I bought the car realizing, like, oh, my gosh,

like, do I is this engine just a ticking time bomb at that at this point?

Because I was reading they're like, oh, it could go at 40,000

or it could be fine and so 120,000 miles or anywhere in between.

And so mother software, I bought the car realize like, oh, my gosh,

like, what have I done?

Needless to say, I then developed worries around this car

so that every time I'd get into the car, key in the ignition

of like, is it going to be fine?

Is it not?

It also had an issue with the pressure plate with the clutch

that it made this horrible wine like sometimes when I'd let the clutch

out. And that was that was another known issue that I had discovered

about it. And all these so those are the two main things.

And so the as I got to know the car more, I was realizing like, OK,

yeah, it was shiny and it was well kept.

However, under the surface, there's some big

mechanical things that shouldn't have been overlooked.

Now, it was certainly it was drivable.

Like it was not like the car like ever let me stranded,

but there was still always in the back of my head that is it going to

is it going to turn over?

And so one morning, I remember this vividly that I got in and I turned

the key over and it like flashed some kind of crazy warning lights at me.

And it was like kind of like made this scary clunk.

I mean, granted, I remember you called me after that happened.

I sure did.

Rod, you were like, how do I do this noise?

I was like, is it running?

You're like, it didn't start.

I like can't drive it.

See what happens? You were like, my God, my God.

Like the engine just went and just went.

Oh, my gosh, like, what do I do?

And it's funny because I was like, it was funny.

This was at the point like I was still privately selling the Versa.

So this was I had both the Versa and the GTI at this point.

So I just went and hopped in the Versa and took that to work that day.

Because you shelf out.

Yeah, I was like, I'll just take them.

I'll just take the Versa.

So then I was like in this moment of like, why do you buy this?

Like I have a car that just runs and I'm like, I it's fine.

So and and and Clarence is just a reliable car.

And and so that I just distinctly remember

like calling you about it that day.

I'm like, what do I do?

And and I was like, it was also like it was like a 10 degree

January morning, so the cold didn't help things either.

I remember when that happened specifically

when it had like that starting thing and you freaked out.

But like, it was pretty shortly after that, like you sold it.

Like, did you you privately sold it, right?

You didn't trade it in.

The GTI. Yeah, the GTI.

Like, pretty shortly after that, right?

Well, I know I I held on to the GTI

until that following September, actually.

So that was you had it all summer.

OK, I did.

So I bought it in November, 2018.

I sold I sold Clarence there that February.

So it was like 2019.

And then that following fall, 2019, that September is when I saw

the news of the Gulf all track being discontinued and decided like,

oh, that's such a better car for me.

And you get a six speed.

It's a big way in.

Yep. And I had that at the time they had that bumper to bumper warranty.

Six year seventy two.

Pretty glad to beat that.

Also sold me.

So yeah, so to answer your original question,

I had that car had the GTI through that winter, spring.

I did get to enjoy a whole summer of driving with it,

which I'm grateful that I could have like one summer of just fun, spirited,

driving and after after that, like whatever that that morning was with the

clunk where it sort of self out and then came to find afterwards,

I did I did privately sell it and the guy I bought it from actually had

one of those OBD to readers that he plugged in and like could then like

do an app and see like the chain stretch even like where like because

the mechanics look at this like they judge like what percentage of chain

stretching could they determine if it's too much.

And it's like, oh, this this car could have the tensioner issue.

And he looked at it like, oh, yeah, it's not even close to like that danger zone.

And so yeah, because I was very interesting with like,

you know, the ZTI has had the tensioner issue.

I have had the pressure plate issue off and on.

And but he had been looking for a GTI and similar to me.

He was like, oh, my gosh, this. Wow, this is a good one.

And it's true that miles and well kept.

Exactly. At that point, I'd only put 10,000 miles on the car in my ownership.

And yeah, and it was also like, which is also it was bone stock didn't.

And it wasn't I bought it stock and I sold the stock.

So you see so many of these Mark six GTIs that are just modded

like crazy and they're barely running. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

It felt good that because I sold it to a fellow enthusiast

who I could tell like really was excited, was going to

knock knew what knew going in like just some of the things to look out for.

So like he'd clearly done his homework.

I was happy to be able to move on from the car and know that it was like going to a good home.

Oh, yeah, when you could sell a car to someone, you know,

it just appreciates it and they're going to enjoy it and take care of it.

That to me is the best. Like they're going to a good home.

