7 Things I Wish I Knew Earlier About Cars 

I wish I know my wallet was going to look this empty

Pro tip: driving normally and respectfully in a modded car is more impressive than speeding and cutting people off

Old man once told me "while young, build a 4 door hotrod. Cause if you have kids, you can fit a car seat. Wait until you are older and either don't have kids or they are grown to get a 2 door. It will hurt a lot to invest in a car, only to have to sell it when kids come."

My £600, battered MX5 taught me that it's more fun and infinitely cheaper to make your car a one-off rather than a show car. It was orange and I couldn't find replacement panels in the right colour, so I two-toned it orange and black. It looked awesome, and I've never seen another the same. Strangers would wave as I drove by and stop me to talk about it. I miss you Burt but it was you or one of the kids. Still not sure I made the right decision.

When I got my first car, my dad said something very important to me. He said, "David. Why are you checking your oil by putting the dipstick in the coolant bottle"? It was that day we both realised that I may have an intelect problem.

"be all up in them bellybuttons picking out the lint" 😂😂😂 you're hilarious dude

I would argue that Asseto Corsa and realistic driving sims actually do make you a better driver, Atleast if you’re playing with a wheel and pedals

Another thing, don't cheap out on main stuff like brakes, cooling, suspension, tires and driver train related stuff. it will come back to bite you and you'll end up spending more money in the long run. Save your money on other stuff like cosmetic upgrades or stuff that's not important to the health and safety of you and your car!

Im not a car guy, hell, im not even a guy. although i agree on everything you said about getting a car for clout, but i do find it cool when people drive the car of their dreams and i think it does make them cool when i see people excited about the car they got or want to get. i really like when my boyfriend talks about JDM cars its the best thing ever. i think its cool as long as you do it for yourself and not for others, that way everyone is happier. also great vid btw!

Racing games DO make me a better driver. I remember first time I lost rear end in my fwd car. I intentionally went fast into a corner in parking lot and released throttle. If it wouldn’t be for sim racing games I would’ve hit a curb. The instinct which I had from sim to countersteer and add right amount of gas made me straighten up smoothly and quickly. Real life is even easier than sim. Becouse you feel the speed. Also the amount of grip real cars have is insane if you compare what it feels like in sim. My cheapo winter tires feel better in rain, than semislicks hot temperature, dry asphalt in sim. The only thing I find troublesome irl is roll of the chassis and being scared of driving fast.

I love smaller cars. They have a more “homey” feel to it when I’m driving but when I’m just sitting in it not going anywhere, I wish my car was bigger. Smaller cars just feel a lot easier to handle for me. First car to practice driving in was a Highlander and those things are just too damn big.

to add to #3 , racing is very different than a videogame because actually racing you're being thrown around in you seat. reacting the the forces of racing is a big part.

Ik you dont get the respect you deserve. 552 videos in 2 years is insane

Touching on the first point. A coupe doesn't necessarily mean it is a small car. What comes to mind is the RSX. Its a coupe but can fit a ton of stuff in the trunk. I saw someone put everything they needed to convert their RSX to AWD in the trunk of their RSX. Tons of room. Wagons have lots of room as well and you can find some cool wagons suitable for a first car

Atta way mark!!! Great video man. Not enough out there like this. Mini deep dive, and keeping it real about the ins and outs of the car community. These are just as important for the young people as the good and bad series! You're killing it man. Thanks.

It's hard to be a car enthusiast nowadays unless you got lots of money and space. So basically born into it or work for awhile and do it when your old. Shits depressing seeing blue collar cars go for white collar prices

Someone once told me, "people will always find something to hate about your car. It could be the perfect build ever created and someone will find a way to hate this wheel or that radio. Learn to not care what others think. Build your car how you like it. If you like those rims and everyone else hates them. Get the rims. If you want to slammed, then slam it. Don't build your car for other people. Build to what you want it to be" that has always stuck with me. I just picked up a 06 Si and honestly I'm probably going to keep it stock besides exhaust and intake. It has barely above 100k miles and is in prestine condition. I like the car how it is from the factory. I don't need to lower it or put rims. Cause at the end of the day I have a hard to find car. It does everything I need it to do stock. It was the same with my SUV. It wasn't cool. But it had the space I needed at the time and even though it's an SUV. It taught me that you can drive anything hard and you can fun in any car. I went up the mountains tons of time in that cx5 and it was a hoon because it took me to it's limits in a safe and easy to control way. It taught me how to be smooth with movement and now with the civic I can take turns alot faster than most people in the si would because I've learned it's all about the movement of the vehicle through the turns.

assetto actually teached me how to drift, after i got comfortable in assetto corsa i tried it irl. bought my first car (bmw e34 520i with the m50b20tü block) and after 4 days of driving it i tried drifting it in the rain around a roundabout, it insantly clicked.

