The Cold Hard Truth of bad car buying decisions (DONUT MEDIA WON'T TELL YOU THIS!) 

happy thanksgiving boys

"They've built their car to appeal to a very small segment of their potential buyer pool and unfortunately, the group they've chosen doesn't have any money." Brilliant in its simplicity, brother. Totally nailed the hard truth of that shit.

You're right about maturity Net, my first hoopty when I was 19 was a ratfucked single-cam S13 and me and my friends thought it was the sickest shit ever. I sold it for 3x what I paid for it, years later, I'm now 30 and own an OEM+ 370Z Sport Touring that I plan to keep N/A and not tear up, I truly enjoy it and don't want to beat on it. People often ask me "what are you gonna do with it?" and I explain why I'm gonna keep it close to stock and only add on moderate power mods. The younger kids in the car scene usually start to understand this idea of value when I explain it concisely. Another reason it's hard to lay this down to folks is because they're trapped in the dick-measuring horsepower chasing rat race, and choosing the wrong platforms for it, especially to daily. I see this insanity all the time on social media. That's a whole other can of worms though, loved the video as usual and look forward to more of your info pieces!

I’m crying laughing from the “men want to be inside me” paraphrase. Also, I’m starting to refer to our design codes at work as the Ancient Texts. Raising some eyebrows. You guys are my heroes.

a 4 door 6 cylinder chevelle would be the coolest thing in the high school parking lot

I realized my taste in cars was changing when I didn't immediately take a sawzall to the muffler as soon as I got a new one. Teenage me would have never let that happen.

i like thinking off CCF as the channel for the common man😤

"We shit on a LOT of cars on the channel." Literally why I subscribed after three minutes into my first video. Not sure if it was luck or fate, but the first video I came across happened to be the Altima SE-R episode and I was laughing my ASS off. 🤣🤣 Dude, Collector Car Feed keeps it real. There have been opinions on it that I've disagreed with -- I look at a car and think, "Dang, I actually like that car," and Netgear or Feed will be like, "This is fucking cringe, dude", and I'm like "WHAT? I like this car." I don't get all mad about it, though. It's just a difference of opinion. Even the guys on Collector Car Feed have disagreements. Can't remember if it's Vukos or Atlas who likes hatchbacks and Volkswagens, but he'll say something like, "Yeah, that's a nice hatchback, I'd buy it," and Feed will be like, "Nah, dude, I wouldn't." That's just part of being human. Not everyone agrees on everything. I love this channel for the humor and pragmatic insights you won't see on promotional channels. Doug DeMuro isn't going to be like, "Wow, this 1992 Toyota Camry still smells like beer farts in spite of all the vacuuming we did and will likely fail in less than 50,000 miles with 384,000 on the odometer." He's gonna go through the history of the Camry, the history of Toyota, and he's gonna show how clean the seats look after being professionally cleaned and detailed. Collector Car Feed is like the happy medium between shiny dealership listings and Copart, with a lot of humor to boot. I think of it like the Mystery Science Theater 3000 of cars. So yeah, if you want cushy, promotional-friendly car reviews, there are literally a thousand other channels and websites that will do that for you. Collector Car Feed is like Poor Man's Top Gear. Humor and reviews with no apologies.

a fellow casio enjoyer. just when you thought netgear couldn't be more based

This is a great video that captures how sincere and surprisingly heartfelt this channel is. I'm grateful to be bestowed with such knowledge, I would've spent my 20s on project cars I don't actually want. I hope more people hear the advice that CCF has to offer. Long Live Collector Car Feed.

Took care of my 350z like it was the last car I ever owned. Only modified it with parts that made it better that were highly sought after. Ended up selling it for 3-5k more than every other Z out there with the same mileage because I was one of the few who didn’t completely screw up the Z33 platform. Would have saved a lot of money in the long run if I never modified it but still just taking really good care of your car goes a long way!

