Exploring the impact of Amazon's entry into the automotive market, this episode delves into how Amazon Autos could disrupt traditional car buying. The hosts discuss the potential benefits and pitfalls of using Amazon for vehicle purchases, including pricing transparency and flexible payment options. Joined by Justin Fisher from Car Edge, they provide insights into navigating this new marketplace, addressing consumer confusion, and sharing tips for making informed decisions when buying a car online. The conversation also touches on the importance of understanding extended warranties and avoiding common pitfalls in the car buying process.
Shop Smarter: Your Guide to Buying Used Cars Online
In this episode, we dive into smart consumer tips for buying used cars online — and what the launch of Amazon Autos means for everyday buyers.
Joining us is special guest Justin Fischer of CarEdge, who brings expert insight into pricing transparency, dealer tactics, online buying risks, and how consumers can protect themselves in today’s digital car marketplace.
From vehicle history reports and hidden fees to return policies and financing traps, we break down what to look for — and what to avoid — before clicking “buy.”
If you’re considering purchasing your next used car online, this episode will help you shop smarter and buy with confidence.
"...this is going to really continue to challenge dealerships regarding automotive affordability. You are coming in my garage and I love you for it because I'm in the business of keeping your vehicle safe and reliable."
Automotive affordability means how easy or hard it is for people to buy cars based on their financial situation and costs like interest rates.
Automotive affordability refers to the financial ability of consumers to purchase or finance vehicles, which can be influenced by factors like interest rates, vehicle prices, and economic conditions.
"Should you be paying attention, particularly via a pre-purchase inspection? I preached to you maniacs about that."
A pre-purchase inspection is when a mechanic checks a used car for problems before you buy it. This can save you money by finding issues early.
A pre-purchase inspection (PPI) is a thorough examination of a used vehicle conducted by a qualified mechanic before a purchase. It helps identify potential issues that could lead to costly repairs after the sale.
"You and your uncle Louis going by the Kia Rio with 80,000 miles. It's for sale."
The Kia Rio is a small, affordable car that gets good gas mileage. It's often a good option for people looking for a budget-friendly vehicle.
The Kia Rio is a subcompact car known for its affordability and fuel efficiency. It's a popular choice for budget-conscious buyers looking for a reliable vehicle.
"...Rent your nation support comes from Parts Authority, providing automotive parts and supplies..."
Parts Authority is a company that sells car parts and supplies. They help people and businesses find the parts they need to repair or maintain vehicles.
Parts Authority is a company that supplies automotive parts and accessories. They cater to both retail and wholesale customers, providing a wide range of products for various vehicle makes and models.
"...with nationwide locations, professional counter-assistance, and a wide range of manufacturers, including AC Delco, Motocraft, Denzo, and Bosch."
Motorcraft is a brand that makes parts for Ford cars. They provide things like oil filters and batteries that fit Ford vehicles.
Motorcraft is the parts division of Ford Motor Company, providing a variety of automotive parts and accessories specifically designed for Ford vehicles. Their products include filters, batteries, and brake components.
"...with nationwide locations, professional counter-assistance, and a wide range of manufacturers, including AC Delco, Motocraft, Denzo, and Bosch."
AC Delco is a company that makes car parts, especially for GM cars. They sell things like batteries and brake parts.
AC Delco is a brand that provides automotive parts and products, primarily for General Motors vehicles. They offer a wide range of components, including batteries, filters, and brake parts.
"...with nationwide locations, professional counter-assistance, and a wide range of manufacturers, including AC Delco, Motocraft, Denzo, and Bosch."
Bosch is a company that makes various car parts, like brakes and electrical systems, and is known for their quality.
Bosch is a leading global supplier of technology and services, including automotive parts such as braking systems, fuel systems, and electrical components. They are known for their high-quality products.
"...with nationwide locations, professional counter-assistance, and a wide range of manufacturers, including AC Delco, Motocraft, Denzo, and Bosch."
Denso is a company that makes car parts, like air conditioning and fuel systems, for different car brands.
Denso is a global automotive parts manufacturer known for producing a variety of components, including air conditioning systems, fuel systems, and electrical systems for many vehicle brands.
"Number one, see through that Armor All. Bottom line is that Armor All, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. People want to clean up their vehicle and get the Armor All in and make it look good. But if you see sludging in Armor All, be prepared, especially in the engine bay."
Armor All is a product that helps clean and shine parts of your car, like the dashboard. However, if it builds up too much, it can create a gooey mess, especially around the engine area.
Armor All is a brand of cleaning and protecting products for automotive surfaces, including dashboards and tires. While it can enhance the appearance of a vehicle, it may cause issues like sludging if not used properly, especially in areas like the engine bay.
"So it would be nice if you could just pull up any automotive listing online, and the price you see is going to be the price you pay, but as we all know, more often than not, something's going to be snuck into the bill there."
Transparent pricing means that the price you see for a car is the exact price you will pay, with no hidden fees. This helps buyers know exactly what they are spending without surprises.
Transparent pricing refers to a pricing model where the final price of a product, including all fees and charges, is clearly displayed upfront. This concept is particularly important in the automotive industry to help consumers avoid unexpected costs during the car buying process.
"...who wants a F-150 Lariat in Arizona at a fair price, no markup,..."
The Ford F-150 Lariat is a version of the F-150 truck that has more luxury features. It's a popular choice for people who want a truck that looks good and is comfortable to drive.
The Ford F-150 Lariat is a trim level of the popular F-150 pickup truck, known for its balance of luxury and capability. It typically includes upgraded features and technology compared to the base model, making it a popular choice among truck buyers.
"...Let's switch over to Amazon Autos. Is Amazon Autos viable, Justin?"
Amazon Autos is a service by Amazon that lets you buy cars online. It's similar to how you might buy other products on Amazon, but for vehicles instead.
Amazon Autos is an online platform launched by Amazon for buying and selling cars. It aims to provide a convenient way for consumers to purchase vehicles directly through the Amazon website.
"...I see they sell Hyundai's, new car Hyundai's. Is that, am I right by saying that?"
Hyundai is a car company from South Korea that makes many types of vehicles, including sedans and SUVs. They are known for offering good quality at reasonable prices.
Hyundai is a South Korean automotive manufacturer known for producing a range of vehicles, from compact cars to SUVs. They have gained popularity for their value, reliability, and warranty offerings.
"You can buy a certified pre-owned Ford and Hertz if you're one of the few that are interested in a used rental car."
Certified pre-owned means a used car has been checked and approved by the car company or dealer. It usually comes with a warranty, so it's a safer option to buy.
Certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles are used cars that have been inspected, refurbished, and certified by the manufacturer or a dealer. They often come with a warranty, making them a safer choice for buyers.
"You can buy a certified pre-owned Ford and Hertz if you're one of the few that are interested in a used rental car."
Hertz is a company that rents cars to people. You can rent cars for a short time, like a few days or weeks, for travel or other needs.
Hertz is a global car rental company that provides vehicles for rent to consumers and businesses. They offer a wide range of cars, including economy, luxury, and SUVs.
"You can buy a certified pre-owned Ford and Hertz if you're one of the few that are interested in a used rental car."
