Frugal Friday 12

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Last night my wonderful wife and I watched the first two episodes of Ant Anstead’s new show, Ant Anstead Master Mechanic. Before yesterday the show was only available on the Motor Trend app–or MotorTrend’s website, I presume–but to watch the content there one must pay. We already pay triple digits a month for satellite TV so we’re not paying extra to watch a channel we can already watch. Anyway…the shows were excellent, fast-paced without being frenetic, informative without being boring. Besides, for me learning is entertainment. Short attention span that I have (I’m one of the lucky 15% of those with OCD who also have ADD), the fact that each episode is a half-hour is ideal.

What’s the premise of the show? You’ll have to watch it yourself…

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This CNBC article is titled, “The coronavirus pandemic has upended auto sales and buying a car will never be the same.” The key points are presented upfront in these bullets:

 

Key Points
  • The coronavirus crisis has upended auto retail, and many don’t think it will ever be the same again.
  • Dealers and automakers are investing millions in new digital sales tools as consumers demand more online and personalized services.
  • It’s a more flexible purchasing process that doesn’t have to be conducted during traditional business hours.

 

As almost everyone reading this knows, I purchased my car–a 2016 Corvette Z06–the “21st century” way, online without a test drive and having it delivered to my house. Just as the coronavirus will probably lead to a permanent shift in the workplace paradigm, it will probably lead to a permanent change in how we buy cars. Get ready to groan, everyone: “The only constant in the world is change.”

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Speaking of a C7 Z06, I decided that for this week’s Frugal Friday I would look for the least expensive example available. However, I did not include any cars with more than 50,000 miles or cars sold on a salvage title.

 

The photo that used to be here has been removed from the AutoTrader website as the car has been sold since I wrote this post. This was a 2016 Z06, same year as mine. The ad trumpeted the “fact” that the car, offered at $53,895, was priced at $5,400 below NADA retail. The car has almost 40,000 miles on the clock and has the same trim level, 2LZ, as mine. Granted that I bought my car about 14 months ago (!), but my car only had 4,400 miles at purchase. It is a tad disconcerting that only 2 of the 18 photos showed the car, the same photo is shown twice, and the other 16 touted the dealership. From fastlanecars.com a picture of a 2016 Z06:

 

See the source image

 

I don’t know if the advertised car had the Z07 performance package like mine, a $7,995 option when new, but I assume it didn’t or it would have been mentioned. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of 2016 Z06s were ordered with the Z07 option.

So, what do you think? I think these cars are the performance car bargain of all time, cheap at twice the price when new and an absolute steal used. Yes, they’re not for everyone or even for everyone who can afford them. Remember, though, that the number of American households consisting of a married couple with no children is higher than the number of married households with children.

 

#FrugalFriday

#AntAnsteadMasterMechanic

#EndOfCarBuyingAsWeKnewIt

#C7Z06Corvette

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Published by rulesoflogic

Empiricism over ideology!

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16 thoughts on “Frugal Friday 12”

      2. Thank you, sir. First, for being such an avid supporter of and commenter on my blog. Second, your most recent comment means that May, 2020 is the month with the most comments ever for Disaffected Musings.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Thanks again. In one of last night’s episodes Ant Anstead stated he has no formal qualifications to be a mechanic. He simply wanted to work on cars very much so he invested time and effort into doing so. If he were to start today he would not be able to do what he does as this country, and probably the whole world, is drowning in hyper-credentialism.

        I LOVE cars and am not the dullest knife in the drawer. I KNOW I would be an asset to a company like Mecum or Barrett-Jackson. I mean how many people have written a book that The Wall Street Journal called without a doubt the best book of its kind ever written. The fact that the book was not about cars is not really that relevant. However, I don’t have a degree in computer science or in journalism or in event planning or whatever. Therefore, I am considered irrelevant and obsolete. I’m going to stop before this comment turns into a string of expletives.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Good point, sir. I noticed two Z06s being sold by Hertz among the listings on AutoTrader. They were priced OK, but not at clearance sale prices.

      Incredible that Hertz is going to declare bankruptcy. I wonder how much debt they were carrying. It doesn’t matter how low the interest rate is on money you borrow if you don’t have the cash flow to service the debt.

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      1. It’s looking more and more likely they will declare bankruptcy. The ripple effect there will be more than most folks realize. In fact it’s already having an effect. 2-3 weeks ago Hertz canceled ALL new vehicle purchases for this year. I hear a number in excess of 250.000 cancellation being thrown around. That will surely have an effect on several OEM’s.

        I’m also curious if their bankruptcy will effect the 2 lower price company’s they own; Dollar and Budget. I’m suspect it will one way or the other.

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  4. To your comment re debt, this speaks to how “great” the economy truly was. Whether you look at the stats that say the gains in the stock market were asymmetric, the bailout of Wall Street via the Repo market in the fall before COVID, or the “chickens” of low interest rates coming home to roost, it all suggests a need to reset the economy. Shakespeare and Gillian were right: neither a borrower nor a lender be; never forget, stay out of debt…

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Ant’s new show looks interesting. I’ll have to wait until it eventually shows up on youtube or on video disk. From the pictures on the Motortrend show page it looks like he is using a Lotus Twin Cam engine. His choice of Wilwood for brakes is excellent.

    Yellow is for lemons and does NOT belong on cars, unless of course the car is a lemon.

    My thoughts on debt. Shed it as quickly as possible, to preserve your capital. That philosophy has worked for us. In our retired state we are debt free even from the ubiquitous credit cards. Only take on debt if it is absolutely necessary.

    The unintended consequences of a Hertz bankruptcy will ripple throughout the economy. However, in the process it will create opportunities for others who have the foresight to be on the lookout and aware. Question is who will be cash rich enough to scoop up the assets?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Good to hear from you, Philip. So many people I know are debt-free and I don’t understand why others don’t seem to get the message.

      One would think that lessons would be learned, but apparently many did not learn them in 2008-09. On the other hand, no economy can really flourish under the current conditions.

      Liked by 1 person

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