Bought a cl600 and thank god I went through enough to deal with it because anyone else would be quickly bankrupt without a mechanic or being a mechanic themselves. Thank god for the forums, used parts and pdf diagrams for the real ones. I’ve had mechanics say they “don’t know” about issues I spent 2 hrs researching and figured out with a “mid” tool set. Be safe, do your research, and have confidence in your work.

as a 4-door R34 owner in Japan, I agree. That looks like a RB20 GT and those go for 4-5k USD in Japan. For that model the ideal engine is an RB25DET Neo, and run much higher than the auction price listed in the video. Thanks for dropping some knowledge

Can we talk about why drifters ask insane money for their drift builds. I see all the time drifters asking 3-4x more than what their cars worth just because “it’s setup ready to go drifting”

The part on not settling is very real. I bought an E36 M3 with this exact mindset - yeah I could have got a 328i and converted it but that's just not gonna be worth what an actual M3 is worth

you'll never buy the wrong car if you use ccf

Shoulda bought the R33 GT-R I looked at in Japan back in 2014 for $13k. And then worried about where to keep it until last year.

I’m the kind of weirdo who actually likes lower trimmed Skylines as long as they’re manual. 11k for that R34 with the stupid mods is a shitty deal. Rule number one for us weirdos, get it for cheap and offload it for cheap. This is a rapidly depreciating asset, never forget that.

The not settling is facts, I saved a 2003 sn95 gt from going to the junkyard in April. It was a great car, manual and all stock, mint interior and rust free but with 190,000mi and was a vert. I was contemplating keeping it, but ultimately a vert while fun, isn’t for me and ended up selling it. I’ll be looking for a fun rwd manual in the summer, and I definitely don’t want to compromise or have to cope. Currently my top choice would be a 1st gen BRZ/FRS/GT86, but it would have to be stock or very close to stock which is hard to find lol

I made this mistake a few years ago on of all things, a WRX. It wasn't even an STI but "oh man, look! It's on air suspension! . It also has some *nice* mods to the engine. I won't have to pay to have this done if I just buy this!". Long story short I sold it at a big loss a year later because it had power drain issues requiring me to charge the battery every other day and a lot of other gremlins. Don't buy modded cars kids. Please at least learn from my financial mistake.

As a teenager, I really appreciate netgear as a car enthusiast father figure. I know it’s financially illiterate to modify my car but I just genuinely enjoy it and I am willing to take the monetary hit.

Having hard-earned cash in hand is the most sobering thing when dealing with purchasing old cars and associated parts. Shitty builds can almost always be traced back to instant gratification financing services like Affirm, or in the case of 2020 and 2021, stimmys and unemployment checks

That bit with the venn diagram is absolutely true; my dad used to own a 2000 civic sir, only owner and he had kept it bone stock. Had absolutely no issues selling it back in 2020. Meanwhile I go looking for a 6th gen si/sir for nostalgia and all I see are these chopped up, molested civics that have been sitting for months! Blew me away; great vid as always

Netgear, thank you for telling the truth. Always fuck them sticker, expect for Collector Car Feed, they will increase the value 400 percent.

Quality video mate. Interested to hear your (and the boys) perspectives on the psychology of buying cars, especially the "settling" aspect because it's something I've always kept in mind for vehicles I want to keep forever. If you buy something "lesser" than your goal vehicle, you'll always have it in the back of your mind and know you could have done better. Sure life circumstances can change our choices and sometimes we need to find balance but it's always a consideration...

This is excellent advice to not only educate people but also keep the cars we love on the road. Really if you want to mod your car you have to expect to lose a lot of money in both how much it costs to build a car and how much value you are losing. Sometimes that’s fine if you really want to mod a car or if you have a shitbox with a lot of miles that isn’t worth anything anyways. But if you plan to resell your car at all, you’re do much better off spending your money on keeping the car in great shape physically and mechanically.

Happy thanksgiving gentlemen. Thanks for keeping me from modding up my SC300, keeping it stock was a great decision for my wallet, short term and long term. Love ya Net, keep doin what ur doin.

Oem plus is my favorite type of modification style. Keeps a car close to stock while adding little touches here and there. Quality parts and things that enhance the stock image.

Something I really love is pointing out is the price disparity between auction sold prices of JDM cars versus what cars are being listed for in the US by both “importers” and private sellers. For example, In my area (seattle) you can see several examples of 4 door skylines being listed in the mid 30k price range. To contrast, you can see similar skylines selling under 10k on auction websites.