A used rental car is a car that has been rented out before and is now being sold. They can be cheaper, but they might have more miles on them.
A used rental car is a vehicle that has previously been rented out by a car rental company. These cars may have higher mileage but can be sold at a lower price compared to new cars.
"...that quite frankly, consumer may feel bamboozled because they saw the advertisement. No haggle pricing."
No haggle pricing means the price of the car is set and you can't negotiate it. This makes buying a car easier because you know exactly what you'll pay without any back-and-forth discussions.
No haggle pricing refers to a sales strategy where the price of a vehicle is fixed and non-negotiable, simplifying the buying process for consumers. This approach can reduce the stress and time involved in negotiating a deal.
"...you may see a price listed on Amazon Auto, say, for a Hyundai Santa Fe that does end up being the price that you could pay before taxes and fees..."
The Hyundai Santa Fe is a type of SUV that is roomy and good for families. It has a lot of safety features and is usually a good deal for the price.
The Hyundai Santa Fe is a midsize SUV known for its spacious interior, safety features, and value for money. It's popular among families and those looking for a reliable vehicle.
"...we always say negotiate the out-the-door price, not just the price. But if you're going with Amazon Auto, then there's so-called no haggle pricing."
The out-the-door price is what you actually pay for a car after adding everything up, like taxes and fees. It's different from just the sticker price you see on the car.
The out-the-door price is the total cost of purchasing a vehicle, including the vehicle price, taxes, registration fees, and any additional dealer fees. It's important to negotiate this price to avoid unexpected costs.
"...surrendering your ability to negotiate a better deal based on local market factors or any incentives you may be aware of."
Negotiation is when you talk with the salesperson to agree on a price for the car. It can help you get a better deal than just accepting the first price offered.
Negotiation in car buying refers to the process of discussing and reaching an agreement on the price and terms of the sale. Effective negotiation can lead to better deals and lower prices.
"...pay a few thousand dollars more on a car with, say, a 10% APR. And you know that interest adds up over 72 at sometimes 84 months these days."
APR is the interest rate you pay on a loan each year. A higher APR means you'll owe more money in interest when you borrow to buy a car.
APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate, which represents the yearly interest rate charged on borrowed money. In the context of car loans, a higher APR means you'll pay more in interest over the life of the loan.
"...interest adds up over 72 at sometimes 84 months these days."
84 months means you would pay off your car loan in seven years. This can make your monthly payments smaller, but you might end up paying more interest in total.
84 months refers to the length of a car loan, specifically seven years. While it may lower monthly payments, it can also lead to higher total interest costs.
"...interest adds up over 72 at sometimes 84 months these days."
72 months means you would pay off your car loan in six years. While this can lower your monthly payments, it might cost you more in interest overall.
72 months refers to the length of a car loan, specifically six years. Longer loan terms can result in lower monthly payments but often lead to paying more interest over time.
"...you're in that back office with all these add-ons. We're going to get to that because that's a big deal for folks because they end up paying quite a bit. And we're going to talk about extended warranty because you, on Cartage, have an outlet for that."
An extended warranty is like insurance for your car that helps pay for repairs after the original warranty runs out. It can save you money if something goes wrong, but you need to know what it covers before you buy it.
An extended warranty is a service contract that provides coverage for certain repairs or services after the manufacturer's warranty expires. It can help protect against unexpected repair costs, but it's important to understand what is covered and the terms of the policy.
"So the no-car haggling, Cartage will step in and make that a little more friendly for the consumer, correct? Yes. So with our concierge service, if you don't like dealing with dealerships and haggling..."
No-car haggling means you don't have to argue about prices when buying a car. Someone else does that for you, making the process easier and less stressful.
No-car haggling refers to a car buying process where the consumer does not have to negotiate prices with dealerships. Instead, a service or expert handles the negotiations, aiming to secure the best deal for the buyer without the stress of traditional haggling.
"So with our concierge service, if you don't like dealing with dealerships and haggling and negotiating every line item on the deal..."
A concierge service helps you buy a car by doing all the hard work for you. They talk to dealerships, negotiate prices, and make sure everything goes smoothly.
A concierge service in the automotive context refers to a personalized service that assists consumers in the car buying process. This service typically includes negotiating prices, handling paperwork, and providing expert advice to ensure a smooth transaction.
"A lot of people don't know that's negotiable, am I right? Yep, that if it's taxable, it's negotiable and that's certainly taxable."
Negotiable means you can talk about the price and possibly lower it. When buying a car or warranty, you don't have to accept the first price they give you.
Negotiable refers to the ability to discuss and potentially change the price or terms of a deal. In the context of car purchases, many aspects, including warranties and financing rates, can often be negotiated to get a better deal.
"...everyone's getting a 72 or 84 month loan these days with a high APR."
A 72 or 84 month loan means you'll be paying off your car over 6 or 7 years. While this can make your monthly payments smaller, it can also mean you pay more in interest and owe more than the car is worth for longer.
A 72 or 84 month loan refers to the length of time over which a car loan is repaid, specifically 6 or 7 years. While longer loan terms can lower monthly payments, they often lead to higher overall interest costs and can result in being upside down on the loan, where the car's value is less than the amount owed.
"I would say the affordability challenge. So we have so many drivers just from around the nation who may not have purchased a new or used car in a decade because, you know, they're playing it smart."
The affordability challenge is about how hard it is for people to buy cars because they are getting more expensive. Many people might not have bought a car for a long time and are surprised by the high prices now.
The affordability challenge refers to the difficulties consumers face in purchasing vehicles due to rising prices. As car prices increase, many potential buyers may feel priced out of the market, especially if they haven't purchased a car in years.
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Welcome back Ranch Nation.
I see a mechanical maniacs behind the ride.
Some of you got a ride that's a little wobbly.
It's a little smelly.
But I gotta send you out some trumpets before we talk about that.
Always an honor to spend it with you right here from the East Valley Institute of Technology.
Your favorite automotive lifestyle show coming out your way back now.
I see you on a Wednesday on the west side, east south south side, wherever you're at.
Don't complain.
You people are complaining behind the ride of your wheel in Phoenix, the surrounding areas.
Stop your sniveling with our little 48 degree weather.
There are people right now, there are deer that are frozen in their tracks.
How many of you have seen that?
I saw that.
We got Aiden in studio.
Have you seen the deer frozen?
Not one or two.
Like tribes of deer, like 60, 70, 80.
I had to ask the chat GPT's this real.
These deer are freezing on the ice, man.
I didn't even know about that.
I mean, like in slow motion, the deer had the leg up in the air and he froze.
And people coming out with hammers knocking the ice off the deer.
So in Phoenix, stop complaining about this is our best time of year.
People are suffering.
The deer are suffering.
Ranch nation, man.
Always an honor to spend it with you.
I mean that, people.
Gosh, we over 300 episodes.
I hear from you.
You've been hanging out on ranchnation.tv.
You give us your show ideas.
You talk about, you know, we'll get into the car tips, consumer tips.
And by the way, I'll check out channel three right here, local CBS.
I'll be on with the Sunday morning show working with Paul Horton.
We're going to talk about the, well, a lot of you getting tax money back and you're going to buy a car.
What to look at?
What are these people doing?
You buy that car.
