Housekeeping: A Reminder About Used Car of the Day

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

I keep seeing comments -- and not just from one particular individual -- that suggest that not everyone fully understands the Used Car of the Day format, its purpose, and how I select the cars I do.

So let's do some learning.


Let's start with what the feature is not -- it's NOT a chance for the site, or me personally, to make money from a sold car. I make no money on any sales and I have no idea if our forums take a cut. I don't care if someone buys a featured car or not.

The purpose of the feature is to feature cars I think you, the B and B, would find interesting. Even if they are junkers that aren't running. Like yesterday's non-running diesel Merc. A two-year-old Camry in OK shape isn't interesting. A rare car that's a project? Interesting. A pristine IROC Camaro? Interesting.

I use an automated database that updates daily with new listings, and some days are better than others. Somedays, pickings are slim. So please bear with us.

It's also meant to be separate from Junkyard Finds and Rare Rides. JFs are cars that are about to be crushed and the Rare Rides feature is all about the overview of a specific make and model, with a lot of detail on its history. UCOTD is about cars people own that you can buy.

Finally, the other purpose of the feature is to introduce the forums our parent company runs to youse guys. We hope that you'll browse around and maybe become a member if applicable.

We aren't trying to sell the cars or give you agita. If a car doesn't appeal to you, scroll on by. Some days we'll have a better pick than others -- it just depends on what's on sale and how well I judge your tastes.

It's a fun feature -- not something meant to give anyone heartburn. So let's have some fun and talk about some of the cool cars that are out there in folks' driveways and garages.

Ok? OK!

[Image: hodim/Shutterstock.com]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 35 comments
  • Daniel J Daniel J on Jan 29, 2024

    I've gone back to the last 4 UCOTD and they've all be ridiculous. That's on you, Tim.


    Maybe put something out there that's worthy of discussion?

  • Randy in rocklin Randy in rocklin on Jan 29, 2024

    I love the site so don't cut it. It's always the bad eggs that spoil it all.

  • Teddyc73 Beautiful color, although the overused black wheels detract from it. It's nice to see a car in an interesting color instead of the also grossly overused dull greys.
  • Master Baiter If you rear-end someone, it's your fault, period. If motorcycles need more time to stop, then riders need to increase their following distance.
  • Master Baiter Until recently, virtually every cell phone and computer was made in China and no one seemed to care. The majority are still built there. I'm not a fan of tariffs as it just gives domestic makers a price umbrella to sell their garbage products to U.S. consumers at higher prices.
  • Teleedle It would seem that if the Chinese made cars and trucks are ready to compete on the world market that they should be able to compete without the need for government help through subsidies. That's never going to happen with the mindset of their leadership. The rate at which they've transferred the ability to copy to the rate of their abilities to innovate isn't really astounding, but it is truly indicative of their inherent abilities to see through problems and overcome without a lot of fuss. They just have a different way that seems to continually baffle the Western mind. It only goes back a few thousand years. The rest of the world just has to catch up... Without tariffs, three Seagulls could be bought for the price of one loaded Toyota Corolla. I would settle for a nice small pickup truck that can get 30-35 mpg, if the Chinese want to build something with real durability and value. I'm sure they can do that for about $10-12k US, too, dumping them all the way to the bank. Neither Trump or Biden or Bugbrain want that, though. Restrictive 'targeted' tariff ideas indicate that they all want protectionism and the Chicken Tax to continue. The price of living in freedum in the non compete world... and the hallmark of one upmanship by the political class towards more and more expensive transportation related needs. All costs are ALWAYS passed onto the end consumer. Tariffs are the burden of the extra cost. Tariffs are punitive, remember... as intended. The political class is still living off the backs of their constituents throughout the world... same as it ever was.
  • Theflyersfan One day, some of these sellers will come to the realization that cars are not houses and putting expensive upgrades into one doesn't equal a higher selling price down the road. $29,000? The only Challenger that has a chance of value down the road, and only with low miles, is the Hellcat.
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