How to Save Your Car (and Your Wallet) in a Broken Economy

Hey, it’s Earnest Mann. If you’re flat-out broke—or, as I like to say, "financially challenged"—this episode is your lifeline. I break down how to survive the auto repair trap, get your vehicle fixed affordably, and navigate what’s quickly becoming an underground economy.

The Auto Industry’s Dirty Secret: You’re Being Ripped Off

Most folks have been conditioned to run to a dealership or service center the moment their car squeaks. That ends up costing $150 for something as small as a $1 light bulb. In this episode, I challenge that mindset. I explain how dealerships have quietly become part of a system designed to bleed you dry—from overpriced parts to unnecessary service contracts.

The Real Fix? Find a Mechanic, Not a Brand

Here’s the truth: you need a personal mechanic. Not a chain store tech, not the dealership guy in a branded shirt. A real human you know, trust, and talk to. I walk you through exactly how to find one—by simply having conversations. Whether it’s in a bar or your local grocery line, the opportunity to connect is there. You just need to ask the right questions.

Bartering and Building Trust in the Underground Economy

Forget fancy apps and corporate platforms. We’re heading toward a barter-based, underground economy, and this episode breaks down why—and how—to work within it. Trade your skills for theirs. No cash needed. This is about survival, not legality. If you're worried about what's "legal," you're missing the point. They're even trying to make working on your own car illegal.

Essential Advice for a Failing Economic System

The economy’s spiraling. And the solution isn't to complain—it's to adapt. Build relationships, source quality parts like Denso or OEM, and reject the corporate chokehold. If you’re not talking to people and building these connections, you’re walking right into their trap.

I would like to meet - both online and in person - individuals interested in discussing ideas on what really needs to be changed, to improve the quality of our lives.

So if you have a suggestion for an episode topic, or simply want to reach out to me for help, you can reach me via my website's contact page - https://theearnestmannshow.com/aboutcontact - and I will get back to you ASAP.

I'm not promising miracles, but my advice is often a hell of a lot better - and certainly cheaper - than a therapist!.

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© 2020 - 26 The Earnest Mann Show

0:00

If you're like most of us these days and

0:03

find yourself financially challenged,

0:06

which is a soft and indirect way of

0:08

saying you're [ __ ] broke, this will

0:11

help save your ass by saving your car.

0:16

Now, what I'm about to tell you, the

0:19

advice that I want to give you, it may

0:22

sound a bit unorthodox

0:26

for some of you. It may sound very

0:29

simple and straightforward, but

0:31

apparently to many people it it just

0:34

seems strange. Now, I don't know if this

0:37

is due to a generational thing or or

0:41

what. I I don't know. But what I do know

0:44

is this. The squeaky wheel gets greased.

0:49

And it doesn't matter if it's on a car

0:51

or in your personal life. Life is not

0:56

going to come to you. You have to grab

1:01

the bull by the horn, so to speak, and

1:04

make these things that you need

1:06

manifest. And there's no difference when

1:10

it comes to your car. Now you think

1:13

about it, of course, most of us depend

1:16

on our cars, certainly for our

1:19

livelihood because, well, most of us

1:22

have to go to work. And if you don't

1:25

have a functional car, you can't do

1:28

that. And if you can't do that, well,

1:31

you're not going to be employed very

1:33

long. So, it's a another stressor of

1:36

modernday life.

1:39

But what most people do is as soon as

1:43

something goes wrong with their car,

1:47

they have been conditioned to take it to

1:49

their authorized service center

1:53

and pay, you know, $150

1:56

to have a $1 light bulb changed in their

2:00

car. It's that bad. This was not always

2:04

the case. And I don't want to go into

2:07

the history of this ridiculousness,

2:09

but by comparison, the cars that were

2:13

made in the '9s are actually legendary

2:17

in their dependability

2:19

um compared to the cars made today, if

2:23

you want to even call them that. I I

2:26

have a different name for them. Some of

2:28

them pleasant, some of them not. But uh

2:30

I call it the continual contractual

2:33

agreement with uh auto repair shops

2:37

andor the dealer.

2:39

So what this is going to require as a

2:42

bedrock is you have to establish a

2:46

relationship with a mechanic. Now, I'm

2:50

not talking about the mechanic

2:52

necessarily who works at the dealership,

2:56

or it might not even be a mechanic that

2:58

works at a wellestablished auto repair

3:02

facility.