It's got the fuzzy dice.
It's got the armor all.
It smells good.
But then the guy starts speaking.
He's selling it.
And he says, my grandma ma gave it to me and he's just a slickster.
He put some honey oil in there to stop it into knock.
I'm going to show you the visuals of what these, these schmucks as I call them are trying to bamboozle you with that use card deal.
That'll be on channel three, CBS, AZ family, catch the socials, your mechanic, you are mechanic.
I try to keep it hip on there.
This show, I'm going to bring it to you.
We mentioned Amazon.
I'm going to try to help you because it does relate.
You people are excited.
You're getting money back this year.
You get money, five grand, seven grand, 10, some of you getting some big checks from tax rebate.
Aiden, you worked all year.
Are you, you think you're getting money back this year?
Mostly I try to get money back as much as I can, but it might be a strategy.
You got a good accountant.
Yeah.
Yeah, I do.
I do.
But it's definitely going to be on the smaller end.
It's nothing like, you know, two grand.
Right.
But it may be a nice date with the probably.
All right.
It's important.
Take half.
All right.
Do not.
I see a lot of these kids day trading now.
Like crypto or something.
Well, crypto, you name it futures markets.
They see this.
People make it big money on these.
If you think you can make fast money watching a 30 second reel and you do that over and
over and you kind of brain rotting.
My point is take half that money invested somehow in you.
Take the other half and enjoy it.
Spend it.
Make something happen.
Happy in your life.
I agree with that one.
So I'm going to put you on the spot before we introduce what topic we got some breaking
automotive news as we do all the time.
Aiden right now, if you could really give your girlfriend something, we won't get too
personable or personal, I should say.
If you were to give her something pleasure like and you short a couple bucks, she's
not listening.
Don't worry.
We'll keep it between us.
What is on the list, man?
What would you like to do for your girlfriend right now?
You know, she's been wanting a dog.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, that's a long game right there.
That's a big commitment.
What kind of dog does she you think she's more or so thinking docs and if I'm, if I'm
Oh, those are cool.
Yeah.
Well, they have back problems though.
You gotta be careful.
See, that's what I've been telling her, but she's like, I don't know, but they're cute.
They're cute.
I know a few people, you know, some of you, some of you don't care.
You just get that.
Like you should probably only thing I would say to that is like, donate your money and
get a rescue.
Yeah.
My daughter did something.
You know, I didn't say anything.
This is several years ago.
My oldest daughter, she went on and bought a bougie dog.
She bought and paid a buoy for it.
And I'm like, that bothered me because there are dogs ready to get.
They're going, they're going out at the pound.
Poor dog.
It's not his fault.
The owner was a schmuck.
So if you can do that, that would be cool.
That's the plan actually.
Why don't you get a stuffed animal?
Dosh went first and test drive that one first.
See her reactions.
I think, I think if I surprised her with one, she would just be like, and now I'm waiting
for the real one.
Where's that at?
Come on.
And many of you, you get into the whole dog thing and you, you know, dogs are cute.
They're puppies, but they don't stay puppies most.
I mean, in my opinion, I got a lot of dogs.
Unfortunately, I just, I listened to my wife at 35 years.
She tells me what to do and I do what I do.
Next thing I know, I got seven dogs in my house.
I have seven.
Sometimes I forget.
Sometimes it could be eight.
I don't know half their names.
It is what it is when you get married.
You, uh, after 20 years, you just, you just listen.
Honey, I'm getting eight parakeets.
Okay.
Sure.
Where do I get, do I, where do I feed them?
Am I, am I paying for it?
Uh, well, parakeets could be expensive.
Oh yeah.
Absolutely.
I don't know.
I'm not a bird.
I chased the pigeons out my backyard.
I had a neighbor once.
He, uh, he was the pigeon authority.
He's quieted down.
When we first bought our house, he thought I was poisoning his pigeons.
He had pigeon.
What?
Yeah.
He was in bed with like Mike Tyson and all these people.
And I'm like, I just bought the house.
I'm 25 years old.
And I'm like, what, I'm excited about my house.
Like, you know, no matter how simple it was, it's your first house.
And, and he popped his head up.
He had bald guy pops up.
I'd like a light bulb bloop right over the block.
And he says, you're poisoning my pigeons.
I said, wait a minute, man.
I'm busy.
I don't have time to kill pigeons.
I am not the Jeffrey Dahmer of pigeonry.
I looked at him.
I told him that too.
And he just, he didn't laugh.
So I let that go.
I walked away.
He comes around the block because he's on the other side.
He brings over like six feet of books on pigeons.
They're not pigeons.
They're homing.
They have history.
I said, listen, I love that you're passionate about pigeons.
But man, my wife's pregnant.
I ain't got time to kill you pigeons.
So please leave me alone.
But anyway, when you buy a house, choose your neighbors.
Not the house.
Can I say that?
But yeah, get her a stuffed dog dog.
Start with that thing.
Maybe see how she does.
Because that's a big responsibility.
Oh, absolutely.
I'm going to follow up on you.
You take that tax money and rescue it on the show.
Listen, Amazon autos people, we, we covered this.
We thought, wow, what a crowded space for a lot of you that are
looking to buy a vehicle on the internet.
And now the GPT, the GPT.
I'm in the mood for a reliable car.
Chat GPT.
I like the color blue.
Tell me where I can find a good deal.
Some of you are going into chat GPT.
Uh, TikTok, maybe in TikTok, you're getting branded.
A lot of you get branded on restaurants, but Amazon autos came out.
Jeff Bezos and the Mafioso at Amazon.
And now you can pick out a car on Amazon and pick it up at the dealer.
I thought that was fascinating for a few reasons.
One, it's another marketplace.
How does that intertwine with the relationship of the vast variety that already exists?
And so I thought, I can't leave this alone.
We covered it.
We had a little fun with it.
I have an authority coming on the show today.
And my hope is to help you people out because you are, you get in tax money.
You're going to be in the marketplace.
You're going to be looking at possibly buying a vehicle.
I mean, that's, that's your reality.
You want to upgrade.
Um, how do we use Amazon autos?
How do we manage the tools that exist there?
What are some of the red flags?
Uh, what's the best time to buy in 2026?
And I thought I'm not the expert, although I look in the mirror every morning and think so,
but I'm not, you know, I'm humble.
I got to deal with experts and that's what ranch nation will do.
We'll bring on some really talented folks and we're honored to have car edge automotives folks.
Come on.
And specifically Justin, uh, Fisher, he's going to join us.
He's an analyst, man.
He lives and breathes via, uh, car edge.
He's co-founder.
If you're driving, please do not get on the internet and look at this right now.
I don't want no texting and driving.
If you're hanging on the podcast or if you're out in the high desert of California, you're
relaxing at home, having a drink, whatnot, car edge.com.
Justin's going to come on and clear the air cause let's admit it as consumers.
We are all confused right now.
Come on.
Some of your big shots.
You've done your research.
You think you know, but you don't, then you buy it and there's remorse.
And I could have would have should have cause I didn't do this.
We here on wrench nation want to clarify that.
And Justin's going to help us out.
I think it's a valuable service.
We're also going to talk about what is car edge?
You getting the edge edge.
