Hammer Time: Mule Trading

Steven Lang
by Steven Lang

I’m a third generation mule trader. Grandpa literally bought mules and cows from the rural outskirts of Bavaria and sold them at the nearby cattle auctions. Dad’s been a food importer since 1949 for a company called Roland where he’s sold to Chinatown wholesalers and store owners for nearly 59 years. As for yours truly? I have auctioned off and horse traded the modern day mule at thousands of dealer sales. I love cars. I love the auction business. Most importantly I love learning. Educating people about cars and auctions, creating the urgency to buy, and learning about managing cars AND people is what I do outside my family life. It’s engaging. It’s a pain in the ass. And it would be completely unnecessary if people looked at a car the same way I do.

My car is a workhorse. For now it’s a 2006 Toyota Sienna that I bought with over 100,000 highway miles. I maintain this one owner vehicle to the T. I prefer to purchase them used with a combination of highway miles and low stress, and run them until the repair costs become more expensive than buying another one just like it. Since the economy has gone down the tubes, thanks to all the liars and spendaholics amongst us, I’ve found these really do make the perfect daily drivers for those looking for a cheap long-term runabout. They have far higher depreciation, are generally better maintained, and tend to go for far lower money at the auctions… and consequently at the retail lots.

Cases in point. I bought a silver 2002 Ford Taurus at a sale this past Thursday for $1425 ($1300 plus auction fee). One owner, zero acidents, 158k highway miles, and a long list of options from a sportier suspension and spoiler. To a sunroof and 201 horsepower Duratec engine that is far better matched to a modern Taurus than the mummified late-80’s Vulcan V6. The combination of modern conveniences, low insurance costs, and un-hipness make it a good fit for folks who want a well-optioned point a to point b vehicle. I’m selling it for $2500 or financing it as a $500 50/50 ($500 down, $50 a week for 50 weeks).

Minivans are usually even cheaper than most midsized cars these days at the auctions. Most folks in suburbia who ‘haul stuff and people’ are better served buying one over a pickup or SUV. But again, un-hipness keeps some away while others, mostly older folks, couldn’t care less. The one I bought was a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport. Four door, rear air, 3.3L V6, 12 disc CD changer, and an absolute ton of highway miles. However it was garage kept. The records are all there. One owner in rural Georgia. Zero accidents, and everything is in good working order. I’ll be selling it for the same price as the Taurus with the same finance options. More than likely it will be sold to an older fellow for cash… which is really the only way to buy a car ride you intend to keep.

[contact steven.lang@duke.edu for more information about these or other vehicles]


Steven Lang
Steven Lang

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  • Steven Lang Steven Lang on Jan 19, 2009

    Thanks Shermin and capdeblu, I've thought about it. I just don't know where to start and whether 'keep the damn car' would be an entertaining answer if I had to do it sixty times over.

  • Countryboy Countryboy on Feb 10, 2009

    There sure are alot of time-honored used car salesman gimmick phrases in this article. Highway miles = please overlook that odometer; it means nothing; look at the shiny stuff Garage kept = we had it detailed yesterday I'm not sure I'd lay the blame for the current problems at the feet of "spendaholics and liars amongst us", unless we're talking about the Wall Street oil speculators (it's only because of Supply and demand...really it is) and Merrill Lynch executives decorating an office with a thrifty $50,000 toilet. Reasons for the economic downturn are as varied as the economists that opine about it. What can be stated is starting in the 1980's, there was an ongoing Republican led; free trade, de-industrialization of this country, resulting in the median income for the middle class falling in the last 10 years. A Republican appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve who, with the aid of absurdly low interest rates, knowingly encouraged average folks to tap into their home equity to keep the economy and their consumption expanding, in spite of declining income levels and the country's best interest. A "NEW" manufacturing base, but this time on Wall Street where our so called best and brightest from Havard and beyond manufactured Alternative mortgages, CDO's other derivative based financial securities and gave them names any ad guy would be proud of. They promised those mortgages could easily be refinanced (forgot about the prepayment penalties) and the CDO's would return 10 and 12% to any Pension fund that would listen to the pitch. "Liars"? Yes, that classifies as a lie in my book. This was followed by a further spectacular bubble perpetrated by speculators in the oil futures market, that sapped any remaining purchasing power the average American had left. But the rise in oiland gasoline prices was attributed to simply the result of supply and demand. Does anyone really beleive this was not a lie? Do not forget the unforgettable words of then President George W. Bush, who after 9/11, told Americans to "go to the mall and shop". If people shopped, they had plenty of encoragement from the President of the United State. People's behavior has been driven and manipulated by the very people that profit from it. Driving a $50,000 Escalade when you live in a aprtment may not be sane, let alone smart, but that's how the banks and the Mad Men on Madison Avenue want it. No money to be made on small cars. Hank the Deuce summed it up.."small car - small profit". Tell me the last time you saw a TV commercial for a reasonably priced economy car. No, the ads and TV spots are 20 to 1, luxury premium brands over rational, economical models. If you live in or around Atlanta you know all too well that the growth industry of much of the area was ...growth. There was no real sustainable and productive industries in many of the areas. The new industries were construction of strip malls (houses), leasing/selling of strip malls (houses), stocking of strip malls (houses), working at strip malls (houses) etc. Without that conspicous "shopaholicism", there would have been little to no economic growth in many of these faux boom towns. So, it's a little more complicated than just blaming "those people".

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
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