3:03

I'm talking about the human behind all

3:07

of that. I'm talking about an actual

3:10

mechanic.

3:12

Now, the way this happens may seem again

3:14

strange or unorthodox.

3:18

I don't know why that is. There's

3:20

nothing strange or unorthodox about it,

3:24

but I'm going to walk you through this,

3:26

especially for any of you youngans out

3:29

there, and explain how this works.

3:33

It's important to understand if you have

3:36

this preconceived notion that what I'm

3:40

telling you is not rude or offensive.

3:44

It's called something that people humans

3:48

used to do all the time. Talking.

3:52

You're going to have to talk to people

3:55

at every opportunity

3:57

to get what you need in life. That is a

4:01

fact of life. It's not going to be on

4:04

the internet. And one of those things is

4:08

well, a mechanic. So, let me give you a

4:11

scenario of how this works.

4:15

You're in some public place such as, I

4:18

don't know, a bar, let's say,

4:21

and somehow you strike up a conversation

4:24

with some guy at the bar.

4:27

And so, naturally, of course, again,

4:31

assuming you're not timid, you casually

4:34

say, "Hey, what do you do for a living?"

4:37

and he says to you, "I'm a mechanic."

4:40

He might ask you what you do, and you

4:42

may say, "Oh, well, I'm a I'm a computer

4:45

guy. I fix computers." Or whatever the

4:47

case may be.

4:49

So, what you've established there is

4:51

your first potential of someone reliable

4:56

and affordable to fix your car.

5:00

Depending on how the situation goes and

5:02

the conversation goes, you might add,

5:04

"So, um, do you work for a big

5:06

dealership or do you have work for a big

5:09

shop somewhere?" And depending on what

5:12

is said, um, they may say, "Well, I work

5:14

for a dealership." And it's like,

5:16

"Okay." And then the next question might

5:18

be, uh, so, uh, do you do any work on

5:22

the side? And if they say yes, then that

5:26

is the potential beginning of a

5:29

potentially wonderful relationship.

5:33

One of the things I consider essential

5:35

to have in your life besides a friend

5:38

who is also an attorney is an auto

5:41

mechanic, a good one, an honest one,

5:45

actually someone you may on some level

5:48

develop a friendship with.

5:51

And what this means is you may be able

5:53

to get your car repaired for at least

5:57

onethird to maybe even one half the cost

6:01

of a dealership.

6:04

There is absolutely nothing more

6:06

important to have in your life. Well,

6:11

except sex, but besides that um a good

6:15

auto mechanic

6:17

ready to, you know, fix your car. And um

6:21

so I just gave you a scenario and what

6:24

that means is that you can potentially

6:28

get that car fixed for a hell of a lot

6:31

less. But also potentially

6:35

you can um you can barter this out so

6:39

that there's no actual cash other than

6:43

parts that you would have to pay this

6:46

person if you have a skill or something

6:49

they can use as an exchange.

6:52

And um the point about this of course

6:56

again is all about saving money and

7:02

there shouldn't be any reason why you

7:06

wouldn't want to do that.

7:09

You see, as the economy continues to

7:12

spiral down the drain, and it will

7:16

continue to spiral down the drain, this

7:19

is going to be a necessity of life.

7:23

Basically, what amounts to an

7:25

underground economy, which I've talked

7:28

about adnauseium,

7:30

you're going to have to learn how to

7:32

deal with things on that level andor

7:35

straight up barter. And um if you are

7:40

terribly concerned about the legality of

7:43

it, well, therein lies the problem in

7:46

and of itself because that's what got us

7:51

in this situation in the first place.

7:54

Everyone being constantly and

7:58

obsessively

7:59

concerned about the law and rules. And

8:03

if you continue to live your life that

8:05

way, well, you might as well be in a

8:09

8:13

And despite uh what's been said about

8:17

the Soviet years, the Soviet Union was

8:19

never really a communist country or

8:22

socialist for that matter. It was what

8:25

it was, and that was a dictatorship.

8:28

They're vastly different things. So if

8:32

you're uh understanding that and you're

8:35

understanding you know that hey they're

8:39

trying to do you know are you aware that

8:41

they're trying to make get this ready

8:44

for this working on your own car

8:48

illegal.

