Vancouver Car Finds

Happy to share another happy private car sale story.
I helped Elaine with car detailing in the past and she reached out 6 months later sharing that she’s ready to sell the car. It took over two months to confirm the right market price and to find the buyer, but it was worth the wait.
The new owners are very appreciative of finding such a clean and well-taken vehicle, while my client just had to show it once and received their asking price. Win-win for all (and the key lesson with car sales: patience!)

Another great car found its new home this year using our turnkey approach.
One owner, no claims, with full maintenance history. The owners had purchased a new vehicle and wanted to sell this Mazda privately. 30+ inquiries were filtered out over three weeks, resulting in only one showing to a buyer who took it.
That’s your Car Finds service at work!

Another great story and a very happy transaction.

It’s a good feeling when all stars align.
My client really wanted a Golf and there was no good cars on the market that would be priced right.
With some mutual efforts she found Erica who was going home to Newfoundland and needed to sell the car quickly.
A happy transaction to remember.

Another client whom John Rainbow and I helped to find a perfect car is heading home to Alberta. This 17-year-old BMW with manual transmission rides like new. 100% true car find.

Another great car find story 💙
500+ reviewed, 3 considered, 1 found.
Picture with the buyer & the seller.
Very happy for the new owners.

Winter car wash in Vancouver is a must.

With all the holiday driving behind and the busy new year schedule ahead, one item that can easily be overlooked is washing your car.

Most people wash their cars less often in winter than in summer. The reality is that’s when your car needs this the most due to corrosion by salt & chemicals that were spread everywhere.

What does salt corrosion mean?
Salt is a chemical reaction when it’s combined with water and air. As salt sits on your vehicle, it will eat away the paint over time.
“But wait,” you say to yourself “it just rained so all my problems will be washed away.” Unfortunately, that’s the wrong answer. While rain may wash away some of the salt, the residue it leaves behind is just as damaging.

Solution:

One simple thing everyone can do is just go to the nearest Self Serve car wash station (not the automatic car washes with brushes!) and do a thorough cleaning of the most contaminated parts of your vehicle (see the last picture below) with a power wash & car shampoo. Regular winter wash will dramatically extend the life of your car exterior and the future resale value of your vehicle.

The other option is to use a mobile car wash & detailing service that includes the application of paint sealants (talk to me about that),
or invest in things like ceramic coating or a vehicle wrap that can somewhat lower the number of washes needed.

Happy awesome driving in 2023!

PS Some pictures below are an example of salt corrosion that started to happen to my older vehicle a few years ago when I postponed the wash. The professional recommendation is to wash your car within 10 days of traveling on roads treated with salt.

This last week clearly demonstrated that Vancouver can have snow and that “ALL SEASON” tires are NOT OK.

Most cities are little prepared to maintain the roads safe, while only about 50% of the Lower Mainland population chooses to have Winter tires.

Solution?

Next time you change your tires - go with “All WEATHER” (not All Season).
This type of tire is not aggressively advertised, but I find that this is an ideal solution for Vancouver.
I experienced both all-season and all-weather on my car and the difference is not comparable.

Basically, the All-Weather tire has a very similar compound and thread pattern as Winters, but you can also safely drive it in summer and all year round.

And yes, it also does have “snowflake” on it that would allow you to drive on Coquihalla and to Ski resorts.

Happy holidays!

PS The two good models that I know are Good Year Assurance and NOKIAN WR G4.

A small headlights restoration job this week

Toyota BZ4X: what it is and why it matters?

Do you know this moment when you see a new car on a road and ask yourself what it is?
This is likely the question that will come up once you start seeing the new Toyota BZ4X on the streets which finally started to arrive to Vancouver dealerships two weeks ago.

What it is? It’s Toyota’s first fully electric vehicle in SUV form (very similar to RAV4 in size).

Why is it called this way?
BZ stands for Toyota’s new sub-brand which stands for Beyond Zero = sustainability. Toyota’s new hybrid and all-electric vehicles starting in 2023 will start to carry this badge.
4 standards for the size (there will be 3 and 5) and X means that it’s a crossover. Add those up and you get = BZ4X.

With a very recognizable appearance (some may hate the contrasting fenders), the car also features brand-new interior ergonomics that will carry to some other new Toyota models.
Most critics are not happy about 350-km drive range but it’s really enough for daily family driving, which is what this car is mainly designed for.

The best part of this car is its value: it’s the first fully electric Toyota and this is huge!
It starts at $45K Canadian or comes well equipped for $55-60K (before tax and government rebates).
Considering the higher price of Teslas and even most Korean electric vehicles - this car is the most sensible EV choice that will hold its value like no other.

If this sounds interesting - don’t get your hopes up as you definitely missed your chance for 2023 and likely for 2024.
While it just got added to Toyota.ca this week - dealers in BC have been taking orders for the past year. And at this point, it’s not even possible to put your name in with some dealers (Open Road Toyota Port Moody). There are still ways to get it, but it will still be about 2 year wait time.