Me and my grandpa are working on a 1950 Dodge Coronet town sedan, it's got 4 doors, enough room for a family, I'm lucky enough to have him around and share his love of massive boats.

Mark great video again. One thing I wish I knew was that mods and miles don’t add up. Dealership won’t normally give you more for mods and more miles will effect the price. I literately had a guy buy a car from me and tell me to take EVERYTHING off thinking it would be a way lower price. Also, the cost of ownership. Maintenance is leaps and bounds different brand to brand and age of vehicle. Some parts on my Lexus are more than my Escalade parts. And the Escalade is newer.

Love how real you are bro. All these information in one take. You definitely deserved the sub. Keep it up dude!

I love this new style of videos! The driving is relaxing to watch and the information you give is also really useful. I’d wanna see more of these types of videos, but maybe with a better mic because your voice was sorta toned down. 😊

"Every man needs a Truck" you gotta invest In a s10, ranger, 1500, ram, or whatever. Ive had my s10 since high school and i made going to the junkyard and just getting groceries 10x less stressful.

i own an 1997 bmw e36 and i have learned when working on it. that things go wrong and bolts break and shit like that. most jobs you think that are like 30 minutes always end up in to 3 hours. just take your time on your car and and dont cheap out on parts, trust the process and dont forget to love it.

I made sure my friends knew that any disrespectful stuff towards my car would result in being left on the side of the road and no one ever did anything

I can attest to the space part, was split between a Honda fit and a Mazda miata, ended up going for the miata as I found a pristine NC for only 6k. I get jealous of my friend and his Yukon and sometimes wish I got something with at least 4 seats. Although I am now a proud owner of a miata

totally agree with the space, my first car was a 5th gen prelude, and there really wasnt much room inside besides seating yourself. the next car i got was a 2005 accord, which is much better for daily driving.

As for the space thing (number 7), my parents have always told me to get a small car because they say it would be easier to park and better on gas. I got a Volvo V50 instead and I don't regret it.

Love the list man, can't wait for the next one. Been watching your videos for a while and I'm about to get a car for the first time. Thanks for helping people like me

I subbed within the first 30 seconds. The old helping out the young is something I’m all for. Respect to you and your channel

Thank you dear Mark Roden for sacrificing all this and experiencing and dealing with all this the hard way for me (17) an upcoming car driver that loves cars and is planing to get a TSX or TL to get all this free valuable information!!! Much love

great video! i agree with your points. Also driving roads that look very veryyy familiar, randomly came across this video! good stuff

recently i bought a 93 accord and when i was looking at it it was alot of these principles that i applied to my buying process

Your first point is so true, I have an MGTF and the I've had to figure out so much basic stuff like where to store things i dont want to get hot or are big how to commute in the rain so on not got. I love the car but hate needing to use it as a daily

Great video mate. Watched the whole thing, Good luck with buying the house!

something i wish i knew when i was younger is how fckn patient when it comes to working on your car (or cars in general). i’m a collision repair tech and sometimes i’m tempted to rush through my work just to get it over with. but going slow & being patient is soooo worth it

#3 definitely not always true. When I roll in my 68 non car people constantly ask about it want to take pictures with it or of it or I just catch people checking it out all the time. Dash cam videos when I’m in the store are funny see how many people are like cool checking it out and yes girls as well😂

Great points! My advice is do your research before buying anything & just do what makes YOU feel good.

i've never really been into cars much, my dad has always talked about them with me since i was around 7-8 years old, but i never really took interest in them. but recently i've been trying to learn more about them since i'm looking into getting my first car here soon, so i wanna learn general maintenance and whatnot so that i'm not completely lost when i get one

The Miata at 12:53 got me giggling and kicking my feet

Damn I use to live in CT years ago. Seeing those windy roads brought back a lot of memories. It’s still very green I see 🌳🌲🏡

Just a note on your first point, the best time to get a smaller car is as your first car. I’ve always wanted a two seater but it makes no sense for me to get one right now as an adult except as a second car. I wish I would have gotten a two seater as my first car to have that experience. The less people you have in your car the safer it is, teenagers don’t need the distraction of having a full car. One passenger is plenty for first time drivers.