I like that edge word that's in there.
Very clever.
Courage is a whole smorgasbord of goodness.
All things, uh, in that buying arena, right?
You know, extended warranties, things like that's a whole big, uh, hootenanny.
You can buy an extended warranty really bad.
You come in my garage and I have to tell you, nope, nope, nope, nope, not covered.
What do you mean?
I paid $1,500 and everything is covered.
Nope, it's not.
So how do you do that?
So, uh, specifically with Amazon autos, is this a place you want to do business with?
Like it, like, I don't know how I feel.
Did you do buy stuff from whole the, you know, Amazon bought whole foods, right?
We talked about that.
I don't know if you're aware of that, right?
So when you buy your little Schmata, you, whatever it is you buy, you bought a, I don't know,
six dozen of AAA batteries from Amazon.
They have it in the local warehouse.
You'll get it this afternoon, right?
Amazon is good that way.
I will admit, I buy a lot from Amazon, both on the business side and personal side.
It makes me a hero, but they got into the whole food thing.
All right.
So now they're, they're selling the food.
You want a banana with your batteries before you check out, right?
Well, you probably have the settings set off.
I don't because I just don't go into settings, but Amazon is now in the auto business.
And I know that they struggled with auto parts.
I know this first hand with a leadership program that I was involved in out of Michigan,
talking to some of the manufacturers and so on and what they're paying attention to.
So will Amazon be a viable outlet?
Justin Fisher of Courage is going to help us out, you know, and see what's the deal?
Are we going to get leverage?
Fair transparent pricing.
That's high on the list.
Uh, flexible payment options.
Gosh, we were told one price.
We get in the finance and it's cookie.
It's weird.
It's, oh, I didn't get the best deal.
I thought it could cause I paid two points extra on the interest that they're going to charge me with a great credit score.
That's all going down.
Speaking of which, I'm going to tie this in.
So Justin's going to join us in a little bit.
We're going to get to your weird automotive news in a minute.
But I did want to bring some relevancy to your life.
Today, something happened.
A lot of my real estate housing, all things financial in that housing market,
pay attention to a very, very important Fed Open Market Committee,
our fearless leader, Fed Chairman Powell, made an announcement about interest rates.
Some of us were biting our nails.
Some of us said, slash it, drop the interest rates.
It's a difficult position to be in, but today the feds announced no changes.
It's kind of marketplace expected that this is going to really continue to challenge dealerships regarding automotive affordability.
You are coming in my garage and I love you for it because I'm in the business of keeping your vehicle safe and reliable.
You are spending to keep what you have.
And that is because of what?
We're talking about affordability.
To give you perspective as the Open Market Committee fearless leader, Chairman Powell said we're flat.
We're not doing anything.
The fund rates haven't really changed.
And that has created some issues.
I'm going to give you the numbers.
And of course, Justin and I, we want to talk about that when we bring him on because he's the authority.
He knows that space. They pay attention to it.
It's a big deal.
A reduction in interest rates would be extremely beneficial as quoted by one dealer.
Retailers also say interest rate cuts give them optimism.
Optimism people. We're going into January.
How many want to be optimistic?
Where will you be as a car salesperson or anybody in the industry six months from now?
Where will you be consumer regarding the money it costs to buy?
Is that coming down?
No.
There's a slow trajectory upward.
It's painful for many.
So used cars are the gig.
Anything under $20,000.
Funny business. It's happening.
Again, we'll get Justin with courage to come on and talk about that.
Should you be paying attention, particularly via a pre-purchase inspection?
I preached to you maniacs about that.
You and your uncle Louis going by the Kia Rio with 80,000 miles.
It's for sale.
$4,500.
Everyone else wants $8,000.
And you're feeling good because that's your budget.
And I respect that.
But then you bring it to me and I tell you it needs $3,000 worth of work.
You've got to be careful.
You've got to pre-purchase inspection.
So that's not good news.
I'm sorry to give you good news.
The Fed chair said, nope, we're staying where we're at.
It's time for you, brother.
Give me some good news.
We've got two minutes before we break and bring Justin in.
Can you give me some funky, weird automotive news?
I got a little bit more of a feel good, weird news.
I need this, man.
I gave depressing news.
All right.
So Wisconsin man was going viral for driving his snowmobile through a McDonald's drive-through.
What's wrong with that?
That's what they do up there.
So that is true.
That is true.
But I feel like the reasoning for it is just absolutely amazing.
So his snowmobile was going through because his car lacked snow tires.
Oh.
There was a TikTok post about it on December 28th.
And the only reasoning this dude is going through the drive-through is because his friend
wanted a 10 piece McNugget meal.
That's the whole reason he's just like, all right, I'm going to do this for Jeffrey or whatever.
So he got on his snowmobile, went into McDonald's.
And in the interview, he goes, well, that's all about good Midwestern hospitality.
But he's doing it in the middle of a snowstorm in winter.
Oh, so what you're saying is this, I don't even know, what do they call this latest storm?
It's like this storm is from another planet.
We don't know.
We're in Phoenix.
We need therapy if we see snow.
But you're saying that he just did a good, he just wanted to do a good thing.
And he just went out in the middle of a storm on his snowmobile through a McDonald's drive-through
just because his friend wanted a 10 piece McNugget meal.
That's a normal day in Wisconsin.
That's what people do.
And they go home in the snowmobile with the 10 piece.
I would have bought a hundred pieces and spread it with all the neighbors
because some of these people are trapped.
They can't get out.
That's true.
Six foot of snow.
I will have you know the official McDonald's location in the world
that's designed to accommodate winter sports, like real deal.
Like most of the year, they accommodate a, not a drive-through, a ski-through window
allowing skiers, snowboarders, you name it, put those sleds, whatever you got.
Where is that mix ski?
The mix ski.
Mix ski.
I love that.
McDonald's.
Where in the world would this be?
Would it be in Italy?
Sweden.
North Dakota.
You are right, my friend.
Sweden.
Mix ski in Salem.
I'm pronouncing that name wrong.
Sweden is at the Lindvallanski resort in Salin, Sweden.
It's a mix ski drive-through.
They don't care.
You're in pajamas with your snowmobile.
They'll serve you up.
Now I have a feeling the menu is going to have a lot more chocolate.
Probably.
Sweden.
But that man in Wisconsin was just doing his daily deal.
They don't care.
These people are conditioned.
Like the deer.
I told you the deer on the lake frozen.
They weren't having that.
People coming out with hammers.
Let's break the ice.
These guys were frozen.
It was really sad actually to look at that.
But that's it.
To me, that was not too weird.
I think that was normal Wisconsin behavior.
I think for me, I was looking more.
You don't know this.
You're a Phoenician boy.
You don't know what snow is.
Have you ever been in snow higher than the ankles?
Not that I could think of.
Not that I could think of.
I'll be honest.
Here you go.
You're making fun of the Wisconsinian.
I wasn't making fun of him.
I just thought it was weird.
Here's the deal.
Invite him to Arizona in August.
Put him on a horse and go through a sonic drive.
They do that out here all day long.
It's 120.
I've seen that before.
He will need therapy.
I'm telling you, that's just the way it is.
It's amazing how we're conditioned for our environments.