The main observation is that Toyota didn’t really promote this car. Being one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, Toyota knows that the all-electric future is not real, at least for them and at least for our generation. The reality of their business is moving all cars to Hybrid (or plug-in hybrids) and this is where we will see all of their new cars and marketing going. Fully electric cars, like BZ4X will only be offered in limited quantities to support the brand and demonstrate that they can. The sales of those cares are guaranteed. The hardest part will be to get your hand on them.

Thank you for your kind review, Artem !
I hope you will enjoy this car find 💙 for years to come!

I love cars, and I always felt good about Tesla Model 3 just by looking at it. Despite some controversial design decisions, I always felt that that it’s a well-balanced vehicle that generally offers a good value for the starting price (and the fact that you can actually have one delivered within 6 month in Canada vs waiting for years with some other makes).

But after having two opportunities to drive one in person, I changed my opinion: I don’t like it 💔

While delivering ridiculous power (I had dual motor, long range), there seem to be little joy from the actual driving experience; it felt like a appliance.
It is relatively loud inside and I felt that suspension & shocks are quite stiff for a daily driving experience.
The “interesting” door handles are probably something you can get used to, but they don’t make any sense, could be accessibility issue for some people, and may not last well as these cars age.

I would still recommend this to some clients who want an electric car and need this now, but certainly not my personal wish car any more.

PS If you’re in Vancouver and ever have a claim to deal with - consider OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body. Their branch in Coquitlam is the one who gave me this $100,000 loaner for a day (standard $200 windshield claim through ICBC) 🙏

Headlights restoration magic 💛

The beautiful 2007 forester has found its new home.
The buyer gave me a hug & the seller treated me to a lunch. Feels amazing… this is how the business should be!

Happy to share a first client story of my friend, Morgan, who just sold his vehicle. It was not exactly the process that we anticipated but everyone is happy with the result.

Morgan had a 2006 Nissan Leaf (go green!) that he wanted to sell quickly. He listed this on autotrader.ca but had only a few frustrating responses from dealers with very low offers… a Very common story.

He decided to try working with a partner to take care of adverting his car on the marketplace, communicating with potential buyers, and showing the vehicle.

Within two days we had three people who were very interested, including a lady named S. that came all the way from Chilliwack to Coquitlam. Unexpectedly, S. turned out to be a wholesaler who works with multiple businesses and could bring offers from her clients, she was also a very pleasant person to communicate with.

Within one day Morgan had an offer that was very close to his asking price and this did not even include the need to show his car to the end buyer. He met S at his bank the next business day where he received a direct deposit into his account while S.’s partner prepared all the paperwork and returned his plates. Everyone was happy!

PS An additional interesting insight is that out of all three inquiries we received for the car, all of them turned to be from dealers or wholesalers “undercover”. We had no private interest in this car which was very surprising as this is was an extremely popular electric vehicle in perfect condition that was priced fair. Apparently, when buying cars above a certain threshold (my feeling is it’s about $15K), shoppers prefer to go to a dealer vs purchasing this privately which has to do with the perception of risk and the possible need for financing.

When it comes to older cars, there are may overlooked gems out there.

This comes as a combination of things like design and build quality as well as previous ownership history. Some models that are now 20 years old have lost 90% or their initial value while may still drive amazingly and actually feel better than many new cars of today.

This Toyota Celica caught my eye this week.
It has an interesting distinct 90s design and the interior layout is very ergonomic. Good ownership history and a price that makes sense. Its a Toyota, so it’s going to be a reliable car if you choose to drive it daily.
And the best overlooked part is that in one year you will be eligible to apply for collectors plate in BC (25 years) which means you can insure this very cheap as a second vehicle.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/5335436559880841/

"Just put your name in"

This page was initially conceived with the idea to promote the adoption of well-maintained older cars (and most of the future content will be on this topic). However, today’s topic is different.

For the first time in a long time, it actually makes sense to buy new cars. If you’re considering buying a new car (even as far as 1 year from now) - put your name in now.

I was always advocating buying good older vehicles (there are many benefits and one can always find good cars with some effort) but now is also a unique time in the market where the used car prices soured by 30%+ in one year. For the first time in recent history, it actually makes sense to purchase a brand new vehicle that still costs the case as a year ago. The only downside is time.

The limited supply of new cars has coincided with many people reducing expenses on travel and spending any spare money on increasing their day-to-day living standards.

If you are not going to buy the car tomorrow but considering upgrading one year from now - put your name in now. Most dealerships only ask for a small deposit (while there are also ways to pre-order with literally zero financial commitment).

It’s likely that the market will not stay like this forever, supply will catch up with the demand and the cost of older vehicles would go down at some point. But as of right now, you can buy a brand new car and enjoy it for some time without losing any value. That’s just how things are today in the market.