I got a slightly better offer from Vroom than from Carvana when selling my car last month (no interest in buying from either of them) - but once I looked into their process, no thanks. My car is not going away for some undetermined span of time before I get paid for it (with the possibility of them trying to…

There is nothing fundamentally different about Uber vs. a traditional taxi. Uber is a taxi service with a better dispatcher and (usually) cheaper pricing, nothing more (from the user’s perspective). Either way you are getting in a car with a stranger.

Their cars are mostly *hilariously* overpriced. I sold a Fiata to them last summer, and they put it on their webpage for more than I paid for it new - and yup, exactly $4K more than they bought it from me for. Stiff price for those “warm fuzzies”.

I worked in the car business from 2007-2019 (6 years in online sales, 6 years in an upper management operations position) and I can tell you while online sales are going to increase, brick-and-morter car stores aren’t ever going away.

Their big thing is no haggle pricing. Independent dealers would absolutely love to implement that, but no one ever wants to pay the price they’re given.

To be fair, I sold a car to Carvana and in one of the pictures they posted, they zoomed in on a small tear in the back door trim. I thought they were very honest in that regard. They also have a 7 day/400 mile return policy which is better than a used car test drive. The only thing is the inspection - I check small…

The Holy and the Grail

When I bought my 986 I specifically looked for a car that either had the clutch and IMS done already, or was cheap enough that I could make the update without breaking the bank. I lucked out with my car having gone the route of already having been imbued with an LN Engineering update. For me it’s just part of the…

Parts, did I hear parts? Parts are unobtanium from pick and pull. From Lexus / Toyota dealer the parts are far beyond Jeep prices. If they are even available. Major mechanical parts are no problem. Interior and electronics parts not so much.

Someone say clicks?

You know they call me Cap’n Clix ’round these parts, right?

I won’t lie, I had to look up the word tumescent. Remind me to never again do that on Google Images with the Safe Search off.

You always want to walk in with your own financing in hand though. Absolute best approach is “I’m pre-approved from my bank. You guys are welcome to try and match/beat it though.”

A David Tracy Lexus build would bring so many clicks to Jalopnik. Make your Jalopnik overlords pay for this, 5k should be nothing with all the ads they’re shoving in my face. Get it ready to be a million mile Lexus. Go driving across the country and write about all the different off road trails there are. Imagine it…

I know this is going to come as a strange concept to you, but this is what some of us would refer to as a “reliable daily driver.” Hear me out for a moment, because I think I may help you see the light...

Reader: “Hey do you want this 19 year old, $5000, 275k mile lexus? It’s falling apart to the point that I can no longer maintain it”

DT: “Whoa, shouldn’t this be reserved for a Hollywood director, or a Russian Oligarch, or a successful startup founder?” 

You know what they say in Texas...El Paso.

If I’m serious and want the dealer to “evaluate” the trade, I bring both sets of keys.

It’s a lot of money for the miles. It’s a lot of miles for a Callaway (anything).

Owned one of these, great car. But unfortunately they’re too old at this point and mostly severely abused...they were pretty fragile things to begin with.