brolot

buy like a bro

Learn the cars. Set what you want. Find one. Ask. Then go look.

01 · Learn

The four cars. Tap a model, then a year band.

Small, cheap to keep — if the engine block and the rust check out. A first-car Civic is only a deal if those two things are clean.

6th gen · 1996–2000

Caution

Old. Fine as a beater if a shop signs off on rust and the timing belt.

  • Timing belt — Ask for a receipt with mileage. No receipt = budget a belt and water-pump job before you trust it, or walk.
  • Frame and arch rust — Look behind the rear wheels. Poke the metal. If it crumbles, leave.
  • Tired automatic — Drive it. Delayed Drive, a flare between gears, or burnt-smell fluid = walk or a rebuilt transmission.

Grade A–B

Known facts look good. Text them. Still pay for a shop look.

Grade C

The ad is quiet, or a known year problem is in play. Ask first.

Grade D–F

Known dealbreaker. Don’t drive out for it.

02 · Set

Target vs stretch shapes Grade. Cares drive Score.

Target$5kStretch$7kOwnersprimaryService recordsprimaryTitleprimaryAccidentsprimaryVINsecondaryTenuresecondaryRustsecondarySmokesecondaryMechanicalsecondary

$5,000–$7,000 · under 160k mi · clean title · private party

Score is how complete your cares are. Grade A–F moves as answers land.

03 · Find

The lot is the workbench. Saved is just a folder.

Swipe and Map are other views of the same lot. Right-swipe keeps a car on Saved so you can compare later — it is not the next beat.

Pulling the lot…

04 · Ask

A quiet ad has gaps. You text. Then Score and Grade can move.

How many owners?

How many people have owned this car. A one-owner car sitting at a reseller for three weeks is not the same as someone who kept it 11 years — that’s the next question.

On a car page these become copy-ready texts. Gaps live there — not on Saved.

05 · Buy

You go look. The app does not buy the car for you.

  1. 1

    Meet in daylight

    Public place. ID matches the title. VIN matches dash, door, paper.

  2. 2

    Walk + drive

    Cold start, underside, highway and stops. A parking-lot loop is not a test.

  3. 3

    Shop on a lift

    About $150 at an independent Honda/Toyota shop. A good Grade still means this.

  4. 4

    Paper

    Clean title in their name, bill of sale, then the BMV — not cash in a lot at night.