#164, The art of buying and selling used cars

Jim Brooks owns Approved Autos Bakersfield, California. It's a used car business, a constantly changing segment of the automotive landscape. Brooks worked as a new salesman at a dealership for two years. But he didn't like the sales practices and decided his own business was a better option. Fifteen years later, Brooks has witnessed lots of industry changes, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Jim Brooks owns Approved Autos, a used cars business in Bakersfield, California. Brooks is this week's guest on The Weekly Driver Podcast. The used cars sales market has changed Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia talk with Brooks about all aspects of buying and selling used cars, live and online auctions to financing, price negotiations to paperwork. Brooks also discusses some of the unusual vehicles he's bought and sold. We also talk about thr influx of national companies selling new and used vehicles online and without a customer "kicking the tires" of a vehicle before it's purchased. The Weekly Driver Podcast encourages and appreciates feedback from our listeners. Please forward episode links to family, friends and colleagues. And you are welcome to repost links from the podcast to your social media accounts. The idea of more eyeballs on more content works for us. Support our podcast by shopping on Amazon.com. A graphic display at the bottom of the post links to automotive selections of the online retailer. But there's also a search function for anything available directly from the site. If you shop via this site, we receive a small commission. It helps us continue to produce independent content. The site began in 2004 and includes more than 700 reviews. The podcast is in its third year, and we've had a diverse collection of guests — famous athletes, vintage car collectors, manufacturer CEOs, automotive book authors, industry analysts, a movie stuntman and episodes from auto shows and car auctions. Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: [email protected]. All podcast episodes are archived on theweeklydriver.com/podcast Every episode is also available on your preferred podcast platform. Several of the more prominent platforms are listed below. Amazon.com Google Play iheartradio iTunes Spotify Stitcher