#4 so much man I never went to meets because ppl online are so toxic but I went to my first meet in years last night and it was actually chill af

This dude's like a much less angry, more chill version of Bladed Angel

fell inlove with the w211 e class merc when i was 18, im 23 now n just got my dream car, 3.2 cdi, lots of space, couldn't be happier, but those 5 years of not having were PAIN, but so worth

I subscribed and remain subscribed because of Marks personality. Marks personality attracts the type of people he mentioned in the intro (#Positive vibes) 👍🏽🔰🏎️🤜🏾🤛🏻

Most important thing young people should understand is that when you go faster, you are not cooler, you just increase your chances of loosing your own life and making your family miserable.

I love these sorta video, driving around and talking

With lowering I say take into consideration, I personally think getting adjustable suspension like BC Coilovers are more daily driving friendly than most suspension out ther

You shoulda mentioned the pt cruiser or even a gt is always always always a car to run away as if your life depended on it & don’t even think about hesitating or looking back

Lol your videos are original and enjoying to watch. Keep it up bro.

I found a combination of sim racing and go karting prepares you for racing well, the sim racing teaches overtaking, racing lines, braking all of that, and go karting gets you experienced with other drivers and some of the Gs carried with racing, itll never be the same however itll prepare you more than just sim racing

Omg that one about no one caring about your car is so true. The only people I've seen look at my car is the occasion man/women as they walk past in a parking lot. That or when I start it, and it startles the closest person, which has happened twice (that I've noticed) in about 4 months.

Wow man! I watch you from Russia and I just realized on the 7ths thing that people in Europe and in USA is so different. In Europe and even in Russia they say 'you better get a small car, it would be more comfortable for you' whilst in USA they say 'you better get a big car, it would be more comfortable for you'. Amazing

I regret putting 18inch wheels on a 95 Civic Coupe they rubbed on tight turns this was before stance and stretched tires were a thing. I regret putting in lowering springs instead of coilovers and not putting aftermarket upper and lower control arms with camber adjustment with extended lower ball joints for correct suspension geometry All of the above lead to wear only on the inside of my tires meaning that my tires were never fully on the road and meant that I didn't have full traction when braking The traction would have helped when I fell asleep at the wheel woke up and suddenly ran into the back of an SUV. I was working too many hours because I was young and invincible I also slammed on the brakes for like 5 seconds( the car slid no abs) and I even had time to swerve into the soft shoulder but I needed a little more steering angle the length of the driver front head light( EJ1 Coupe) clipped the rear bumper of the SUV and the rest is history That wreck set me back 10 years on my build I still have the car, I recently started working on it hopefully in a few days I'll start the engine up and straighten the core support.👍🏽🔰🏎️💪🏽

Trackday driving is not a race, its a learning experience. Don't rush and listen to the right people and you will enjoy it and many more.

No you are so right though. I consider myself extremely lucky that I’m 22 and own my dream car, while having the tools, options, and assistance needed to build it. I became an ASE certified mechanic last year and the next week bought my ‘90 NA 5-speed 300ZX 2+0. Moderately built brand new engine, brand new built trans with the best clutch you can buy, interior in amazing condition, one small dent on the exterior, and for the perfect price. Since, I’ve been lucky enough to have easy access to, and a place to install an entire suspension rebuild. I have started collecting parts for the engine, by mid April it should be approx. 500~550rwhp on an E85 tune with big twins. All I’m missing is the ecu, turbos, and intercoolers. I’ve got every gasket, seal, and accessory for a full-scale rebuild. But I worked and continue to work EXTREMELY HARD to build the dream I’ve had since I was 11. The exact car I’ve always imagined. I’ll continually work until it’s exactly right, and it’s moving along really quick.

