Blinded by Headlights, Saved by a Ball Cap: A Used-Car Story

Be It Ever So Humble... My New Ride

For the last several years, I’ve been getting burned out on nighttime driving—and by “burned out,” I mean literally blinded. I’m tired of piloting a low-profile sedan through a world dominated by SUVs and trucks armed with retina-searing headlights. Somewhere between my squinting eyes and my muttered commentary about modern lighting standards, I decided this was the week to bite the bullet.It was time to look for something taller than my trusty 2012 Malibu.

My needs were simple—almost boring, really. I wanted something reliable, with just enough elevation to save my eyesight but low enough that my mother-in-law could get in without a running start. A small-to-medium SUV would do nicely. Heated seats were non-negotiable. And I wasn’t about to drop forty grand just to impress friends or neighbors. I’ve never owned a new car and don’t plan to start now. Anything that loses 20% of its value the moment you drive it off the lot strikes me as the automotive definition of insanity.

So off I went car shopping.

Actually, I went to my desk—because that’s how it’s done now.

Virtual car shopping is today’s reality, and you’d better have fast fingers. Anything remotely worthwhile gets snapped up in a heartbeat. Facebook Marketplace? A swamp of dealers posing as private sellers, scammers, and listings that disappear faster than free donuts in a break room. Actual private sellers? Practically extinct. It feels like dealers are using AI—or dark magic—to vacuum up every decent car before real humans even see them.

I miss the old way: walking up to a car with a “For Sale” sign, chatting with the owner, reading the body language, and slowly triangulating the lowest price they’d actually accept. That art form appears to be endangered or extinct.

The online results were bleak. Finding a decent used SUV at a reasonable price felt like unicorn hunting. Plenty of SUV’s with high mileage and high prices. Very little in the $15–17K range I was targeting.

Here’s where modern tech actually helped. I leaned on ChatGPT to research common maintenance issues by model and year (highly recommended), identify which dealers had decent reputations, and even sharpen my negotiation strategy. With my digital wingman, I didn’t feel quite so much like a lamb headed for slaughter. Information really is power.

Yesterday, I put on my business face, grabbed my USAF Veteran ball cap, and headed into the used-car jungle with a short list of candidates. First stop: a good-looking Kia Sportage at a decent price. I arrived just in time to have some young sales guy tell me that someone else drove it off for a test drive—ten minutes ahead of me. I knew immediately that ship had sailed.  

Two more dealerships. Two more whiffs.

The sun was dropping. My mood followed it down. I was ready to call it quits when a last-minute idea popped into my head: Why not just try the Kia dealership and see what happens?

With the last bit of daylight fading, I pulled into the lot, stepped out into a wind that instantly transported me back to Chicago style winters, and was greeted by a salesman about my age. I didn’t waste time. Thirty seconds, tops. Here’s what I need. Here’s what I won’t do. He didn’t look optimistic—but pointed to a Sportage way in the back. Almost dark. Just over 100K miles. Decent shape.

Then he said the magic words.

“We just took in a Chevy Equinox on trade this afternoon. Long-time customer. Full maintenance records. That’s the one you need to see.”

Hmm. Why not?

He wasn’t kidding. It was clean. Solid. We took it for a drive—at night, of course—and it handled beautifully. Back inside, we hadn’t even talked price yet when his manager walked in, noticed my ball cap, and launched into stories about his two sons—one an Air Force colonel, the other a Marine.

Suddenly, it wasn’t a negotiation. It was three old guys swapping war stories.

That conversation earned me a nice discount before we even discussed numbers—comfortably within Kelley Blue Book. I asked them to throw in new brakes and a new battery for good measure, and they agreed. We sealed the deal yesterday morning and I'll pick it up next week.

In the end, there was nothing digital about it. No algorithms. No online wizardry. Just a few old guys doing what old guys do best: telling stories, building trust, and mixing in a little business.

Sometimes it’s good to be old—and leave the online stuff to the kids.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. If you value humor mixed with serious reflections about life on this blue marble we all share, please pass this along.

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Happy New Year — and thanks for reading.

Another Christmas Miracle at 3rd Street Coffeehouse

 

The Money Shot

    3rd Street Coffeehouse is a place of minor miracles, especially around Christmas time. This past Saturday night, we proved that once again. I say “we” because there’s no single person that makes it happen. It’s a bunch. It’s a community. It’s a whole village. Let me tell you about it.

2025, as a whole, has been a really weird year in America. We all seem more than a little off balance because of things happening (and not happening) around the world and especially in Washington DC.  Earlier in the fall, the U.S. House of Representatives decided to take a few days off because they couldn’t agree on the budget for the country. More than a few days actually. That didn’t really bother me (or a lot of others) because they are a rather toxic and ineffective lot. But as their extended vacation got longer and longer, general safety net programs like food stamps became a political weapon. With grocery prices already through the roof this year, and food banks running low, it was looking pretty grim for low income Americans in Southwest Virginia. The thought of depression era bread lines returning was nauseating to say the least. Local guitar wizard Keith Goggin called me up and said “we need to do something”. We needed to put together a fund-raising benefit concert for Feeding Southwest Virginia. Keith offered to bring his whole band.

Holding a benefit concert takes a little more than just throwing open the doors and cranking out the jams. First of all, you have to find a free date in everyone’s schedule – not the easiest thing with gigging musicians. Second, you’ve got to promote the show, get people to show up and be willing to part with their hard earned money. Show up for people that they probably don’t know, and may never know, unless they volunteer at the food bank or are a person in need. It takes a special kind of person to see a need or join a cause, and then support it with money or something else of actual value. Fortunately, big-hearted and generous people seem to like live original music and, in particular, an itty-bitty music venue called 3rd Street Coffeehouse. They punch way above their weight when it comes time to show up for our community.

Keith and I teamed up with David Dantzler and Lisa Uhl of Feeding Southwest Virginia, along with songwriters and performers Randolph Thomas, Mike DeGiorgi and Larry Sakayama.  We hatched a plan to host a concert last Saturday night and have a huge raffle to go with it. Local businesses like Fret Mill Music, Martin’s Downtown, The Grandin Theatre, The Jefferson Center, The Harvester, and The Spot On Kirk, all came through with great raffle prizes. Local authors like Beth Macy, Bruce Bryan and many others from the Persiflage Writers Group, provided signed original books to raffle off. The prize list grew, and so did community interest and advance raffle ticket sales. Local media including the Roanoke Times, WSLS and WDBJ-7 ran features about the concert and all over social media, people liked and shared our posts. The anticipation and excitement were palpable, and everyone seemed happy to be able to strike a blow for decency for our community of friends and neighbors who needed help.

The final week was not without challenges.  My mother-in-law was hospitalized. The venue went without power for several days due to building renovations and bad weather. Calls for help and more than a few prayers went up, when things got dicey.  But the music and the community would not be denied. Saturday night, with a full house, roughly 1,500 raffle tickets sold and a sheet cake from Sam’s Club, we cranked out the jams all night and raised over $4,000 to feed the people. Better yet, the Board of Directors for Feeding Southwest Virginia dug deep into their own pockets and provided a 100% match.  With that match, we raised well over $8,000 to support our community through the power of music. That's over 16,000 meals. For a small venue, we’ve sure got a great crowd of volunteers and fans, all of whom came together to solve a problem that affects us all – a minor miracle for sure.  I couldn’t be prouder of them. What a way to celebrate the season of giving and honor our traditions at 3rd Street Coffeehouse. If you were there or supported us in any way, my eternal thanks and gratitude go out to you.

I welcome your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. Please share this post with others who value both humor and serious stuff about this blue marble that we all share.

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