I honestly really enjoy this channel and you sir have made me more aware of the car industry from watching your videos since last year. As much as I would love to own a Skyline or a Silvia it is unfortunate how high the prices are due to the overhype. However, as you have mentioned in your I'd rather admire from a far than spend large sums of money on a car that the price tag will stress me out more than how happy I'd be to have the car. Either way, thanks for always spreading your awareness and keeping it real.🤙

I appreciate the watch check 🔥 I noticed I'm reaching that point too-- unmodified, factory cars are some of the most mouthwateringly beautiful things I've ever seen. Being clean is just an extra Their heritage and legacy is becoming louder than their appearance/performance

If you're only buying to invest towards the sale, you're not buying for yourself. Become a used car salesmen if you're only in the buying to sell game, specially having access to the dealer auction network. Buy the car you want, if you can't afford it, either re-evaluate your wants or your budget. Also if you're not sure if you might have to sell, keep all the stock parts and be willing to put things back to stock as mods rarely equal more value. Also I would buy a s chassis vert or a 4 door skyline, I like them and them not being popular makes them affordable.

Just ran across the channel in the last week or so and you all are super grounded, it's very refreshing compared to a lot of channels that are obviously sponsored to just burn piles of money. Great explanation of why modded cars are usually less desirable, I want a C5 pretty badly but holy shit the boomer mods.

I'm glad I found this channel. You can tell you've matured with age, but still always had your head on straight and been realistic. Nice work

My first weekend warrior was a '92 1st gen DSM. I spent quite some time modding it into a track car (cage, seats, the whole 9 yards) partially cause of some track days I did but mostly because I was in my early 20's and 'becuz racecar'. On one hand I was happy I did it cause it was one of my dreams...but now that I'm 33 years old I look back and wish I kept it stock. Because 1. a DSM on its own is already a fine car to drive spiirted and 2. because I modded mine I sold it for a fraction of what I could have gotten if I just kept it stock. You're spot on, because of the mods I did my potential customer base shrank a lot more and I finally found another young dude who took it off my hands. Nowadays I drive an MR2 but I'm keeping my eyes open foe another DSM but this time my challenge is to keep it as stock as humanly possible.

If your worry about the money when building a car don't do it your gonna 1000% regret it at the end n your not gonna get your money back.

Thanks netgear for the writeup! This is super accurate for the average enthusiast. Keep up the good work and thanks for taking a look at the Z32, best of luck for the future of the channel!

Also, KEEP STICKERS TO THE WINDOWS. You can always scape them off when it’s time to sell. 😅

Depends on what mods and build you’re going for and if it’s practical. Bought some dealer cosmetic mods for protection to the body and to style it more, thinking bout a front brush guard in the future. So far, lower door cladding, rain deflectors, sidesill plates, and a spoiler so far all bought and ordered through dealer

That's kinda where I'm at right now. The car in my crosshairs is a Pontiac Solstice GXP. Thing is, there's a guy in town selling a base model for $8750 or so. I wouldn't mind just buying it just to say I got one, but I'd never be happy knowing I got a 170hp automatic with a wishy-washy suspension when I could've dropped the $12k to buy the manual with a turboed 260hp and a tighter suspension. Those three letters change the calculus massively.

Gotta love the 240s without a front bumper asking top dollar

Thank you guys for being real, and your advice. Keep up the great content!

I love that you start your vids with a wrist check man, keep it real

I am glad i found someone to make fun of my frs and make me smile at the same time..... yall the real ones!

Hey it’s the video I should of watched a year ago before I bought my car

You didn't even hit on the most egregious part of that Skyline; the fact that it was swapped. Which means, they bought an even lower spec car, and swapped an engine in it to try to make even more money off of it. But the real cope-mobile would be a 2 door, non GT-R.

Great video! Keep the Netgear vids coming and maybe one day we’ll see the rest of the gang do videos of their own

Man I’m glad I was able to learn this because I had to spend all my money fixing my car so I had no money left to modify it 😂 great vid

I was waiting for the DONUT media video on this issue Glad U found you guys

Love your channel bro. Speaks to me 💯.

5:12 I bet that Skyline family sedan went for 10 grand. Edit: Damn i was pretty close

If the car has CarPlay, it's priceless

Don't know if it's the first time you show your room on the channel but I absolutely love the fact that you have a Lum themed skateboard! Lum is best waifu lol. And that hello every nyan was cool as sh*t lol. I really love this channel. So tired of all those jdm trends.

