Hammer Time: Q&A

Now that Atlanta is shut down, I can answer at least a few recent questions from the Best & Brightest. Over the weeks there have been emails sent to me that didn’t a require a five paragraph essay. In fact the answers would reflect the quick and easy answers preferred by the bridgekeeper of Monty Python fame. So before I decide to ponder the differences between an African or European swallow, here’s a few car related queries and quips.

“How do I buy a good car?” I wrote a four part series ‘ 1 2 3 4 ‘ back in the day. The safest road is to do some research based on prior owners and forums for that particular vehicle. Get a Carfax or Autocheck report as well. Drive it. Have it looked at by an independent shop (not the dealer), and don’t look at the price as being in stone. Most folks underestimate the cost of used cars these days thanks to increased demand and lowball figures from Kelly Blue Book.

“Can you get me a car at a dealer auction?” Depends. I strongly prefer to get cars for customers that want “workhorses” instead of “showhorses”. You want a Ranger or a Sienna for your printing business and don’t mind a couple of small door dings or scratches? Perfect. I am happy to work with you.

A person who is considering seven different variations of a high demand sports car that is rarely at the auctions in good condition (WRX, Boxster, Evo, Celica, etc.) will have their work cut out for them. Today’s market is heavily ‘finance’ driven and most of the good cars in today’s market will never make it to the sales. Those that do are competitively bid on. You will like pay the ‘clean wholesale value’ for a clean vehicle.

There are also far fewer vehicles at the auctions. New car dealers are selling more used cars these days, and the supply of vehicles at the sales have gone down considerably. Even the manufacturers are trying to close the access loop as much as possible. Strong profits for their dealers encourages strong sale numbers for their brands. Long story short. If you know exactly what you want and understand that this is a ‘used’ car which will be cheaper in part because it hasn’t been detailed or had it’s latest maintenance done, I can work with you.You can email me here.

“Can I hang out with you at an auction?” If it’s a public sale, probably. If it’s a dealer sale, no. I no longer have any financial interest in a dealer auction, and these auctions simply do not consider the public to be a welcome presence. A lot of vehicles need to be sold in a very short period of time and John Q Public is neither an auto expert (in the industry sense) nor a full comrephender of the words ‘AS/IS’. This term means I spend a lot of time looking at vehicles. A LOT of time. If there is something wrong with the vehicle, I need to figure it out and adjust my bid downwards before it goes in the barn. I may be called ‘The Professor’ at the auctions. But when it comes to my work I have to be a man of few words.