8:50

I'm not kidding. It's a thing. So, if

8:54

that isn't if that doesn't even slightly

8:57

ring of being dictatorial to you, gee, I

9:01

I I simply don't know what to say.

9:05

But at any rate, continuing on with

9:07

this, you've got to get a mechanic. You

9:11

check them out. You maybe hire them for

9:14

a small job. You do this incrementally

9:17

because not only are you checking out

9:19

their abilities and seeing that, you

9:22

know, they basically say and do what

9:24

they're going to do, um you're building

9:27

a relationship is what you're doing. And

9:30

that's built on well mutual aid and

9:35

trust and that's essential to any human

9:39

interaction.

9:41

And um so once that is established

9:47

uh the main thing that you want to do is

9:50

when you supply the parts don't go cheap

9:54

on the parts.

9:57

If it's a Toyota for instance buy Toyota

10:01

parts. And the next choice I would say

10:04

with something of that caliber is to get

10:08

parts from Denzo. They are a quality

10:11

manufacturer of parts. But don't just

10:14

run down to your local discount parts

10:17

auto parts store and get the cheapest

10:20

thing on the shelf. It will only more

10:23

than likely bring misery down the road.

10:28

So once you have a source of good parts

10:33

and you have a reliable person that can

10:36

fix your car at a substantially lower

10:40

rate, you're in good shape. I mean, if

10:44

you have the means

10:47

um and you have a second car, then you

10:50

can slowly rebuild the other car so that

10:54

you're never down from having a car.

10:58

But even the absolute best cars, and I'm

11:01

not I'm not here to go into the best

11:03

brands and what to avoid and what not to

11:06

avoid. That's not the purpose of this.

11:08

The purpose of this is to understand the

11:12

the absolute necessity of um talking to

11:17

people or what's currently known as

11:21

networking.

11:22

God, I hate that phrase. But anyway,

11:25

yeah, it's about talking to people. And

11:27

you can apply this same thing to

11:31

just about anything. It doesn't have to

11:33

be an auto mechanic. Maybe it's a a guy

11:37

that can rebuild computers or whatever

11:40

the hell it is. But this specifically is

11:45

geared people who want to or need to do

11:50

this underground economy so they can

11:53

live

11:55

because you know if you don't you're

11:59

going to be up Shit's Creek because you

12:03

know all the companies and all the

12:05

powers that be out there they don't care

12:09

if you're being you know charged 50

12:12

times s more at a a certain car dealer

12:15

or whatnot for a car repair. They're not

12:19

going to care about all that when when

12:21

the rent comes due. And I include a

12:24

mortgage payment as rent because well,

12:27

basically that's what it is.

12:30

None of that matters. I mean, they they

12:32

don't care when they come to the door,

12:35

proverbally speaking, wanting the rent,

12:38

whoever it is, they don't care if you

12:41

blow goats for a living to get the

12:43

[ __ ] money. It's just, do you have

12:46

the money? So, if you want to have the

12:50

money,

12:51

you're going to have to find other means

12:54

to do that. And one of them is by saving

12:56

money. And the way to do that is as I

13:00

just described.

13:02

So yeah, um the newer cars,

13:07

um everything in particular since I

13:10

13:15

have increasingly been designed to be uh

13:19

not only repair dependent, but they want

13:24

to nail and pigeon hole you down to

13:28

service centers.

13:30

So, in other words, it's a it's another

13:32

thing of constantly keeping you in debt

13:36

and bleeding you dry and keeping your

13:39

ability to move forward very low by

13:43

taking all of your money they possibly

13:45

can at all times.

13:49

And that's what it is. Right, wrong, or

13:52

whatever you wish to call it, but that's

13:54

what the hell it is.

13:57

So bearing that in mind, talk to people,

14:00

make friends, and if you really want to

14:04

get more information,

14:06

talk to me. I'm here. I am a resource

14:11

just waiting for you to reach out to me.

14:16

And uh I can talk to you. I can help you

14:18

with finding just about anything for

14:21

that matter. And you know, it's about

14:23

making connections.

14:26

I can't help you in the blowing goats

14:29

department. That's that's something I

14:32

don't do.

14:34

Until next time, this is Ernest and

14:38

that's all I've got for today.