Yeah, it's funny. Like you talk about the GTI and like my memories of it.

Like I remember the red, right? Obviously.

And I remember when you called me about that issue

because you were like freaking out.

And then the other thing I remember is I think I wrote in it once or twice.

I wrote in it.

And my favorite memory is I will always remember it as the Abracadabra car

because you had it was either your iPhone or your iPod hooked up to it.

And every time you started there, started the car

would automatically come up on the iPhone, like alphabetically, the song.

And it was Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band,

which I just love.

We get in and start it just be Abracadabra.

I'm going to reach out and grab you.

I was like, oh, my God, this is fantastic.

Every time you started like the theme song of Lana. All right.

Oh, my gosh, it was built in 2011.

So it had like the hookup with an iPod touch of that era.

So it was like the iPhone for era connector.

If you remember, it was like a wide one.

So it was like wide.

Yeah, it came from the factory with that plug-in.

So I had my old iPod touch that I just plugged in and left in the car.

But yeah, it would start at the right at the beginning of my song library,

which was Abracadabra.

Yeah, I love it.

I love it.

What are my favorite memories about that?

Start up and do do do do do do do do do do do.

Abracadabra.

And like every time it was that was that was a signature GTI work of that car.

I mean, that makes me smile.

Think about it.

And I also think about the time that I.

Yeah, I think I took you for driving it once or twice.

And I remember you having to push the seat all the way back.

And even then just like pretzel yourself into.

We haven't talked about body types like Ian and I are both pretty tall,

but I'm I'm six, six, about 300 pounds.

So I'm I'm a big guy, like a big guy.

And you're like, what, like six, two Ian?

Yeah, six, two, one, six, yeah.

You're a big guy. You're you're lanky.

Lanky, yes.

But yes, like for me to get into the car,

like you should see me get into like the Corvette.

Like that is comical seeing that.

But yes, I do remember that.

It's well, and it's like any of those cars,

like Volkswagen's, et cetera, it's getting in and out is a pain.

But once you're in it, it's actually pretty comfortable.

Like I was always amazed at the golf,

like your golf and other Volkswagen's, like even Beatles.

Like I love the Beatles because the two door,

like you just open the door up nice and wide and get in.

And those things are roomy, like every roomy.

So a lot of space to work with.

Oh, yes. But yes, I do remember that.

And it's not just your car.

It's any person's car.

I go to get into.

I have to before I try to get in,

I like make sure the seats all the way back

and then all the way down

and then lean the seat back a little bit.

I'm like, all right, now I can try to get it down.

Unless it's a pickup truck or something.

Yeah, it's like, all right, take it easy.

I think it's it's a perfect segue from like your story

about your GTI and you buying it

and then what you ultimately ended up doing with it.

And you got your all track, like that's a perfect segue

into when it comes to buying a used car, right?

Like and correct me if I'm wrong here,

but just to kind of do a quick summary or recap it.

Like you had this Nissan and you always wanted to pursue

like you wanted the manual, you wanted the fun car.

So you wanted the GTI.

So you saw it and you you you fell victim

to what everyone does where you like saw something you wanted.

It was shiny. It was beautiful.

It's what you want.

And you just jumped at it.

You were just a little bit impetuous

and you were like, I got to have it.

Like if I if I don't buy this,

like someone else is going to get it.

So I have it and there's nothing wrong with that.

But it's just like that.

You didn't necessarily go through all the steps

of like what I would recommend

or what I'm even going to talk about coming up very shortly.

And, you know, I got just got a preface to everyone.

Like I've done it, too.

Like I bought stuff that I have regretted.

I've bought stuff that I have been over the moon.

Like I can't believe how good a shape it's in.

And I mean, I bought stuff where it's been like 50 50

where it's like half regret, half. It's OK.

You know, it's the important thing is knowing

what you're getting yourself into.

That's like with any purchase, big or small,

it's just having that reasonable expectation, right?

To jump right into it, like, I mean,

I've probably bought and sold since I've turned

like 15 or 16, easily more than like 50 cars, like easily.

I mean, I'm 35, but and I probably could have done more.

But it wasn't up until very recently that I got

my used car dealer and the ability to buy cars pretty much

on a whim, like whenever I want to a degree, obviously.

So when it's come to like me buying a car,

the best advice I can give people is number one, do your homework.

So like you talked about you and about like you later did the research

on what the problems were with that era of car.

So like just, for example, say someone's like, oh, I want a Volvo S 60

or I want a Cadillac, blah, blah, blah.