This is good advice. I think the most important part is keeping it real to yourself. Do you want to spend the cash on the car to have fun, knowing the value goes down instead of going on a long vacation that costs the same or do you want to sell it for more down the road? I remember not too many years ago you could find a decent 240sx here in sweden for between $2000-3500 and on the higher part of the intervall you would actually get a nice one. Due to the cars being so cheap, it wasn't such a sacrifice to cut one up and just drive it to the max on the track. Since we have long winters here in Sweden there is usually lot of different tracks that are plowed up on the lakes around. We usually fix up our cars to a decent shape (always keep them in good mechanical condition). As the years went on a lot of those cars (240sx, e36, e30, volvo turbos) fell victim to that type of driving and the availability went down drastically. Since I was able to experience the time when you could get these cars for cheap (I was able to buy e30 325s for $1000 and then it was even passed inspection) I still have the tedency to view them in the way we used to when they were worth nothing. Nowadays cars like e46, e9x and so usually meets the same destiny. I personally own two R33s that neither of them are stock. I love the style of the car like the way they look in japan with the aerokits/m-sport/duce. And even with tuning it can be done in many different ways with genuine tuningparts or ebay knockoffs. It gets the look that I am after and since the japanese people are crazy for that style I know that I can in the worst case ship my car over there and get paid decently. Even so I am aware that the market value for my cars would be higher if they were kept in stock condition but then again for me it's a compromise that I am willing to make. I get to have the car I like, looking like the way I like it looking and having a good time. Since I am not really intrested in the cars in a stock way (atleast right now) I'd probably instead just have put the money on stock/funds/forex to grow in the first place. I'm okay with having a modified JDM car that is able to run some nice drifts on a track or a lake knowing the money in it is the money that I could otherwise have put on traveling and enjoying other things (fun money). My girlfriend owns two 240sx. One super clean which she paid decently for I must say and one in worse condition with some rust and not at all a collectors car in any way. The price of the second one was way lower, btw. She keeps the clean one stock and just drives it around some and keeps it well maintained while she is doing her dream build on the other one knowing it is in a pretty bad condition anyways so that she can say that she once built a 240sx the way that she wanted. She is okay with the modified car not going up in value like the other one.

I really enjoyed this. Fun to watch 👍

sick g shock brotha always excited to see what u got on

not only you guys talk shhhhhhhhhhhhhh you also teach us. No bs, u guys are great

You know the vid is good when it starts with an Azumanga reference Ok but about the actual video I gotta say the thing about settling for second best is very true, I own a 1.4 EP3 Civic. Not an SI, no VTEC but I'm completely fine with it. 90 HP is enough for me as a beginner driver and when I'm older I can engine swap it if I want to. It's a pretty and fun economy car and I'm happy me and my dad managed to buy it before someone else did.

Thanks, this is sobering advice. I'm curious though, what would cound as a teastful mod? Would replacing the stock bumpers and side-skirts for the trim above it count? I have a '09 c30 2.4i

Words to live by. TY Netgear!

Facts. Sold my one jp owner one us owner 94 Silvia 63k with og paint in a rare color 600ish made . “Tastefully modded” nismo old logo exhaust and cluster, hks coils, sway bars and some poly bits and volk touring Evo’s. I ended up putting car back to close stock before it sold. Only aftermarket thing left was hks 256 cams and flywheel clutch setup (mild).

I seriously wish this channel was around when I was getting into cars

This is true I had that issue with my 2011 camaro SS that I wide bodied had basic engine mods but the pool of people who wanted a wide body camaro was small

This channel has helped me a lot in looking for a car

So happy I was, and still am, into Hondas. Hate all you want, I had a manual, boosted, single cam in highschool which matched with Mazda speed 3 and had a ton of fun with it. Today, hatchbacks are out of the question, but you can still get a decent coupe for $1200, and a sedan for $500. 🤷‍♂️

Not cars, but somewhat relatable. I bought two Banshees pre cvid for $2800. One clapped out and an all original 99 that was sitting for 16 yrs in an ac'd garage. I've had offers for $10k+ but have zero interest in selling. I just did minor bolt ones, still have all the original parts on my garage shelf. Was able to sell the clapped out one for what I paid for both of them...