And because I know you don't do snow,
maybe we go up to Flagstaff and throw you in like 10 feet of snow.
Oh, that'll be fun.
Yes.
All right.
Listen, Amazon Autos.
Is this a disruption?
Is this a big deal?
How does this work for you?
Maybe you're getting ready to seriously buy new car, used car.
You've seen a bunch of websites.
You're not sure.
Is this a disruption that's going to benefit consumers
or one big distraction?
Justin Fisher, he's an automotive analyst
and co-founder of CarEdge.
He's pretty sharp about these buying trends
and all this internet goings-ons, of course, with CarEdge.
He's going to join us just in a few minutes.
Stay tuned.
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Right on.
Welcome back.
Rent your nation.tv.
Thank you, family.
A lot of you have been hanging with us for many years.
We appreciate you.
This is your show.
If you've got a great automotive technician,
automotive network engineer, this is what I say.
Don't call us mechanics anymore.
We're very hip.
We solve problems with 50 million lines of code under hood
and take care of the motoring world.
If you have somebody that you'd like to give a shout out
or have an interview with, we're open, man.
This is your show.
We're not highfalutin' here.
Rent your nation.tv.
Get on there.
Get into the email.
Email me directly.
I want to remind you this weekend.
It is it.
All my parents.
Even East Valley Institute of Technology is entering
into a career and technical education month.
This is technically celebrated in February.
Big deal.
What have I been telling you, people?
Blue collar is the new white collar.
Go ahead and send me some hate.
Come on.
Bring it.
All my lawyers and doctors.
You're nervous.
Software engineers.
You cannot replace a plumber.
You cannot replace a mechanic, a technician.
You cannot replace plumbers.
Welders.
Cosmetology.
Do we need good cooks?
Will AI cook for you?
Not right now.
Not for a long time.
So if you're on the fence, I'm talking to my parents,
and you've got a child, a youngster, a teenager,
hanging in the household that has interest,
this weekend you can test drive the whole campus, man.
EVET Expo is happening Saturday, January 31st from 9 to 1 p.m.
right here, 1601 West Main Street.
People, it's right here.
EVET.
Get on the website.
We've got a helicopter landing, which is,
I don't care where you're from,
you always like to watch the helicopter land.
As long as you're not too close.
It's not like military style,
but you'll get to meet the instructors, right?
Food and beverages are going to be cooked
by the students of your culinary arts.
They make a mean pizza,
so it's going to be a wonderful community event.
Listen, if you're out there on the way, way, way West Side,
it takes you an hour to get here.
Get here.
Because this is where it's at.
For more information,
reach out to the website here,
evet.edu,
and you'll find that event happening this Saturday.
I won't be able to make it,
but I'm there with you in spirit.
Also, big shout out to my good buddy, Greg Buckley.
Greg Buckley, he's been on the show,
God, he was on so many years ago.
Great industry friend.
He's doing some great things.
I love supporting other creators
who are really just, they're not getting fat.
They're not getting wealthy, man.
They're just sending out a message in their community,
a little bit of automotive.
Greg's interviewing a bunch of people.
He's out of Delaware, all my podcast family.
Check out 302radio.net.
Greg Buckley's got some great things in that venue,
and we're all looking for, you know,
something nice to listen to.
Greg does a good job.
He's playing some music, interviewing some cool people,
normal people, right in the neighborhood.
Car Edge is a buying service that takes care of the research
dealer outreach, and even negotiation.
That's a problem for a lot of you.
Negotiation.
Me, I'm a sucker.
I just pay what they tell me to pay.
I take my wife, she's a pit bull from Brooklyn.
She gets knee deep, and we save a lot of money, people.
But not me.
CarEdge.com for more details.
As we peruse through this show,
talking about the latest with Amazon Autos,
I want to bring in Justin Fisher.
He's co-founder of CarEdge.
Justin, are you hanging?
Justin, are you there?
I'm hoping, is he still on the line?
Okay.
I'll tell you what.
Let's reset.
Justin, if you can hear us,
I'm going to have you call back in to the studio.
This is live radio.
This is what goes down.
We do not have Justin, so I'm going to have Justin.
If you can hang up, we'll bring you back in.
We talked about this Amazon Autos.
Let me ask you, when you bought your Mazda,
where was your marketplace?
It was at Craigslist.
I used Facebook Marketplace on that one.
A lot of people do that.
Overall experience with that.
It's been great.
The past two or three cars that me and my brother have had,
they were great for the Facebook Marketplace.
You've had good luck.
I think we got Justin back.
Justin, are you there?
I don't know why.
He's not coming in.
Let's work on that.
Justin, if you can hear us,
go ahead and text me on my cell,
because I really want to bring in Justin.
We're going to have Aiden take a look.
A lot of you will go on Facebook Marketplace.
Yes, that's like some of the deals.
It could be like Craigslist.
Although I don't know, do you still go on a Craigslist?
Is Craigslist sort of tainted?
Have you had a bad experience on Craigslist?
That many of you do.
I want to step into the arena of,
let's just assume you found a car,
the importance, and you can't make it into your local mechanic
regarding a pre-purchase inspection, right?
You just can't, for whatever reason.
I will tell you, there are some things that you can do personally,
even with no experience.
Number one, see through that Armor All.
Bottom line is that Armor All,
I'm not saying it's a bad thing.
People want to clean up their vehicle
and get the Armor All in and make it look good.
But if you see sludging in Armor All,
be prepared, especially in the engine bay.
I get it, they want to make the engine bay pretty,
but I want you to raise your flags up regarding Armor All.
And again, you'll catch my segment,
AZ Family, Sunday morning, 7 a.m.
I'm actually going to give you the visuals.
I think we got Justin.
Means a lot to me.
Justin, where you at, baby?
Hello, Frank. How are you doing today?
Oh, man, thank you.
This is live radio.
Not many people will do live radio
because sometimes stuff happens.
Well, I don't know where the issue was.
You can hear me now loud and clear?
You're a lot unclear. It's all good.
I just want to set the stage.
You're an automotive Allen analyst
and your co-founder of Car Edge.
I kind of briefed folks on Car Edge.
Let me know, because people kind of want to get into the whole
why thing. It's important.
Why Car Edge?
What was the nudge for you and the other founders
to just say, hey, we got to get into this automotive arena?
Give us a little backstory on that
before we dive into Amazon autos.
Well, I tend to call myself a consumer advocate.
I wish I was a co-founder.
I'm actually an analyst.
One of the consumer advocates here at Car Edge.com.
But if I was a co-founder, I might not have the company.
Well, if you're listening, we want to give the man a raise.
All righty.
But as an analyst, you're knee-deep in the data.
Oh, yes, yes.
So Car Edge, what makes us different
is that we are consumer first.
We're a consumer first car buying platform,
unlike anything else out there.
We don't work secretly for the dealerships
or secretly for the OEMs.
We literally exist.
We keep the life on by helping people
get the best deal as possible.
Whether that means negotiating on your behalf,
we can do that for you.
Whether that means just giving you the ultimate DIY toolkit
if you want to do it yourself.
We exist to literally just make car buying more transparent,
more fair, and less of a hassle.
I got to ask you.
So on that note, is the system broken right now?