It's like go on Google, go on forums dedicated to those cars

and look up what the common problems are.

And you would be amazed at the plethora of information

that is out there on people that have had issues or this or that

that is available to you to just understand

these types of problems that they may have.

Not all of them have them, but pretty likely they will.

If there's a bunch of people complaining about it, right?

So that would be number one is do your research, like find out what the problems

are, find out what their values are, you know, longevity, any of that.

And then number two would be, OK, you find the car you want,

you set up a time to go look at it, right?

And then this applies to whether it's a dealership,

it's a person, family member, like I don't care who it is,

like set up a time to go look at it.

And then the very first thing that I have all,

like this took me a lot to learn this one.

But the very first thing I would say is what I call the true cold start.

So even before you show up to like look at the car,

and I'm talking like a day or two before when you talk to the person,

is tell them don't start the car.

Like I do not want you to warm it up.

I don't want you to move it.

Just don't start the car.

And lots of times, especially dealerships, right?

Like they'll go out, make sure the car starts,

like pull it up for you, like make it like it's ready to go with the dealer

plate on it, right?

Like, and that's pretty standard practice.

But the reason that I've come to really like what I call the true cold start,

quote unquote, is when a car has sat for like a day or two without being

started or even longer than that, if possible.

And then you start it, you learn so much from a vehicle

from that initial start when it's really cold,

just in terms of sounds like the exhaust,

like what's coming out of the exhaust pipe,

like if there's a lot of smoke or blue smoke or black smoke,

like, you know, it's burning oil or it's burning coolant, right?

If it's got rattles or if it's got piston slap,

like you hear the engine, it's like, OK, and then it goes away.

It's like, you know, like it has leak down in the oil pressure.

And there's there's so much you can tell from that.

So I could go into that much deeper.

But to move it forward, like to the true cold start.

Yeah. But that is that's like you're on your way to look at the car.

Make sure you tell the person not to start it.

But when you first to back up just a little bit,

when you first show up to look at the car,

the first thing you do, obviously, is the walk around, right?

So you're looking at the finish.

You're looking at the paint.

You look for how the tires look.

See if they're worn at all.

You know, don't be afraid to get your hands dirty,

like rub your hand over the tire tread back and forth

and across the face of it.

If they feel choppier, the tread feels uneven.

You know, there might be something with the alignments out.

Look at the brakes.

If they look all rusty, like, OK, you know, there's something else.

Maybe does they have big grooves in the rotors?

You've got to look for that.

Like the brakes might need to be done.

Look for things, dense scratches and all that stuff.

I mean, superficial stuff is to be expected on any used car, right?

Like slight scratches, little dense rock chips.

That's to be expected.

But anything glaring, I mean, like me buying, for example,

like I love like the 2000, like 2006 range GM trucks.

And then the rust belt rust is so prevalent.

So like, I always go and like check cab corners and rockers.

You just take like your hand and you can tap the metal.

And you know, if it's Bondor, if it's sheet metal in there,

just by the sound.

So you're going to do stuff like that.

And then before you start it, before you start it on your cold start,

you got to check the fluids.

You have to check the engine oil, see if it's up to level.

Check the viscosity of it.

Like, see, does it look thin or not?

Get a little on your fingers.

Don't be afraid to rub it around.

See what it feels like.

Make sure brake fluid is good.

Coolant always check the make sure the car is cold,

but always check the radiator fluid, the cooling system.

That's another one that's just that's a telltale

for how well the car has been taken care of.

And transmission, if you can get to it, see if it smells burnt.

I mean, this is all pretty basic stuff.

And then start it up there for the true cold start.

You start it up, see how it sounds, see what it does.

And if everything seems to check out that far or, you know, up to that point,

then you take it on a test drive and on the drive, turn the radio off.

And and listen to the car.

Listen down down the road, listen to the motor, listen to the transmission.

And just listen for any kind of weird squeaks, rattles, groaning noises.

You I mean, maybe there's a wheel bearing.

You're heading down the road and you just do a couple gentle,

like left to right turns with the wheel.

And if there's noises that come and go, it could be a wheel bearing.

Like there's there's a lot of things you can tell just from simple noises.

Really, it comes down to just trusting your gut.

I mean, it's it's hard.

A lot of this I've learned from over the years, right?

Of buying and selling cars.

And I've had my fair share of really good buys.

And I've actually, I mean, knock on what I've been very lucky that I've only had

like two or three cars that are really

not gone well.