Oh, that's why I don't have friends, I don't understand the appeal of watches or talking about watches.

Personally, i bought my car to keep it forever. That's why i don't really care about what problems it has. I just want to keep modding it until i'm satisfied with the result. Only extremely period correct mods, nothing modern, nothing flashy, only original factory paint, no widebody, no turbo, no s/c, no nothing that could make it looks anything but stock-looking. I got a Golf MK3 Syncro 2.0 8V. It's the rarest model of them all, most f them are either diesel, 1.8L or VR6. People either bought the top spec (VR6), bought the work donkey (diesel) or they bought the cheapest one possible (1.8), leaving the 2.0L along "on the store shelves". I looked far and wide for this exact version and when i found it, i got this 16V swapped (i would have swapped it anyway) kinda not that finished, visibly project car, example. But it's finally mine for as long as i live. So i don't worry about not having time to fix it up. I want to get every single possible factory and dealership option on it, because i want the absolute max specced out Golf MK3 there was. No matter how ridiculously expensive some of those items are. Besides that, i want some power, mainly 200+ N/A HP (crank) without ITBs, because i want it to look as stock as possible. So high comp, forged everything, ultra aggressive cams, high rpm, large TB, modified intake manifold, pulstar sparks, 2.5" titanium exhaust, high flow cat and muff and everything in between. And, of course, stability mods. Anti roll bars, hard bushings (except at the rear because the Syncro has passive rear wheels steering kinda like a 911), adjustable coilovers, chassis braces and semi-slicks. I want the literal ultimate road&track Golf MK3.

I’ve got a stock ZZT231, and plan on keeping it that way! I’m so glad that net and others share that opinion. I always get asked “what are you going to do to it” lmao. I mean no 1 I’m poor and no 2 the value will plummet if I fuck it up with a shitty intake and no muffler.

Every car I've sold I have de-modded as much as possible

Agree 100 percent , plus another issue with this car it is from Canada and we only have a 15 year import rule so a lot of these 4 door r34 were brought in cheap 10 years ago and no people that have them are looking to cash in selling them to someone in the US ..

In the Tahoe group that I’m in you have people all day trying to sell 25-year-old Tahoe with damn near 300,000 miles for like 20 grand because they spent like $5000 on rims and tires and a stupid $5000 system

I've been thinking about buying a stock low mile auto r34 skyline sedan near me. I know it's the least desirable model but I love how 4 door skylines look and im mostly just looking for a simple daily.

If you squint at the Skyline sedan, it looks like my old '95 Camry. I miss that car.

I always find car modding so strange, it's like you're expected to mod your car. I get engine modding to an extent but if you're at the point where you're rebuilding the whole thing rather than giving it a stage 1 for a car you'll only be driving on roads anyway it's ridiculous. I am a massive purist though.

I bought two sc400 each for a 1000 and learned the hard way about buying a cheap roached out cars now I'm saving up for a clean sc400

I'm actually okay coping with a 4 door r32 as it is pretty practical and is a pretty car. It's pretty much a 4 door g35/7 that you can get it manual, but I ain't ever gonna pay ridiculous money for it lol. Also, part scarcity for the RB is the number 1 reason I probably won't even get a skyline anymore. The car will definitely be my daily and the lack of available parts is gonna hurt it's dailyable if I'm too afraid something will break that I can't find without paying an arm for it.

As a WRX guy who wanted a STI this couldn't be more true.

I remember talking to a couple people online that I was gonna only "tastefully mod" my gr86, they seemed absolutely APPALLED that I wasn't gonna slam and turbo it. I'm just like what??? It's MY damn car lol, I don't like slammed or even very lowered cars 😂. And turbos tend to kill these things. Because I like driving it AS IT IS. Shit's fun as hell without me even touching it!

"Ricer tax" is when the seller wants to "tax" the buyer for modifications done to the car for sale that dont actually increase its value.

