Why Jalopnik Buyers Guide is a Loser and, How to Fix it

"Wjionieis" (wjionieis) 05/11/2015 at 22:04 • Filed to: Buyers Guide, Jalopnik, OppositeLock

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How many Jalopnik readers purchase new cars?

(This is my first post where I might be stepping on people’s toes and, if I offend anyone the wrong way don’t hesitate to inform me and I will delete it and shut up)

Dear Gods at Jalopnik HQ,

I love reading your articles and, I would even go as far as saying I’m addicted. When you came out with your “Jalopnik Buyers Guide,” I can honestly say I was excited. A gear head who thinks like me opinions on cars, how could I not get excited? So I clicked on the tab and, began reading and reading until, I realized something, there were no used cars, not a single one. So I thought to myself ok, that’s alright there probably just getting it together and, it will be up there within the week, then a month went by and, I realized it was not coming, not ever.

Now you might be thinking to yourself ha, kid doesn’t understand, you can’t have a buyers guide to used cars, it’s impossible, plus we already have carbuying.jalopnik then I’d point out Kelly Blue Book or, another simaler service, this is what we need a Jalop KBB not the current car buying.Jalopnik, that’s just a bunch of really neat stuff, not a guide to an affordable used midsize sedan (or whatever). Especially if someone asked you for a guide on buying cars a non-jalop would never make sense of that. Now I could understand the lack of used cars if this website was “Rich People’s Guide to Throwing Away Money at Cool Cars n’ Stuff” but this isn’t, this is Jalopnik home of the brown manual diesel wagon, imported skyline GTR, Car Max lovers, and most importantly home of the smart used car buyer. How many percent of the people hear buy new cars? 15%? 20%? How many people care about the best truck under 40 grand, when you can get something 80% as good, for 25k less?

Now I understand, if the buyers guide isn’t solid you can’t say “buy this truck with this trim in this color” but, you can keep a couple of live eBay links saying “this might not be perfect but, it sure as hell is better over the extra 25k something new would be.” You could keep the new car sections but, add a few, like most likely to appreciate, best value, most dependable, best beater, best Le Mons car, best classic etc. Please save the buyers guide from being “Rich People’s Guide to Throwing Away Money at Cool Cars n’ Stuff.” Make a real Jalop buyers guide to what we want, hell you already have all of Tarv’s challenges just as those to Buyers Guide, add A couple of live eBay addresses, take out the ones that make no sense anymore. Add a couple of categories and, your golden, just save us from what it is right now, something 85% of Jalopnik readers find interesting but not really applicable, hell I’ll even help out. Please read this Gods at Jalop HQ and at least tell me your working on it.

Thanks,

Will

(There is probably a bunch of grammatical errors please skip over them and pretend I didn’t type this on my iPhone)

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Wjionieis 05/11/2015 at 22:12

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>_>

<_<

carbuying.jalopnik.com

It’s not hard to find...

Wjionieis > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 05/11/2015 at 22:15

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That is not a buyers guide though it does not give you a guide it just has a bunch of really cool shit although I knew I should’ve thrown that in their just to cover my butt

Wobbles the Mind > Wjionieis 05/11/2015 at 22:16

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New cars become used cars. Plus we want to know what’s new! The buyers guide allows us to set up our five year plans, or make “normal” recommendations to people. I know personally I wouldn’t put my mother in a preowned vehicle.

Besides, if you have done any lurking on Jalopnik then you know exactly what people think of any used car, or you can ask and current/former owners will weigh in.

Wjionieis > Wobbles the Mind 05/11/2015 at 22:20

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There is nothing wrong with the current one it is just not complete

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Wjionieis 05/11/2015 at 22:27

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Long story short - the buyer’s guide for cars is for the people who do NOT regularly read jalopnik because they’re tired of people telling them that a 20 year old miata is a proper daily driver. They’re not changing it because it achieves its goal as-is and does quite well. Used car advice is a totally different animal and people who search for that sort of thing are typically on here anyways. Think of it as “Jalopnik Lite for consumers who don’t want to spend a yer on jalopnik before making a purchase but don’t want to be left out in the dark either”

Snooder87 > Wjionieis 05/11/2015 at 22:29

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Speak for yourself brah. Not all of us are broke ass high school and college kids.