Let's just put it that way.

And I mean, you try your best to buy something that's going to be

a good vehicle that's represented well, supposedly, right?

But you just never know.

And there are ways that there's, you know, buyers are protected with bill of sales

and as is cause and all this and sellers can be protected with at least new cars

with like lemon laws and stuff.

But use cars is it's you have to do your homework on use car buying

because you just you never know.

And this applies to not just like if you're going to go buy like a

four or five year old Audi.

It also applies to if you're going to buy a classic car.

Like we talked last episode about getting into classic cars

and in different ways people can pursue the passion.

Like if you're looking at buying your first classic car,

what I've talked about so far is all stuff that you should be doing.

You've got to check it all over, do your homework, listen to how it sounds.

I mean, and the one nice thing I'll say about buying a classic car

is most people selling collector car or older cars are actually a lot

better about maintenance and history and keeping track of that.

So like, for example, if you're looking like a 75 Buick Riviera or something,

you know, someone like that would be like, Oh yeah, like, you know,

the motor was redone in like 1998 and then this,

like I redid the master cylinder and then we did bought, you know,

like they actually have a record of it because they care about the car a lot.

But, you know, you buy a five year old Toyota RAV4 with 100,000 miles on it,

then it's like, well, I don't know when that was done.

I think it looks good, you know, go for it.

You know, like it's just, it's different.

It's very different by experience there.

Oh yeah.

And then so, I mean, it to kind of come back to like my list about it.

So it's like, so you walked around the car, you've checked it out,

you checked the fluids on it, you did the cold start, you drove it,

you listened for sounds and then so say you decide like this is the car for me.

Like, you know, you're, you're put a painted with the car, right?

You got to have it.

So it comes down to like you negotiate with the person you buy it.

You say you want to buy it.

I would just say right there for the big hold, right on that moment,

big hold and just say to the person and anyone, any self-respecting person that wants to sell you

the car, if you say to them, I want to buy it, but I want to take it to a mechanic first or a

trusted inspection place or whatever before I pull the trigger, anyone should say no problem.

Like that's no problem.

Like if anyone says like, no, you can't do that, then that is a huge red flag.

I mean, there should be no reason that anyone trying to sell you a car, unless of course it's

like a car that's all torn apart in pieces, right?

Like someone's like, here come buy this project car.

Yeah, like my father and I, yeah, my father and I tore it apart and then you have to put it

together.

But no, I mean, 90% of situations, if you want to buy it and let's go back to the RAV4,

like a five-year-old RAV400,000 miles.

It's like I'm interested, I want to buy it, but I want to bring it to this place or this

mechanic and have them go over it.

Like anyone should say like, yeah, that's no problem, like let's arrange to do that.

And maybe you have to give them a deposit or something or whatever, but you absolutely

should do that.

There's just no question.

And I mean, I even do that for an example with me.

So with my used car dealer, I buy a lot of cars from an auction, right?

And this auction actually has a thing that you can pay them once you buy the vehicle.

It's an extra fee.

You send them the vehicle and they inspect it and they go over everything and they will

look at frame, they'll look at any type of rust, engine noises, interior scratches.

I mean, you name it, top to toe, like 150-point inspection and they will give you a report

on it and I think it's like 150-200 bucks or something they charge to do it, right?

But it's so worth it because what the auction house does when they do that is if I get the

car to my facility and I look it over and I go, well, they didn't disclose this and

they didn't talk about like there's a hole in the frame or any of that, you can send

it back to the auction, no questions asked and they'll just refund you the purchase

price.

So for me, that type of thing is just so worthwhile because if I decide not to go to the auction

because it's pretty far away from me, you have that ability to rely on them and it's huge.

It's huge to have a trustworthy inspection on a vehicle like that.

It's just so worth it.

I mean like Ian knows that I bought a great example, like real life example,

as I bought a 2016 GMC Yukon by mistake from an auction and it has 210,000 miles on it

and I bought it from this auction and after I bought it, I was like, oh no.

So I had them inspect it and they said it was fine.

Like it had a little bit of wear from having 210,000 miles on it but it checked out and I

got it back to my shop and they were right.

Like it was actually in really good condition considering its mileage and I actually,

I just sold it yesterday.

So, you know, plus there a local guy, he was like, my suburban won't pass inspection anymore

and it's like, this thing's really good looking.

You know, I detail it up, it did, it looked good.

Dark gray.

Oh, beautiful Denali.

It's like, yeah, that's like, that's your rig right there.