I mean, we hear consumers...
I mean, it's on and off.
I mean, some consumers are happy with their experience,
but we can fairly agree a lot aren't.
So is that Car Edge needs to exist?
Why Car Edge?
What is broken?
Is it the transparency?
Where is it broken, Justin, specifically for consumers?
Yeah.
We really exist because there are two big pain points
in the automotive industry that anyone who's ever bought a used
or new car is familiar with,
transparency and affordability.
So it would be nice if you could just pull up
any automotive listing online,
and the price you see is going to be the price you pay,
but as we all know,
more often than not,
something's going to be snuck into the bill there,
and you're going to end up having to fight for every dollar
just to get a fair price.
All right, let's get that.
That right there is powerful.
Why is this?
Is this the standard Americana capitalism retail?
It's like that $9 old change that people see.
That doesn't exist.
That's to get the phone call.
Is that kind of what's going on?
To get people to call interest?
Well, our co-founder Ray Schesco was four decades in the business.
He worked his way up from the bottom of the sales chain
at a dealership all the way up to dealership manager
at multiple dealerships.
He'd be the first to tell us that there's a lot of money
to be made in the car business,
and where there's money to be made,
it's going to take a lot for them to turn down those opportunities,
and unfortunately, that comes at the cost of the consumer.
We exist to try to turn that around
and show the automotive industry that,
actually, you guys could be doing quite well
if you would just do what you say you're going to do
and keep pricing transparent and fair,
and maybe prioritize affordable vehicles
rather than the $80,000 trucks.
We're out to basically change automotive for the better,
and after, wow, six and a half years in the game,
I think we're doing that.
Yeah, and I want to bring folks over to your YouTube channel,
CarEdge, you've got, I think, inside a 600k plus subscribers,
and I will say, you guys, I've watched it.
I've actually watched it for the last six months.
You guys are in my feed,
and I find that you guys do an amazing job
with the real world scenarios, the real straight and skinny,
and that's important.
I want to go back to transparency.
You said Ray, old salt dog, he's been in it 40 years,
lots of money to be made.
Do you make dealerships upset,
or are you bringing them business?
How has that looked upon on the other side?
Well, we actually see both of those coming towards us.
Sometimes we get requests to take their listings off of our website
if they don't like us, happens all the time,
but I'd say more and more often these days,
we're building partnerships with dealerships,
where basically they see that if they're a volume seller
and they want to sell more cars
and just sell them at a transparent fair price, no markups,
why not be on our speed call list
where if we've got a customer today
who wants a F-150 Lariat in Arizona
at a fair price, no markup,
if they're on a car edges list, we'll call them first
whenever we've got that customer in the area
and they'll sell a truck easily.
We're starting to see that difference.
You've got a balanced relationship.
That's good to hear.
I don't think you'd exist otherwise.
You've got to handshake both sides of the fence,
but I often wonder, with all due respect,
look, it's not just the, if you're listening,
you think it's just the automotive industry in general,
whether it's mechanics not being transparent,
whether it's the automotive buying experience.
How about retail, right?
How about restaurants that have these loss leader appetizers
and then you get to, it is part of a marketplace,
but I got to say, Justin, I do question,
there was a movement, and in fact, we had,
in fact, I wrenched for the guy before I went into business in 95,
Lou Grubb Chevrolet, service you can hang your head on.
He was very old school.
He had, the price was the price, no funny business.
Why don't all dealerships just do that and say,
hey, we are going to make profit and this is our profit?
Why are they so afraid to do that?
Is the margins like you can make big money on the people that'll just,
okay, they bought it, we made 5K or whatever the margin is,
and we're going to get into finance in a minute
because that's another profit center.
Why don't all dealers just say, you know what we're done?
We're just, this is the flat bottom price.
A lot of these internet companies that go out of business,
what's the problem there?
When it comes to big expenditures that any household is going to make
in their lifetime, car buying is unique
because first of all, it's typically the number two purchase
that anyone's ever going to make as far as cost.
You know, average price just reached $50,000.
Hopefully you're spending less than that, but it's an expensive cost.
But at the same time, it's something that most consumers
are not very well-versed or confident in their ability to do.
And as you mentioned in retail, whether it's automotive or otherwise,
if you've got that setup where it's a lot of money coming in
and you know that the person who's about to buy that product
may not know what they're doing, the capitalism side of it gets to them
and they start to think about how they could squeeze a few thousand dollars
extra out of the deal.
And that's what really ought to change through just consumer empowerment,
which I want to say we've got lots and lots of free tools too,
not just premium services.
You mentioned our YouTube channel.
If we can just empower people to understand what the heck's going on
when they're buying a car, what all these different terms mean,
what's on the contract, what's negotiable and what's not,
we think a lot of this problem can be solved pretty quickly.
Yeah, it's needed.
I think there's no difference between...
Well, here's an analogy, maybe some say Frank, you're stretching it,
but why do I need an attorney?
Well, the laws are complicated by design maybe,
but now I've got to pay an attorney.
I love my attorney family.
You listen to the show with your bougie Lexus
and your BMWs and Mercedes, but your bagies up.
I love you.
But why not just make law simple?
I don't need attorney.
There's a reason for that.
I'm just a lowly mechanic.
But I think the analogy is we need that in-between service,
which keeps us safe financially.
Can we move into that finance department?
Is that something you also have time to help the consumer with?
Because that's also seems like monkey bars for consumers.
A little bit.
Not really my forte, but here at Carriage,
we definitely do provide that kind of advice for customers
who are looking at how to finance about getting ripped off,
but don't have an experience in the finance office myself without being off.
Yeah, no, that's fine.
I would just add to that that that's probably...
Again, I think the principle, I think Justin, you'll agree,
and certainly folks at Carriage, there's no shame in making a profit,
but let's dial it in.
How well we negotiate for a fair deal, right?
And I think that's important.
Let's switch over to Amazon Autos.
Is Amazon Autos viable, Justin?
I see they sell Hyundai's, new car Hyundai's.
Is that, am I right by saying that?
Yeah, so after launching in, I believe, December 2024,
Amazon Autos has actually grown kind of slowly.
I'm sure they're making plenty of money,
otherwise Amazon wouldn't be doing it.
But as of today, you can buy a new Hyundai through Amazon.
You can buy a certified pre-owned Ford and Hertz
if you're one of the few that are interested in a used rental car.
Yeah, boy, they just dump their whole EV.
I'd like to have a talk with you if you're interested in a used rental car.
But you can buy used Hertz through their website as well,
and they've got dealers who partner with Amazon Autos
and they say over 100 cities nationwide.
It's an easy way for Amazon to make money,
and dealerships pay a lot for leads,
and often those leads are not coming through and converting to sales.
So they're happy to partnership with Amazon,
but the question is, is it a good deal for the consumer?
Well, I did some research, and hopefully we're on the same page,
because I've got folks listening now,
and they go to all these sort of referral sites, Amazon being one of the latest,
and they find that the price point that Amazon's listed,
and you can pick any new Hyundai,
and we're going to get to why only Hyundai at this point,
because I find that intriguing.
But then they go on to the referring dealer,
and the dealership, and I get it, it's a lead,
but the dealership is $500 less in some occasions.