Personally my main annoyance is that the buyer’s guide is woefully incomplete. Where’s the “best weekend car” or “best car to buy once you have kids and need to sell the S2000?” Best wagon? Best suv? Best near luxury sedan? Best luxury sport coupe? So many unexplored categories.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Wjionieis 05/11/2015 at 22:31

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And for the record, if it is a bad thing to buy new, then that is the reason why no new “enthusiast” cars get built. I am sick and tired of the bitchers complaining about the lack of new cars aimed at them but the second they get what they want, they nitpick and weasel out of their reasons for buying it. Proving that they never should have had a voice in buying the car at all. I DID buy a brand new car and I bought a Fiesta ST. You might recognize it on the Jalopnik buyers guide. I approve of their logic and recommendations for it. I spoke with my time and money. Many of us on here did. Show some gratitude towards new car buyers if you refuse to buy new because we are the reason you can buy used. And for the record, if in a few years I get a family, I will sell the Fiesta ST to buy a renegade 4x4 turbo stick shift. Or a jetta TDI wagon manual. Why? Because I buy what I like and I will support these moves to build a car for the enthusiast whohas family needs but also wants to enjoy the commute.

Blake Noble > Wjionieis 05/11/2015 at 22:37

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The Buyer’s Guide isn’t aimed at an enthusiast crowd, i.e. what you’d consider Jalopnik’s traditional audience.

The first post at the top of the page on the Buyer’s Guide sub-blog is this message:

Unlike our normal reviews, these are more focused on what a typical consumer would want, but still from the perspective of people who love cars.

In other words, the Buyer’s Guide sub-blog is basically Jalopnik’s answer to Consumer Reports, except the writers actually give a shit about cars. It serves to expand Jalopnik’s audience. It’s a smart, solid move.

I’m also going to be blunt for a moment, and please forgive me if I come across as a bit of an ass here: Typical consumers — i.e. most of your family, friends and neighbors —aren’t daydreaming about which Craigslist hooptie they should buy to provide the most lulz at next year’s LeMons race. They want to know which new car isn’t going to make their life a living hell going back and forth to work, and won’t eat up too much of their monthly budget while giving them the most bang for their buck.

Think of it this way: The Buyer’s Guide sub-blog is a doorway for fair-weather car buyers into the world beyond commuting. Maybe they’ll read a Buyer’s Guide article and then start lurking around Jalopnik and its other sub-blogs. Then maybe they’ll start lusting over Renault Fuegos and Citroens like the rest of us.

CB > Wjionieis 05/11/2015 at 22:38

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Thing is, let’s look at the logistics: how many different cars are produced per year for the last fifteen years? Each year bringing different features, colours, equipment, et cetera to a model. So to try and find the “recommended” version of these cars would be difficult, and then locating them on the used market would also be a hard task, especially considering the production numbers for some vehicles we all love.

Besides, they mentioned that the buyer’s guides would be directed more towards the people who aren’t interested in cars. If you are interested, odds are you already know what you want, or at the very least know where to find it and what to look out for.

Sam > Wjionieis 05/11/2015 at 22:39

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The buyers guide isn’t for us. It’s for us to link people to when they ask the most redundant question of all time, “what car should I buy?”

qbeezy > Wjionieis 05/11/2015 at 23:07

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Unfortunately there is sometimes a disconnect between what jalopnik suggests And what is possible for most readers. Now I believe there was a buyers guide done on Car Buying But nothing “as direct”. A comparison of the major used dealers, extended warranties, and recourses would be awesome.

I recently purchased a used car and did a “we owe” with the dealer. Never heard of it before. Would be nice to have gotten that in a guide! Stuff like that would be helpful.

RockThrillz89 > Wjionieis 05/11/2015 at 23:08

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If you’re in the market specifically for a used car, you probably already have a very good idea of what you want. Not much demand for buying guides there.

And people need to quit hating on new car buyers. I’ve had two used cars and two new cars (just bought my current car two weeks ago - a Honda Civic Si holy shit a Jalop reader bought a Civic Si, which by the way, if I had listened to the Jaloposhpere I never would have bought. But I can think on my own and don’t need some website to vindicate my decisions and tell me what I should buy. I buy whatever I goddamn please and what makes me happy). There is value in a manufacturers warranty for me. Even more valuable to me is the fact that I don’t have to question what hidden grimlins the car may have. I know it’s never missed services, I know how hard it’s been driven and I know each and every scratch on the car and when they happened. I know when the slightest problem shows up because I’ve been with the car since day one. All that has value to me. And to hell with the depreciation. Used cars depreciate too. And “80% as good” ain’t good enough. Whether you spend $5 or $500k, you should always make sure it’s 100% good for what you want/need.

Also, I think you need to stop and think about what being a Jalop means. Because based on your post, I don’t think you understand it. It’s not about wrenching on your brown diesel wagon every weekend. It’s not about only buying used because you read an article about it being a “smarter” buy, and calling people who buy new “rich people throwing money at cool things”. It’s about a passion for cars, pure and simple as that. Jalopnik is home to “smart used car buyers”, new car buyers, mechanics and even those people who have never picked up a wrench in their life but still go to every car show and can tell you the difference between a ‘67 and ‘68 Camaro just by looking at the window design.