Yeah, that's the one.

And we tell you, so he's literally gonna, he's gonna drive it and then put like his three

giant dogs in the back of it.

So it's like, okay.

There we go.

That's it.

Boy, those dogs are going to be just living in luxury there in that Denali.

Oh yeah, I was like, that's like, that's really what you're going to use it for?

It's like, yeah, teacher on, teacher.

Right.

But yeah, but I mean, but to come back to it too, I mean, buying a used car, it is amazing.

Like, I also want to say this, like most people, when it comes to buying a car, whether it's

newer used, they look at it like it's, it's a burden.

Like it's like, oh my gosh, we have to go car shopping like, because no one wants

to deal with salesmen.

No one wants to deal with negotiating.

No one wants to deal with it.

Right.

And I get it.

Like I totally get it because going to especially car dealerships, depending on the dealership,

can be a nightmare.

It really could be a nightmare.

Like you feel like a number and all they're trying to do is just sell you something in.

So I get it.

But I just want to say like, it should be fun.

Yes.

Buying a car should be fun.

You should enjoy the process.

You should enjoy the people you meet while you're doing it.

It's just, it should be this fun thing to do.

So taking these steps of, you know, doing your homework and checking out the car in person.

And I mean, go with a friend and do the cold start, give it a drive, negotiate.

And it's just, that's the best you can do to try to help mitigate any type of risk or

anything like that.

And to, to basically to, to end that whole section on like buying a car is the best

advice I have ever gotten.

And this is especially true when it comes to buying classic cars.

A friend of mine that has a used car dealer told me years ago, because I was hot to trot

on this one car going through the auction and he was at the auction.

And I was like, just buy it for me, buy it for me.

And he, his famous words, he's like, Brendan, Brendan, there will be another one.

You don't have to have this one.

And that really resonated with me when he said that.

And to this day, it's true.

Like you could be so hot to trot on a golf GTI.

And it's like, yes, it's a nice example, but there will be another one someday.

It's like, just, just hold your powder, keep your powder dry.

Right.

You'll be able to get one.

Right.

So it's like, I always think about that in the back of my mind, like say,

because people get frustrated.

Like just the other day I talked to a guy that bought this Lexus SUV and he's like,

I overpaid for it.

And I bought it from this guy and didn't like it blah, blah, blah.

And I'm like, well, then why did you do that?

And he's like, because I got fed up with looking for used cars.

So I just said, I just literally said this next one, we're buying it.

I don't care because I'm getting tired of it.

And I was like, that's, that's just horrible.

I don't like hearing that, but the key is there's always another.

So if you're looking for specific car, you think you found the one,

but there's something about it that doesn't feel right, whether it's the person,

whether it's the car, whatever, you can walk away.

You have that power to just say, no, no, no, let's just walk away.

Just walk away.

There will be another one at another time.

So yeah, it should be fun.

Make sure it's fun.

Keep it fun.

So to give the listeners an example of a car that I've bought.

So I'm going to, I'm going to tell two separate car buying stories.

And I'll try to make them quick.

Yeah.

Of that, that were like, just kind of like funny instances, right?

So give some, some, yeah.

Yeah.

So it's like, because like, yeah, one where like, I got,

personally think I got screwed.

Then one where like, I think I did really well, right?

So yeah.

So the first one that I will always remember this.

So I had, I had this Buick Lucerne, a 2008 Buick Lucerne.

Nice car.

And I had that thing for sale forever.

I paid too much for it.

And then when I sold it, that was actually the only,

like one of the few cars that I've lost money on.

Like I think I bought it for 14-5 and I sold it for like 11.

Like I got hurt on that car, right?

Like I bought it at the time when I bought it.

I was like, man, this thing's like a 40,000 miles.

Like it's beautiful, whatever.

So I sold that car, the Buick.

And then this was years ago.

So like typical like 20-something-year-old me,

I'm like, I've got 11 grand in my pocket burning a hole.

I was like, I've got to, I was like,

I've got to go buy another car to sell, right?

So I find up in like the middle of nowhere, Vermont,

this 2004 Pontiac Bonneville GXP.

So they made like the Bonneville Sedan

and they had the North Star V8.

And it was like their performance one, the GXP.

And it was a one owner, like 50,000 miles on it.

And I was like a dark gray, beautiful car.

I was like, I have to go up and look.

I called the guy, older guy, go up, look at it.

I mean, I'm in love with it, right?

