Hey Cool Car Fans,
About seven years ago a client of mine, who has way too much money and lives up in the Mountains of Colorado, told me that I should rebrand my business and just focus on electric and green vehicles. What’s ironic is that he made his millions in the oil and gas industry and actually owned an oil company at the time.
As The Cool Car Guy, I work with every make, model and type of vehicle, including hybrids and EV’s for my clients as well as tracking down a diesel pickup or a classic car. Basically, vehicles from one extreme to the other depending on what someone is looking for and if they want me to assist them in tracking it down for them. I have clients around the country who want very specific vehicles, including a used Tesla or other EV or hybrid vehicle.
Fast forward to 2018 and Tesla and other EV’s are now gaining in popularity, along with hybrid vehicles. Especially in States like California where gas prices can top $4.00 or $4.50 a gallon. This is one of the reasons why the Tesla Model 3 has been on track to be the number best selling passenger vehicle in the State of California in 2018. That just wasn’t happening seven years ago like it is today. Of course, I’m still not going to be changing me business model to exclusively being a green car only dealership.
GM is getting rid of the Chevy Volt hybrid in 2019, but it’s going to stick with the all electric Chevy Volt based on a demand for EV’s being more than the hybrid model. You have Porsche getting into the EV business to take on Tesla with their Porsche Taycan. I have at least one client who has already put money down to reserve his spot for one of these new Porsche’s. Just about every manufacturer is getting in on the EV bandwagon or going “green” with their vehicles to help reduce emissions. The reality is that the carbon footprint of most of these vehicles is not as “clean” as they are touting them to be because of how much it takes to create the batteries to run them.
Nevertheless, I don’t think that it’s the “green” factor that is driving demand for these vehicles as much as the economic factor. I’ve suggested numerous times that people are better off leasing a Tesla than buying one new or they should consider buying one used instead because of the massive depreciation. The economics that is driving the demand though is the simple fact that the cost of a gallon of gas in places like California, plus oil changes, maintenance, etc. is driving up the cost of owning a vehicle in these places. At $4 a gallon with a vehicle that gets 25 mpg it is $2,400 a year to drive 15,000 miles, which is about $200 a month for fuel, plus car payments, oil changes, maintenance, etc. An EV even if more expensive initially doesn’t have the additional costs of fuel and maintenance of a petroleum vehicle.
MORE CHOICES FOR THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE TODAY AND MORE TO COME
The electric vehicle is probably here to stay, which was a question less than a decade ago, based on the fact that so many manufacturers are now committed to building EV’s. A quick search through used vehicles available through the Manheim Dealer Auctions and there are about 219 currently available from a variety of car companies. These include the following for sale at this one dealer auction with more choices that are sure to be added each year:
- BMW (10)
- Chevrolet (18)
- Fiat (30)
- Ford (6)
- Hyundai (1)
- Kia (15)
- Mercedes-Benz (10)
- Mitsubishi (3)
- Nissan (68)
- Smart (11)
- Tesla (32)
- Toyota (6)
- Volkswagen (5)
We can expect more choices in the future as car companies continue to pursue offering EV’s as part of their product offering going forward. EV’s along with hybrid vehicles are going to become much more competitive and more people will be purchasing them as a cost savings alternative to petroleum based vehicles.
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Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy
John is an auto consultant who owns CoolCarGuy.com, a licensed car dealership in Lone Tree, CO. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide. Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.comor Twitter @coolcarguy
The other day someone asked me what I thought would be a good vehicle to buy today that will probably be worth more in the future as a classic car. It had to be cool and really fun to drive and there were quite a few of them that came to mind right away. One vehicle that I have noticed has been going up in price recently compared to what they sold for new is the iconic Honda S2000 roadster. It was Honda’s last true sports car and a really cool one for sure.
I spotted a 2000 Honda S2000 with about 195,000 miles running through the dealer auction and it would still retail for close to $9,000 to $10,000, which seems a bit crazy. Granted it was in excellent condition, but the original MSRP of this vehicle back in 2000 was $32,000. The reality is that vehicles are getting more expensive on an annual basis and many people are turning to older cool cars that have already depreciated enough that they are affordable to drive.
maintenance costs for some of these vehicles, but if you do the major issues such as a timing belt, water pump, brakes, tires, alignment, change the oil, etc. these vehicles can last a very long time. As long as parts are readily available, you can usually go to an local shop and get repairs done for less.
Another great feature of the Honda S2000 is that after-market and OEM parts are readily available and you can still order parts from the Honda dealership as well. There are also plenty of online forums and car clubs available for this vehicle because it’s a vehicle with a bit of a “cult” following. Why wouldn’t it be since it’s such a cool looking car and it’s now affordable for the masses. If you want me to track you down one like the photos in this article that I pulled out of the dealer auction website, just reach out to me through the contact form at 
The other day I was cruising through Amazon television and I spot this movie American Gigolo with Richard Gere that came out back in 1980. I remember this film because I was about 13 years old when it came out and living in Florida at the time. Everyone was talking about this movie and what a big deal it was at the time, but I was just a kid, so what did I know. I remembered though that the song Call Me, by the singer Blondie, came out and it was featured in the film.
As The Cool Car Guy, I find cars like this for people who are into cars all the time. What’s really cool about this vehicle is that you can have me find you a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 450SL, depending on your budget, in a variety of conditions. If you only have $10,000 to $20,000 to invest in a cool classic car consider having me track down one of these for you. It might take some time to find the right car, but it’s worth it when you can get a vehicle that you know isn’t going to be losing money the minute you drive it off the lot.
Which is why if you’re going to get an EV you should lease it for sure because you don’t want to be the proud owner of one of these where the batteries are depleting continually. It’s also why I call them a “disposable car”. Let’s just look at the Tesla Roadster for example that came out in 2008, so ten years ago now. It’s hard to believe it was that long ago, so Tesla has done extremely well lasting for a decade now as an electric car company. However, eventually the batteries wear out and just like an iPhone or iPad you have to either update the batteries or sell the car for parts. It’s inevitable. It’s not like a 1908 Model T that you can get parts for and put gas in and head down the road.
The Electric Vehicle business model came right out of Silicon Valley. You know, the guys who tell you that your first iPhone doesn’t work anymore or your iPhone 5c for that matter no longer accepts the latest software update, so you need an iPhone X.
Which is why I’m not a fan of electric vehicles, like so many others in this industry seem to be. I like the fact that you can buy like a sweet 1958 Chevy Impala for example and drive it down the road on a tank of gas without hoping that some company from 60 years ago is still around to offer a battery upgrade to make the car actually work.
That’s pretty unreal considering the 350hp 2010 BMW X5 4.8l had an MSRP of $56,300 before adding in all the options for the vehicle. It’s more like $60,000 to $65,000 by the time you start adding options on a vehicle like that one. And that’s compared to a 179hp 4 cylinder 2011 Toyota RAV4 LE with an MSRP of about $25,575. So, you have a high-performance german luxury brand that is over twice the amount of money new selling 7 to 8 years later for the same amount of money at auction and at retail as a basic Japanese SUV. Which means that if you’re into European vehicles be prepared to lose money or you can buy them at a substantial discount.
