If you’re in love with cars like me, you’re always looking for that one great deal that you can snag. However, I’ve found it seemingly impossible to find a decent deal in today’s automotive marketplace. I think back to the way we used to search for and purchase cars and compare it to the way we do it now. A lot has changed for the good, yet at the same time for the bad.

I found a pristine, low-mileage 1998 BMW E39 540i, but the deal didn’t go through even though I was first in line to buy the car. Apparently someone swooped in before my test drive appointment to buy the car. So I have to ask: Who gets the car first: the first buyer in line or the first buyer with cash-in-hand?

I found this Audi S4 (B5) that was going for half the going price. The seller told me he hasn’t run the car in a year or two, but I test drove and it appeared to be run fine. For some reason, the seller strongly urged me to have the car towed. I was a bit suspicious, but I couldn’t resist the deal and had the car towed back to my place… and so work on the car began.

In December of 2016, my wife and I took a trip to Maui, HI to attend my friend’s wedding. Since we were going there, we figured that we’d make it a vacation by staying there for a week. We rented a Nissan Leaf to get around the Island. Was it worth it?

The Mk1 & Mk2 Volkswagen GTI’s are known as the true GTI’s, with the 3rd and 4th generations losing its way. The Mark 5 Volkswagen GTI is supposed to be the “return of the hot-hatch.” So when I went to purchase this car, I was excited about seeing what the hype was all about.

While vacationing in Hawaii, we encountered a ridiculous amount of Toyota trucks and SUV’s. I think of the hilarious clip that comedian Jo Koy made while he was in Maui because of this very phenomenon…yet I ended up ogling over this 4Runner TRD Pro.

I have to say that I’m really appreciate of those people who identify scams on Craigslist and then make their own post to warn others of these duplicitous individuals. I came across this guy who warns everyone this 2000 Porsche Boxster.

I came across the above photo I took of my Uncle’s Toyota AE86 a few years back, which I thought was a really interesting looking car. I watched the anime: Initial D way back in high school and was interested to see that he was able to get his hands on one of these. I love the look of the hatchback version over the GT-S coupe version that I normally see.

This listing came up on Craigslist for a 2003 Toyota 4Runner in Galactic Grey over in Fairfax, California. It took me an hour to drive there to meet the seller, but when I got there the 4Runner that drove in looked a bit different from the posting I saw…