Like I go through a full list

and I did the cold start and checked it out.

And the only thing I found on it

was the trunk was full of water.

So me in my mind, I'm like jackpot, right?

Like, there's a thing I can negotiate down.

So he was asking, I think he was asking,

like nine grand for it or 9,500.

I go in and talk to him, right?

Sit down at his table and I'm like, listen,

I was like, I really want the car.

I was like, but I just, I can't do more than 7,500.

It was like the fair market value on it.

It's like between seven and eight in a private party.

I was like, and it is a nice example.

And you have kept it up.

I was like, but the water in the trunk,

like it smelled moldy and everything.

I was like, yeah, you know.

And he was like, nope.

Like I won't take a penny under eight grand,

like not a penny.

And I was like, I just can't, I just can't do it.

Just can't do it.

So I actually sat there and like, I talked to the guy

at his kitchen table for two hours,

just not about cars.

Just sat there and talked to him about like whatever,

just like how long you lived up here.

And he was asking me, like what'd you do down

and like where you live and you know, blah, blah, blah.

And then I just remember at the end of it, I was like,

I was like, well, listen,

I was like, I really do want the car.

I was like, but I'm not doing set eight grand.

It's gotta be 7,500.

It's like $500 difference.

Come on.

And he like looks at me and he's like,

oh, you're not going to leave, are you?

I was like, well, no, I'll leave if you asked me to.

And he's like 7,600 and it's yours.

And I was like, okay.

So anyway, I gave him 7,600 and then picked the car up.

And anyway, that car was a goodbye.

That car I actually made the most money on

in the shortest amount of time that I've ever had a car.

So the only issue I had with it was

the AC compressor quit working every time you'd drive it, right?

And it wasn't like it ran out of free on charge or anything.

It ended up being that if you like full throttled it,

you know, front engine, front wheel drive car,

the motor would rock.

And when it rocked, like the wiring harness

would hit a stud in the engine compartment

and short out the wiring to the AC compressor.

So I had to track that down.

So I had it for almost exactly a month.

I fixed that after totally troubleshooting

the wiring harness.

And I think I had to put new tires on,

maybe on the whole thing.

I can't remember, but I put it for sale.

And this Pontiac Enthusiasts,

it had like trans-AMS and GTOs and all that called me up

and he was like, I just, I have to have that.

Like, oh my God, that's what I've been looking for.

And I sold it, I think I sold it for 12.5 or something.

So, you know, I mean, I was just,

I actually, it was one of those fluke things where I was like,

I really liked the car and I was going to keep it.

So I just put it for sale for some like, you know,

I like 14 grand or something in an attempt to be like,

if someone wants it for this much,

like I'll give it to them, right?

So anyway, made good money on that car

in a short amount of time.

And there was a, I think there was something else

that I had to fix on it

that ended up being a little bit of a pain.

But anyway.

What was the deal with the water in the trunk?

Was that just storage?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

So no, that was, I'm happy you reminded me.

Yeah, so that ended up being,

there was a seam where the wheel well

of the right rear tire met the trunk

that wasn't sealed right from the factory.

So when you were driving the car,

it would literally just spray water into the trunk.

It took me forever to find that.

I'm out in the driveway with a hose

like spraying down the top of the car.

And I'm like, nothing's leaking.

Like I don't, like, is it the sunroof

and like the sunroof didn't leak?

Like I checked all the sunroof drains.

Like, I'm like, what is this?

But every time you drove it in the rain,

it would just fill the trunk up.

So finally after, how I found it finally was,

oh, you're jogging my memory.

I love this.

Oh, excellent.

That's fine.

What else over here, Mark?

Yeah, my brother, my brother helped me.

So I got in the trunk and closed the trunk lid

and he was laying underneath the car

with a super bright light and just shining it

like up through the underneath.

And I was like, let me out of the trunk.

He's like, no, probably not.

But he did anyway.

Well, I can just picture that scene.

What, like, a comedy of errors there.

Oh my God.

So that story, a little bit of a long-winded story,

but like that was a car that it's like,

I did my homework and I bought it.

And like it was a good result, right?

I mean, it did need a little bit of work.

And now I can just get a quick one about like,

I bought a Jeep that destroyed me.

Just absolutely.

I know the one.

Yeah, so what was it?

Right out of college and I got this job right

where I was supposed to like drive around to England

and like upsell accounts and do something.

And I was like, well, I don't really have,

I sold the car I had.

So I needed something that was going to be

good for driving around the winter.