Now I completely agree with you wholeheartedly. But that R34 Sedan is actually fairly reasonably priced for a 25DET Neo Manual. That would sell pretty quickly in the UK (even with how terrible the modifications)

shout out to the guys that run this channel for always keeping it real and actually yeah being a every man channel.

settling or getting the cheaper option will cost you more in the end.....have a 2.5rs 2 door i had to do massive rust repair on prior to swapping in a ej207v7. Yes this never existed in the states but jesus converting a car has tons of fees associated but it is done. As for the R34 skyline anything not a GTR is trash, driven a few now over in japan(this also caused my dumb idea to swap a GC) even a GTR to be honest not getting pushed is pretty mid, save the time and dont bother with a subaru or a GTR buy an EVO LOL

I completely agree with him except one thing. Taste is subjective. "Bad taste" or "tastefully" will change from person to person

New netgear video 🤤

Those 2 people are me and my friend lol. Both bought chevy cruze. He modified his in a tasteless manor, all the worst most generic things possible. I kept mine completely stock, and took care of it. His is worth probably $2,500 on a good day. I saved up $5,000 in a year, and sold my cruze for $5,000. Got a $8,000 loan and got a 2013 accord coupe v6 manual in immaculate condition. 1 owner, no accidents, 45,000 miles. Still had the 11 year old factory tires with half the tread left on them. Honestly it must have been driven for a couple years and then garaged for 9 years or something. I plan on not modifying it at all. It's not super fast but it looks really cool and I love driving it, I've always wanted one. My friend asked to drive it and I said no lol.

20 year old me slammed my car on coil overs, straight piped it, SRI, big aero, etc. 26 year old me is over here rolling around with a good CBE, lowering springs, and upgraded shocks and sway bars. I see old pics of my car and cringe at my younger self 🤣

This is my favourite video format thank you CCF 🙏🙏🙏🙏

The not settling is a really good point. I really really want a foxbody mustang and the notchbacks are my favorite but i can't get one for decent. The convertibles are cheap but that's not really what I want out of a foxbody

I mean, The 4 door you can turn it into a project car and sell off the parts you dont want, maybe add some small fender kit and swap the wheels, lower the car and change, or mod the engine bay of the car and you got yourself a clean looking car. Might be pricy but cheaper than if you were to buy the exact one you want. Plus you can turn it into a drift car which I want to get in to. But it depends on who wants it and what for. That car is not too far gone yet from what i've seen.

Great video 🔥

One guy had a 93 rx7 completely stock put all mazda speed parts on it 97 spec wing, bumper, and mazdaspeed oz wheels. I was so worried when I saw it stock it would end up the typical build.

I remember looking at that N. Hoolywood when it dropped, very nice.

13 years ago ish i bought my first e30 for $1500. clean title, ran decent but i was willing to put the time and money into at least making it a daily. did that, sold it for almost 6k years later with no mods. thats when i knew the e30 scene was going to blow up like 240s did. and sure as shit. my bottom of the barrel base trim people were listing for 10, 11, 12, 13k and people were actually buying them. i was kind of sad i didnt hold out but also VERY glad in hindsight that i just sold when i did so i didnt have to deal with this bs, i got my money quick and moved on to the next. bummed i didnt hold on to it though cause it was a FUN car.

As a car guy, im always torn from buying little mods like a catback or leaving things stock. Even in middle age i still crave something small to make my cars feel unique, even though its a big waste of money. My mk5 supra, ive had it wrapped in neon-green because the silver color just didnt stir my insides. I love it though and have zero desire to mess with a single mechanical part. And happy to know that in the (very) unlikely chance I'd sell it, the wrap can be removed and the factory paint will be perfect.

One of the most honest channels. The dude really just is honest. I like some of the cars he bashes, I think it's funny as hell. That HR34 was booty, gotdamn, its a base model converted to turbo/5sp.

4:00 this is exactly why I like this channel, RU-vidrs that just flex nice cars and do normal car things in exotic cars are kind of lame. Being upfront and realistic about how the car scene is or what it’s like buying a car I feel like is really needed when it comes to the car scene content.

the modifications on thr 4 door skyline was in my opinion done so that it can hide problems either rust or peeling paint.

It really is better to keep cars stock. (Especially when they are older!) I used to have a very well taken care of, original 2002 Honda Accord, 5 Speed 4 banger. I waxed it daily, detailed the interior, without doing any mods. People offered me over $8k for a CLEAN, STOCK economy car over 20 years old. if I put a GT wing and flashy colors on it, the value would have dropped by half. Guaranteed.

Wrist check in the intro, yep this is going to be a certified netgear classic