Thanks a lot for the information. I'm getting my first car ever. This video truly helped me make my decision. It's going to be a 1997 Honda Accord EX, V6 with about 99k miles. It's automatic transmission and I'll probably mod it to look a little cooler. Ngl I was thinking of getting a Camaro/Charger/Mustang or even a BMW 3 series, but after listening to a lot of the pointers, I decided that I should probably get the Honda. Also, after you mentioned the prices for O2 sensors and stuff I thought if I get a BMW (big fan cuz I grew up with NFS Most Wanted, M3 GTR is still the cleanest looking car of all time in my opinion), BUT NAH LMAO the maintenance is gonna cost more than the car. SO I heavily appreciate you giving these tips. I subscribed and shared with my amigos 😎

youre completely right about the last point to other people ur car is well, just not their own they do not have to care about it as much as you do and be prepared to face that esp if you think lending your car to someone is a good idea, most of the times it isnt and if you do, do it with a grain of salt.

1 take? I’m always more impressed with that than the info. Thanks as always!

My favorite part of the video was seeing the Miata at 9:01

It's very impressive your capacity to talk and drive that smooth

Totally agree with the online part.

this is deff gonna help for when i get my camaro ready to drive. got year ago when i was 15 and just now got my license so im fixing it up

the picking the lint thing caught me off guard and i spit my drink all over my keyboard lmao😂😂😂

YO YOU SOUND LIKE BENSON FROM REGULAR SHOW DUDE. THIS WAS AMAZING TO GET THIS LESSON FROM THE ONE AND ONLY GOAT

7:00 this one I sorta knew in the bottom of my heart. Once money starts getting factored in and reality hits you, your tribalism (especially for cars you'll never find or afford) dissolves. No that 94 Turbocharged Honda Civic isn't a brand new Lamborghini but we can all appreciate the effort and time put into it as a work of love

Im probably gonna have my dream car at 18 years old because i love Honda Civic Ek6 hatchback 1996. But still everything you said you are right. Great video!

Yooooo are you from CT too? Thanks for the video!

1:27 homie this is the 2 door dream, you gotta get a little trailer for your wheels 🛞 😊

This goes beyond cars - 7 life lessons!! heaaavvyy on #1

new to your channel, learned a bit here, thank you. might look into your channel more often.

One time in my first month of driving, I was reversing in a parking lot at idle speed with my dad directing me. I was done going back, so to stop and go forward, the first thing in my mind was that I needed to press the "FORWARD BUTTON" to stop reversing and start moving forward... I snapped out of it and hit the brake pedal before anything happened, but I was stunned that my mind would actually make that association.

The first one is absolutely true I have an 1993 Audi 80 sedan it isn’t a really big car in modern perspective but it has a huge trunk I easily can fit 5 15“ weels with 205 tires in it and I still have some space

okay i will start watching this guys videos

Your content has definetly come a long way

Great content one of your best

Good list man. I hope someone else could have told me about getting a spacious car. My first was so small and low.

I have an EK hatch and still 2 months before i get my drivers licence hopefully, honestly i love the car lol, its really fun even though i havent really been able to fully drive it and get to know the car

have a 2017 crosstrek, covers all practicality measures, might be a boat, but its still fun to drive

Funny that in France, especially in Paris suburb, parents encourage their children to get smaller car. The streets and parking slots are so tight that with little experience and a big car it would be a nightmare.

i have an eclipse 4g spyder and a 350z 😀😀 managed to find a 350z for super cheap and very good condition which nowaydays is crazy

I'm so glad I fell in love with hatchbacks when i got into cars. Sadly not too many look that great anymore. regarding point 7

"relatively sober" made me lol. i get what you meant, but it was still funny.

As someone who's only had their license for a couple of months, I'm proud I didn't learn anything from this video. I have a 700€ rusty 96 Civic sedan with V-tec all my friends make fun of me for. One has a 92 Celica that you can usually find dusty in a mechanics shop because it breaks down so often and has no available parts (looks really good though) and the other has a 2009 combi BMW that blew a cylinder after he bought it and hasn't seen the car in 6 months. Both paid many times more then me and I haven't broke down once and can enjoy the car

I would not describe myself as a car guy, but over the past 3 years I've been driving I have tried to educate myself as much as I can about cars, and about a year ago I bought a 2019 toyota corolla LE. After having come off a 2006 buick lacrosse that had something go wrong on it every month, I was ready for something reliable. I remember a few months after I bought it, I was talking to a coworker about what kind of cars he drives, and he told me he was fixing up an early 2000s Mustang GT that hadn't been driven in years. He bought a new transmission, a new exhaust system, a new short block, and all the bells and whistles to bring that car up to maintenance. I asked, "Why would you do all that when you could just buy a Toyota that'll last you way longer??" He replied with laughter, "Because I don't care about reliability, I wanna drive fast!" I realized after that that even though most people just need something reasonably reliable to get them from A to B, almost everyone has something different as their #1 deal breaker in a car. Some people like me want reliability over anything, and some people wanna go fast and enjoy their driving experience. Some people care about amenities, and some people care about space. Some people care about color, and some people care about design.

