So I live maybe 3 miles from the Newport News Shipyard where they’re building these nice, expensive boats. I had a customer the other day who’s an old school welder, he told me a big problem they’re running into is that no one has paper copies of designs or instructions. He said almost all the planning is fully…

You’re right, I had a brain fart because I’m writing an estimate on a GTI outside in 100 heat at a tow yard... Still, $40k for a compact based on a economy FWD platform is a little hard to swallow.

As someone who desperately tried to get my fiancé into a CPO TSX wagon, if Buick would make a wagon version of this, she wouldn’t have an option once grandpas start turning these bad boys in.

Because why would I pay $40k for a FWD compact when I could have entry level luxury? It’s only taken me 6 months to realize my fiancé is going to need a bigger car than her Civic hatch soon since my company car is a Focus and having nothing bigger than a compact is pretty limiting.

No lie, last week I had to inspect a 07 GTI for an insurance claim. The guy took out the rear suspension and modified his springs and struts up front to slam it down about an inch and a half off the road. No airbags, no hydrolics, just slammed. He ran over a pothole and tore up the transmission and broke the motor…

Seriously, I bought a pair of Sperrys like 10 years ago when the cool kids in high school just started to wear them. I couldn’t believe how bad they smelled after only a few weeks. Granted, I’ve got some sweaty feet, but ever since it’s either my Reefs or shoes with nice wicking socks. I really don’t understand dress…

Airbags deploy off an electrical signal, so one wiring touching where it shouldn’t could set it off. Even with a battery disconnected it could still go off as the SRS system holds a small charge still. I’ve written insurance claims on cars where the airbag didn’t go off until someone at the shop went and turned the…

Bio like that just means bodily fluids of some kind. Usually the fatalities get a different designator and at IAA at least they’re wrapped up so you don’t just go in and take a seat.

David, do you ever check IAA? Every IAA I’ve ever been to has had twice as many vehicles as Copart and they also are the de facto storage free facility for USAA, Geico and State Farm. If you want to find some cool cars I’d peruse there. They also wrap up the biohazard cars instead of just writing it on the door like…

My local Alfa dealer has 4 out front, flanked by used cars on one side and Rams on the other. There’s no real distinction made that these are supposed to be luxury cars, they’re just on the lot of your local FCA dealer. Not only are they just on the lot, but they don’t stand out. The models most people can afford just…

My dealer tried to charge $2000 over MSRP for my EX hatch back in January. I laughed and emailed their internet sales team, they came down $850 off MSRP which was pretty good considering the area I live. I thought for sure if they could even get a Type R they’d charge $10k plus over sticker for it. A buddy of mine…

I’m thinking it’s option B judging by the people I meet who are involved in accidents in these higher end cars. They usually seem to be people who have a lot going on at once but can’t stop to just focus on driving. The nannies give a false sense of security, but I’d be curious to see frequency data for Hondas or…

A lot of that does have to do with what the market will tolerate. When I lived in Chicago, body shop rates were around $45 per hour for insurance, but dealer mechanical rates were all over. Nissan usually ran around $125 per hour, but Audi/MB/BMW were well over $200 per hour. I had a supplement on an Audi A8 I wrote…

Working in insurance, I can tell you a Tesla costs more to repair than your average car, and more than most luxury cars. Tesla certified shops spend a lot of money to get that certification, and often don’t have much competition within a region. If the prevailing rate for body labor is $50 per hour, the Tesla shop…

Once had a insurance claim on a 1999 S class, the guy was still making payments on it when it was involved in a minor collision. Needed a headlight and bumper replaced since plastic was old and brittle. Car totaled out, dude owed more than $3500 on a car that was about 15 years old after the insurance payment to his…

I’m fairly confident one of my oldest pictures is me as a 1 or 2 month old baby on a the gas tank of my dads old Suzuki getting ready to go. But this was 1990 so times were different...

I see it every day in my line of work, and I have no sympathy for anyone buying a car they can’t afford. Whether it’s the monthly payments or the upkeep, I cannot feel bad for someone who finances a car for 6+ years and is always upside down in the loan. I learned a long time ago people make dumb financial decisions…

So I’m fairly intelligent, but also kind of lazy and I have no attention span, probably some form of undiagnosed ADD... I got a concentration in Constitutional Law and was preparing to for law school when I realized the market was about to be saturated with real go getters and I would be wasting money. I ended up…

10 years ago I was applying to colleges, I found a great state school with an industrial design major, I figured for sure that would help me get into automotive design. My uncle is a biomechanical engineering professor at a different school, and at the time he was doing contract work with GM on restraint systems, and…

I’m flying out tomorrow morning to write insurance claims, I also happen to be in the market for a beater pickup...