Not always.
What is going on here?
Because if I'm a consumer and I go on to Amazon Autos,
I see $50,250,
and then I go over to the dealer, and it's whatever, $50,100,
I'm more confused.
I don't get that.
Well, if anyone has had an Amazon Prime account for more than a few years,
you've probably noticed or read the news that it,
in many cases, is no longer the cheapest place to get your goods online.
Amazon is really counting on drivers just not looking elsewhere
and buying into the convenience factor when it comes to Amazon Autos
of so-called no-haggle pricing, which we're not a fan of,
and we can talk about that for sure.
But they're just assuming that buyers aren't going to look elsewhere for a better deal.
They're used to the Amazon online shopping experience,
and bringing that to car buying was a no-brainer for Amazon,
but making them a lot of money while costing buyers a few hundred to a few thousand dollars
when they're buying a car.
That's a good point.
Aiden had a question.
Aiden, what did you get?
So, I'm curious as to...
I mean, we've already covered Amazon kind of as like a,
hey, you're not looking anywhere else.
Why not places like a Carvana?
Like, what sets even Carage or Amazon Autos apart from those guys?
Well, I think Justin will say at that level of Amazon,
it's all about how many eyeballs are on that site.
Am I right, Justin?
It's a habit.
Yeah, it's a consumer habit.
Yeah, and at Carage, we don't hold any inventory.
We have auto listings, just like you'd find on any of the other popular auto listing websites,
but we don't hold any inventory.
We're not a dealership.
But when it comes to like the comparison with Carvana,
Carvana's been around a lot longer, and frankly,
it sells a whole lot more cars than Amazon.
Amazon Autos does right now.
So, it really comes down...
Oh, okay.
Yeah, yeah.
Carvana is a big name in the game here.
Amazon Autos is still getting started, as we mentioned.
And only Hyundai right now when it comes to new cars.
Why, Justin?
Why?
Why?
I saw that.
Wouldn't Amazon come to the table and say,
here's the volume of our marketplace with a multitude of manufacturers?
Did they just make an exclusive for more money with Hyundai?
Why haven't the others joined in on the new car?
I don't have a firm answer on that, but I have some ideas.
The dealership lobby is extremely strong.
It's one of the strongest just lobbies in the United States and all 50 states.
They've got a lot of power, and I'm not sure that the thousands and thousands and thousands
of dealerships nationwide want to just completely jump on the Amazon Autos bandwagon for their leads.
I think that they know they've got a lot of power,
and they want to see that it's going to make them a lot of money
before they start just completely transitioning their online sales model like that.
That's what I'm thinking, but I don't know if they have a specific deal with Hyundai.
I think if Amazon could make more money by bringing in other new OEMs,
they would do so like yesterday, but I haven't seen it yet.
It's kind of surprising.
Yeah, I just find it intriguing.
Aiden, you had another question.
It wasn't more of a question.
I was just sitting there thinking, well, yeah, how are they going to see how well it does
if that's really putting a lot of pressure on Hyundai to really perform with Amazon Autos
in order for them to get in the game?
You know what I mean?
Yeah, bounce it off of what Justin said.
I mean, that lobby is very protective, powerful.
Boku money behind the movement and strategy of how they want to present to the marketplace.
I mean, I'm speculating with Justin.
We don't have fact to this, but Hyundai may just be, the brand culture is like,
hey, if we get more eyes, we got that new sexy sleek Hyundai that we want to sell,
let's make a deal.
And maybe, I don't know, but for the consumer, we have now, let's move on to this.
We understand, OK, Hyundai is the new car choice right now.
Some love it.
Some are, where's my GM?
But you do have the used car arena.
I want to, in that relationship, Justin, you mentioned one of the most powerful phrases
that quite frankly, consumer may feel bamboozled because they saw the advertisement.
No haggle pricing.
I mean, you get there and it's not the case.
What has changed from a dealership perspective as it relates to courage and all the education
you're giving consumers on the YouTube channel and throughout your website's presence?
What has changed with no haggle pricing?
Is this legit?
So here's how I would frame it.
You may see a price listed on Amazon Auto, say, for a Hyundai Santa Fe that does end up being the price
that you could pay before taxes and fees underline the word fees there.
So we always say negotiate the out-the-door price, not just the price.
But if you're going with Amazon Auto, then there's so-called no haggle pricing.
You're essentially surrendering.
You're surrendering your ability to negotiate a better deal based on local market factors
or any incentives you may be aware of.
You're just saying, OK, fine.
I don't want to go through the awkward negotiation with the salesperson.
I'm just going to pay a few thousand dollars more on a car with, say, a 10% APR.
And you know that interest adds up over 72 at sometimes 84 months these days.
You're just surrendering that ability to negotiate.
And what you get generally is a worse deal.
You may pay the price that's listed on Amazon Auto,
or you may end up encountering some pushed extended warranty markups or pinstripes.
We're going to talk about that because that's another big deal.
You got a deal. Everything's going well.
And now you're in that back office with all these add-ons.
We're going to get to that because that's a big deal for folks because they end up paying quite a bit.
And we're going to talk about extended warranty because you, on Cartage, have an outlet for that.
And many people, I'm sorry, I'm going to be real, I'm the mechanic fixing your ride.
You're getting screwed on the wrong extended warranty policy.
That doesn't cover what it should cover, right?
Lots of legal jumbo. You saw your favorite celebrity midnight on television, on TikTok.
Where are we at? Saying, hey, we endorse this particular brand, right?
And we're going to talk, I'm really passionate because I see a lot of people.
I have tissues in my lounge because we get bad news.
And if it's not covered, I have folks that are just outright saying, dang, this is just emotional.
So the no-car haggling, Cartage will step in and make that a little more friendly for the consumer, correct?
Yes. So with our concierge service, if you don't like dealing with dealerships and haggling
and negotiating every line item on the deal, you can have one of our experts who are, by the way,
experienced in automotive fields and have all worked at dealerships in the past.
These guys basically flip side to now work for the consumer to negotiate the deal as low as possible on their behalf
so that all you got to do is show up and sign on the bottom line.
Of course, our consumers approve everything before they buy.
But yeah, if you don't like negotiating, we've made it possible to have an expert do it for you.
And on average, our customers save about $2,000 per deal.
It's pretty awesome what we've been doing.
Yeah, so here it goes, people. You're listening. You're the big shot. You're like, oh, I buy wood.
I buy marbles for my three-year-old. I buy. I'm a good buyer.
You are getting ready to invest in probably one of the most wasteful.
And as your mechanic, I will tell you, one of the most wasteful appliances you will have,
the second most expense that you will have next to your house, which you use.
How much life do we use out of a car, Justin? 8%, 10% outside of fleet operations.
Is that correct?
Something like that, yeah.
I'm going on a tangent, but I'm going somewhere.
If you were to buy something that you need, why not have an agency protect it?
We do it when we buy our homes, right?
Will we say escrow is kind of that, Justin, right? Escrow keeps everybody safe, right?
Yeah, yeah.
Right? So some people don't take the perspective that they need help.
And they find out three of their neighbors paid a lot less.
And that's why do that. These things are expensive.
Can we jump to extended warranty and we'll get to financing?