And so I found a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited,

which I've always loved those.

My aunt and uncle had a 98 Grand Cherokee.

And I've just, I've something about the look of those ZJs.

The ZJs.

I love them.

Great look.

And with that motor especially, that's...

Oh yeah.

And I mean, they only made like 14,000 of those 5.9 Limited.

So there's a guy not far from where I was living

at the time at my dad's house that had one for sale.

It was like 100, I think it was like 160,000 miles on it.

And he was the second owner or something.

And he was asking like two grand.

I was like, oh man, like perfect, perfect.

Like the body looks good in the picture.

So I go and look at it, right?

He seemed like a nice enough guy, but this is one of those

moments where like, like I said before with Ian,

like I was kind of twidapated.

Like I've always wanted one of those.

So I'm like looking at the Jeep and I'm like, oh man,

like the interior is nice and like the body looks pretty

good.

And like, oh yeah, it's just what a nice looking ZJ.

So he starts it up and it's got like this horrible

rattle to it.

I mean, just horrible.

And he's like, yeah, I think the exhaust needs work.

And I'm like, I look underneath it and he was right.

Like the muffler was pretty much falling off of it.

But I remember, like even to this day,

I remember standing with him in the engine

compartment and like that Jeep was old enough,

like, you know, I'd reach into the engine

compartment and like flip the throttle body,

like you could rev it in park with the hood open,

you know?

Yeah.

And I was just like, boy, that rattle is,

I can't believe that's exhaust, you know?

But then like we drove it and like,

I fell in love as soon as we drove it.

And I was like, I just, I have to have it.

So that Jeep listeners was the biggest mistake.

That thing was riddled with problems.

I mean, we are talking thousands of dollars

to just get that.

And I mean, I should have known like I negotiated

the price down to I think like 1200 bucks.

And the guy was like, okay, great.

Take it.

He seemed pretty eager to get rid of that for that much.

But all right.

So it ended up, what was it?

I mean, just off the bat, it needed

discus coupler in the transfer case,

front differential rebuild, brakes all around,

tires all around, exhaust from like the headers back,

come to find out that the body looked great,

but it had these giant plastic covers over the rockers.

Underneath those were totally rotted out.

Rockers rotted out.

And then the big one was that rattling was actually rod not

that that motor was shot.

And it was the most sludged up motor I've ever ever seen.

Like I pulled off one of the rocker covers

and it was just scooping piles of sludge

out of the top of the valve covers.

Right.

And like, oh my God.

So I put like engine cleaner in it.

And then the noise got worse obviously

because I started to clean up the oil passages.

So I dropped the oil pan and look at it.

And I did the plastic gauge thing where you put in

like these little pieces of paper basically

and cork it down and see how bad the bearings are.

And every single rod bearing was shot and that thing.

What I did was I patched the metal work

with the help of my father's best I could.

I fixed the brakes on it and the differential.

And I pretty much fixed everything on it

to get it to pass inspection except for the motor.

That was the one thing I just could not afford to fix on it.

Anyway, I got all that done to it and I listed it for sale.

And this guy came up and looked at it.

And I think I was asking like for grand for it.

And I had quite a bit more than that in it at that point.

Told the guy straight up.

I was like, listen, like it's sitting here.

Like I started it up for him.

And I was like, it has a little bit of a knock to it.

I was like, but I put like two quarts of Lucas oil

stabilizer in it, which is for the listeners,

it's a really, really thick oil with just some other

regular oil in it to make it so it doesn't knock as much.

And I told the guy that I was like, listen,

like this is what I've done to it.

But like I'm pretty sure the motor is done.

It's like, so that's what's in it.

And he was like, oh, don't care at all.

He's like, I'm, I'm literally buying this to like,

it's going to be like my woods rig up at my cabin.

And I'm going to like drive it through the woods and stuff.

And I was like, you give me four grand, man.

Like it's yours.

And he's like, all right.

So he bought it and he seemed to like it.

But yeah, that that Jeep was like bought it for 1200.

I think I put like six into it or something like that.

And then sold it for four or 3500 or four.

That, that was a, that was a tough one.

But that was an example of like, I did, like I said,

I got twitted with the idea of like,

I've always wanted one of these EJs and I overlooked

everything that was like in the back of my mind being like,

you should check for rust and you should,

you know, check for the motor more.

And like, I didn't check any of the fluids.

Like I didn't do any of it.

Like I just saw it, it looked good.

Like it looked good.

