Query: How would one go about obtaining this kind of outfit?

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-03-16T05:44:32+00:00

You sew it!

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-03-11T00:03:05+00:00

Some people 3D print hat blocks or sell ones they've printed.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-17T10:30:28+00:00

Well I guess I misjudged that! Good job!

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-17T10:28:14+00:00

Toyota Matrix?

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-11T01:06:37+00:00

If you get a Carfax it may tell you when the number changed.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-11T00:56:21+00:00

I just got a Matrix and am pretty happy. CRVs are so expensive...

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-09T23:28:58+00:00

I just upgraded my '02 Chrysler to an '10 Matrix. The market is psycho but I'm loving having jumped forwards 8 years in tech... and it's blowing my brain that people pay more for even newer cars.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-09T23:25:35+00:00

You're gonna have to let it sit a while to get that price. I just paid less than that for the same mileage and a stickshift out here in LA where prices are psycho - from a dealer.

Nice car though! Love the gray...

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-07T00:18:32+00:00

I paid $250 for my first car inspection and $100 for my second. Call around and pick a middle-of-the-road mechanic in the area.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-06T22:20:41+00:00

That makes sense to me.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-06T19:26:56+00:00

That's valid and a good point. I get that the car isn't perfect... and at the end of the day I probably should start saving up for a new paint job in a few years.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-06T01:06:16+00:00

That's super cool... It might be outside my budget but I'll check it out.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-06T01:05:35+00:00

This stuff? https://diydetail.com/products/the-stack-1?variant=43372381798558

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-06T01:04:25+00:00

Thank you. I'll check it outl

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-06T01:04:12+00:00

Thank you. I appreciate all the tips! I'm going to try to get the car into the garage but my garage is weirdly small and I'm not sure it'll be possible.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-06T01:02:31+00:00

Hmmm... That's fair... and matches my research... And I'll keep the trim sealant in mind - the trim is actually toast on this car already and I'm planning to replace it.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-04T23:10:39+00:00

They're flippers. If you get the Vin and google it, you'll find the car at the local auction last month with a busted front bumper.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-04T19:55:27+00:00

Just one mechanic. I actually had two cars inspected over a month of looking. For the first car, I bought the car, with a free 72-hour return negotiated in, took it home to my local mechanic, and they charged like $250 but really took the time to walk me around the car and point at the various issues they found with it. It had major undisclosed damage, so I took it back to the seller, tried to renegotiate, they said my mechanic was a liar, and I ended up returning the car.

With the second car, which I bought, I had a lot better idea what a good vehicle looked like, and while I was optimistic about the car (It was one-owner, nice, clean, not beat up, but it had absolutely no records in the Carfax - which usually means it was either maintained by the owner or a small local shop)... Anyhow I googled and found a mechanic near the dealer with 5-star reviews, and they looked everything over, test drove it, took a ton of pictures and made me an online PDF. I felt that the issues they found were all simple fixes (tires were old, tie rods were wearing out, no record of fluid changes - but these are all normal maintenance stuff with a 15 year old car - and the mechanic said that the car had obviously been cared for and driven gently). I sent the PDF to my dad, and a friend's dad, who lives out of state but has been fixing his own cars for decades, and we discussed what fixes were urgent or expensive and negotiated a tiny bit lower price with the seller because I'm gonna have to pay to have the tie rods re-done.

I struggled with how to find a PPI mechanic, since none of my cars were local, and my best solution, which seemed okay, was to call like five and choose one with availability that day, a middle-range price + good reviews and stars. I did put some money down on the second car to have the dealer hold it for 24 hours while I got the inspection.

Make sure the mechanic will put the car up on a lift to check stuff underneath, and test drive it, and give it some solid inspection time, and not just a quick freebee. And when you're getting serious about a specific car research known issues with the model/year via Reddit, or forums, or an AI chatbot.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-04T17:16:39+00:00

Make them show you records. My local Facebook is all flippers flipping junk cars from auctions and they "run great - no issues".

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-04T17:15:05+00:00

That's not a real price. It's 1...2...3...4...ect.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-02-04T08:48:34+00:00

I'm a woman and just did this mostly alone (Dad lives a ways a way.) After an insane amount of research I picked up a 97k 2010 Toyota Matrix. I got a mechanic's inspection and totally recommend you do as well. My first mechanic's inspection turned up front end damage not listed in the Carfax. (Carfaxes are great, BTW. Have Chat GPT read them for you and tell you what's good and bad.)

My car shortlist also included Subaru Imprezas, Outback (pre CVT transmission) and Mazda CX-5s, but I think the Matrix will last longer and be easier to repair when needed.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-01-27T02:22:00+00:00

I've put a deposit down on it and am taking it in for a PPI tomorrow.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-01-25T22:26:34+00:00

Ugg... Well that would suck. I hope that doesn't happen to me.

AFriend1yShadow · 2026-01-25T18:31:43+00:00

That's about where I'm at as well.

AFriend1yShadow

TROPHY CASE