Oh, yeah, for sure. And I just also want to say it's also like, what is your time worth?
Because yeah, on average, yeah, we save you a few thousand dollars, but we're also saving people just a dozen hours or more in time,
just going back and forth to the dealership doing things they don't want to do.
So yeah, there's definitely that value too. But let's talk warranty.
Yeah, no, let's talk warranty because my goodness.
For years, what I told folks, and now I'm going to add courage to the list, I really am,
I always told folks to get with their insurance agent or from my experience,
more expensive, especially for a European vehicle,
buy from the dealer because, you know, they are there from my experience, Justin,
they sell, compared to the rest of the field, a more solid extended warranty than the no frills.
Yeah, we can do everything and they don't.
I will add courage to the list. Give me your points on extended warranty.
What are the biggest mistakes people make when they buy extended warranties?
Well, I would say for a lot of vehicles, just paying the price that the finance manager gives you at the dealership
for that extended warranty, just agreeing to the first price they show you,
that alone can immediately set you back and cause you to overpay for the same coverage that you could get elsewhere.
A lot of people don't know that's negotiable, am I right?
Yep, that if it's taxable, it's negotiable and that's certainly taxable.
So don't just pay whatever they tell you you've got to pay.
We recommend looking elsewhere, getting a quote at cartch.com or anywhere else
and comparing your best options before you sign because if you're rolling that into your loan,
like I said, everyone's getting a 72 or 84 month loan these days with a high APR.
You're also financing the cost of that extended warranty.
That's something we don't like because that just balloons the cost in the long run.
Yeah, that's that's that interest rate tag along.
I got to mention Ray Shevska.
You know, I'm a 35 year veteran.
Ray is a north of 40 year veteran in the industry.
Yep, he retired from the dealership industry to come work with us. He switched sides.
That is powerful because I feel like many consumers are watching a lot of slick really advertisements.
And as I have previewed, in fact, I talked to a colleague of mine out of Delaware,
who's also a big fan of Car Edge, Greg Buckley.
Oh, I know them guys. I watch their YouTube videos. They're great.
Ray brings game bottom line and people I don't care what generation you are.
The man speaks wisdom from some pretty, pretty hard knocked truth.
And to me, that is extremely valuable as opposed to some influencer that has a million followers looking pretty with the white teeth and I buy it.
You should buy it. We all buy it. We love each other. We buy it. We buy it. We buy it. Buy it now.
I tell you, man, buy from the old salt dog.
But I do want to give a shout out and acknowledge Ray because that, man, if you're going to pay for a service,
man, you want to pay for some wisdom and deep experience.
Yeah. And the story behind Car Edge, so Ray and his son Zach started Car Edge in 2019.
The story is actually a lot more powerful than I let on to.
So I just want to briefly go over that.
For much of Zach Shefka, our CEO, for much of his childhood and upbringing,
his dad, Ray wasn't there because he was always working long hours at the dealership.
This is not a story they keep to themselves.
They share it publicly all the time.
And it's a really powerful story because one of the reasons Ray was so adamant to go into the Car Edge business
with his son Ray as an entrepreneur, when Ray was going to be retiring, keep that in mind,
was that he wanted to change this business for the better so that it was more family friendly.
Not only did he want to save money for, you know, millions of drivers in America,
he wanted to make sure that dealership salespeople and managers down the road
weren't missing out on their own child's upbringing simply because they had to be working extra nights at the dealership.
And it's just been beautiful to work with them and see what they've been creating together.
You know what I get, which is really cool when you have this sort of father-son relationship.
By the way, I can relate. My first operation in 1995, I missed the first five years of my daughter's life,
losing a lot of money because I was everybody's friend, but I didn't know how to make a profit.
It's a struggle for a lot of small businesses new to that game.
I have a lot of respect for that and it's a shitty thing for the family because they lose out and, you know, and so on.
So Ray brings that world experience.
Zack is bringing some identity to a very modern day problem, regardless of generation, I would say.
I think my generation, we have a tendency to say we know it all, right?
When generation X, we played in the streets and never went home.
We could buy anything. We know we get it. We get on our own way.
And I think Zack makes that connection.
We may have a caller. I'll take a caller. It's all good. We got about seven minutes.
Our line is letting up. We may have somebody calling in.
They may be paying their tuition or they may ask a branch nation a question.
But I have to acknowledge that, you know, there are a lot of YouTube channels that are out there that you can tell there's no, there really is no passion or drive, you know, behind what they're doing.
They're just doing it because they have to do it. You guys are the total opposite.
You've got a machine by way of car edge.
What's your challenge as somebody working on the media side?
Do people feel like it's too good to be true? What's your challenge moving into 26 as you sort of keep this, this brand front and center?
I would say the affordability challenge.
So we have so many drivers just from around the nation who may not have purchased a new or used car in a decade because, you know, they're playing it smart.
They keep their car until it falls apart.
And then they come into the 2026 car market wondering why everything's $50,000.
It's crazy.
And that's not our fault. We're here to help bring the affordability down into the picture here so that we can bring these prices down and bring transparency up.
But in 2026, it's really more clear than ever that there's a mismatch between what consumers want, which is just simply affordable and reliable.
Give me something that's affordable in the life.
And then what the automakers and sometimes the dealers are offering, which is, you know, high priced luxury SUVs and trucks.
We as a pro consumer car buying platform working to save people money.
We're kind of at the juncture of that, trying to get customers to something they can afford that they know is not going to be an immediate headache for them.
But it's just so hard to do these days with the vehicles that a lot of OEMs are bringing out.
You find that we've got about 30 seconds here.
You find that one of the biggest mistakes that we do as consumers when we buy vehicles is we get too dang emotional.
And the salespeople know this and they prey on that. Can I ask that?
Yeah, sometimes that's even taught in the training sessions that it's really unfortunate.
What we say is always shop with the out the door price in mind, not just the MSRP or the sticker price.
You got to know what you're paying for. The out the door price includes everything.
And at CarEdge.com we have plenty of tools to help you do that.
Justin, you're a rockster. I'd like to tap you maybe once a quarter because this year I find it's going to be very powerful.
I think the system is a little broken. Hence, this is why CarEdge exists to help bridge the gap and will continue to exist.
I think we're going to have a lot of news, automotive news on that front because the consumers just kind of stuck, dealers are stuck.
So I'd like to bring you back in the future and I thank you for joining us, Justin with CarEdge.com.
It's been great. Let's do it and hope to see you again, Frank.
You know, that's what it's about. There's tools and we do. That's why I got to take my wife.
You only know what you know and you can't go that I've been around for 40 years.
You know, as a consumer, as a consumer, sometimes we get our own way.
So, Aiden, thank you for hanging with Ranch Nation.
Thanks for having me.
I'm going to throw you in some snow.
We got to find a pile of snow.
So if you are joined us for the first time, we'd like to hear from you, whether it be on the podcast or live radio or out in the replays on Saturdays out in California here in Arizona.
Ranch Nation.tv, we'd love to hear from you. Your ideas on short topics.
If there's something bugging you in the automotive industry, we'll tackle it. We'll bring it on air.
As I tell you every week, be safe, hug each other and never forget to hug a mechanic.
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