5:36 ofc depends on the racing game, if you got a full simulation setup it'll make you a better driver (literally evidenced with a gamer beating a professional racecar driver) on TOP of sitting in something that isn't very communicative, when you're in the real thing, the road is very communicative so you'll know what to do. Video games also allow you to learn how a car reacts when you oversteer or what causes you to spin out. It helps build good habits. From personal experience I played tons of Test Drive Unlimited with no driving aids, and I remember how tough it'd be to get back onto the road without spinning out if 2 wheels end up offroad. In real life I almost got side swiped by a 18 wheeler not seeing my tiny corolla, and could of spun out at 80mph. Luckily I slowed down and eased my car back onto the road. Playing a "dumbed down" NFS game on controller or some arcade game on the other hand might not improve your driving really, but will still help with good habits.

I’m a 6’4 300 pound football player. I fit 7 people in my 2012 Hyundai accent bc i kinda was forced to learn to work around it as it is my moms car and I don’t have a car. We put 3 dudes in the back somehow, my 2 female friends I. The front seat, and a dude in the back. The guy in the back had cushioning and what not and I drove smoothly on quiet slower roads so his danger wasn’t as bad as it sounds

PT cruiser mentioned instant subscribe

buying a car is surely nothing special but building a car(or modifying one in a very unique way) now that's super cool

Lmao whole time I couldn’t help but think you sound like benson from regular show it’s insane 😭

When I close my eyes and listen to him speak…bro sounds exactly like Benson from regular show😂😭

i think your take on racing games could be a bit better, the communities in assetto corsa who sim race are serious, you cant bump people or anything, you race exactly like you would irl, pit stops and all. and in terms of realism its pretty good. One example is that guy who won a huge sim drifting contest and got to drive a real fd car and literally was tearing it up after a few practice runs. obviously playing forza with a controller isn't gonna do anything but if you want sim racing to help you irl I think it can more than you think.

BMWs gives you clout. And you just need to know how to fix them. And have the cash prepared for major stuff. You can get an affordable one that has 90k Miles and then inevitably fix the oil leak for 2k. But then you have a beautiful piece of German machinery

I fit two adults and 4 20”wheels with tires on them in my fc rx7. The previous owner drove across country in the fc with a 250 dirt bike in it

13:55 you are very cynical bro😂we have the same mindset man I love the straight up honesty

When I bought my first truck which was an F350 Dually... I didn't like how almost every guy in a truck started waving at me, lol. Apparently Jeep guys do the same thing. Never while driving my Transam or Expedition did anyone ever wave... I assume waving applies to bikers as well. Though I have never owned a bike. This is all just my personal experiences of course. Maybe somewhere else things are the complete opposite. Also you go over both the white and yellow line... Your driving gives me anxiety just watching :). As a driver of a Dually I have a few inches on either side. Took awhile to learn to drive well enough to always stay in the middle.... and some roads, well they are not wide enough. Especially when I went down to back country pa. I had both passenger tires off the road and was up against the yellow on the driver side. Even worse when you are towing something. Here in Maine most roads are great and wide enough. Horrible for cars though. I can barely take my Transam anywhere. At least where I live. Which is why I have been buying trucks and suv's. Great video btw. Good topics to discuss.

I really enjoyed the video and agree with the points you raised during the video. But outside of the car community, there are people who mind about your car, not how cool is it but how expensive or luxurious it is. Their first opinion would be bound to your car, so for them it would not be the same if you were driving an e36 than if you were driving an accord with a V6 or an Alfa 156. Car guys would appreciate the three cars, with their differences and quirks and all would have a personal favourite, but a layman would see three old cars and only one that most of them would consider 'high-end'. I am not saying to buy thinking what the other person would think about you, but I wanted to point out that there are some cars that convey an image or idea to not car enthusiasts.

funny thing about tires, i had my 2005 civic coupe and bought 2 pairs of tires, one for the treads and on steelies, one for the rims that had no tread. all 8 tires fit in my civic lol. its a super small car but every time i need to move something, im surprised.

I just got to say about bumps in sim racers, bumps are programmed into the game if you have wheels that have force feedback