It just had all of these problems riddled around it.

So it, you know, I'm not impervious,

but the one plus I'll say to that is I learned from it.

Right. Like I learned, I was like, okay,

like I will never make that mistake again,

no matter how much I like the car or want it.

Right. So anyway, that would, that would be my,

my advice to anyone looking for a used car is just do,

really it's just do your homework, be diligent

and just don't fall in love with it ASAP.

Like that, that's really the simplest way to put it.

So. Yeah. Wow. Well, thank you, Brandon,

for sharing your expertise here on today's episode.

It's gives the listeners and everybody out there

some really tactical advice.

I know I've certainly taken note of some, you know,

the big points here to always keep in mind.

And yeah, but again, like bringing it back all around.

I took note in your story just like with the Bonneville GXP

and how like you sat down and like chatted with this guy

for two hours and I just,

I like how you spoke to the human side of car buying.

And I mean, that's a big part of like life plus cars here

is that, you know, the human element that we bring

into the life of the car and vice versa.

And so how like that made the difference of like just

getting to know this guy, like his story,

where he's coming from and all of that.

And it just bridged where you were like you were too,

like pretty distant, you know, people in the transaction.

And then it could became more of a connection rather

than just a transaction.

I feel like that's just, so it's missing for the most part

when it comes to car buying,

which is why people just despise the whole process

as opposed to like, as you said, it should be fun.

Like this is a car you're gonna spend day in and day out with

like you have to live with it,

but more than just live with it, like actually love it.

Like that's, I mean, that's really what it should be about.

Oh yes. And I thank you for bringing that up

and that to elaborate just a little more.

I, but I remember like we talked about like him growing up.

It was like Northern Vermont, just north of Burlington.

He's like, yeah, I grew up here and like my family's

still around here and I've worked at this place for years

and they work over here and I've got a cousin

that works at the dealership and I was telling him

about like me and my dad and all that.

I mean, it was, we had a good time, a good conversation.

But yeah, he was funny at the end.

Like I said, he's like, are you ever gonna leave?

But yes, yeah, it's good.

And that's, you know, and that's the other thing

to look at it, right?

Like what you said about the life plus cars aspect of it,

like you go and look at a car for sale,

even if you don't buy the car, whether it's a classic

or collector car or it's a newer one,

just try to strike up the combo with someone and see.

I mean, you know, you might learn something,

you might create a new friendship, but you just don't know.

That's true.

So that doesn't hurt to just go into it with an open mind, you know?

Keep the channels open and be pleasant, be kind

and considerate of their time and know that,

like you also want to honor your time

and make it worth it for everybody.

So, exactly.

Yep.

I mean, like think, just think about that

with like you, Ian, with the Mustang, like with this.

Just think of the enjoyment we get about talking about Dave

and how he had the Mustang and that whole interaction with him.

It's just fantastic.

If you bought it from like some dealership,

you wouldn't have had any of that.

No, and that's so true.

That's a part of the car's history

and now my life with it is in part my experience I had

buying it from Dave and hearing his life with the car

and just and yeah, that's a core part of the early history

with it and with my time with it.

So.

Oh, yeah.

Absolutely.

But yeah, but that's good.

We touched on a lot today.

Thank you listeners for bearing with us here.

We hope that any of this information

will help you when it comes to buying a used car

and stay tuned for next episode

where we're going to talk about another fun life

event that has to do with cars.

If it helps people that is like a 50s jingle

attached to the email address to remember it.

I'll see if I can do my best here.

Be like L I F E P L U S C A R S at gma.com.

Wow.

Wow, Brendan Bailey everybody.

I didn't know.

Did I spell that right?

I hope I did.

I think I think you got it on the first time.

Wow, listeners.

I did not know that Brendan was hiding this talent

for most of the time.

Oh, yes.

I'm here.

I'm here all Tuesday.

Yeah.

Wow.

I didn't.

And I think you may have a career in jingles

like moving forward.

Maybe don't quote me on that.

Oh my gosh.

Well, Brendan, as always, it's been a pleasure

and I look forward to our next conversation.

Of course, about life plus cars.

#12: The Life Plus Used Cars Buyer's Guide (and Other Stories)

About this episode

Volkswagen Gti

Chevrolet Corvette

Volvo S60

Toyota RAV4

GMC Yukon

Buick Lucerne

Pontiac GTO

Jeep Grand

Ford Mustang

Request an Explanation

Want to learn more?

Help improve this episode

More from Life Plus Cars