The Dark Truth of Exotic Cars: Steve Hamilton Exposes The Used Car Market, Ripoffs, and Scams

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dark Truth of Exotic Cars: Steve Hamilton Exposes The Used Car Market, Ripoffs, and Scams

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Iced Coffee Hour
• Hosts: Graham Stephan & Jack Selby
• Episode: The Dark Truth of Exotic Cars: Steve Hamilton Exposes The Used Car Market, Ripoffs, and Scams
• Release Date: October 7, 2024

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1. Introduction

In this compelling episode of "The Iced Coffee Hour," hosts Graham Stephan and Jack Selby engage in an in-depth conversation with Steve Hamilton, a renowned figure in the exotic car industry. Steve offers an unvarnished look into the high-stakes world of exotic cars, shedding light on the used car market, common ripoffs, and the realities behind maintaining an impressive car collection.

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2. Steve’s Exquisite Car Collection

Bugatti Chiron SS Purchase

• [00:34] Steve Hamilton: "This is The Bugatti Chiron SS here."
• Steve discusses his acquisition of the Bugatti Chiron SS, highlighting the emotional and financial investment involved.
• Cost: $4.2 million, inclusive of taxes and additional fees.
• Unique Approach: Steve rarely test drives these cars before purchase, relying instead on their reputation and reviews.

Maintenance and Upgrades

• [02:18] Host: "$135,000 a month on maintaining a fleet of supercars."
• Steve reveals the extensive costs associated with his fleet, covering repairs, maintenance, and upgrades.
  • Finance Charges: Approximately $120k/month.
  • Insurance: Roughly $70,000 annually.
  • Total Monthly Costs: Over $260,000 to maintain and own the fleet.

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3. Business Overview

Revenue and Growth

• [01:26] Steve Hamilton: "So now we're doing a little bit north of $350 million in revenue."
• Steve outlines his business's impressive revenue, indicating a robust financial standing.

Challenges in the Used Car Market

• Market Fluctuations: The used car market has experienced significant volatility, especially during and post-COVID.
• Business Strategy: Despite market challenges, Steve emphasizes the importance of maintaining a strong bottom line while seeking avenues for top-line growth.

Brand Relationships and Allocations

• [12:52] Steve Hamilton: "When you buy a Bugatti like that, you don't go into the dealership, talk to the salesperson, give them a price."
• Steve delves into the complexities of securing allocations for high-end brands like Bugatti and McLaren, highlighting the importance of longstanding relationships and substantial financial commitments.

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4. Insights into the Exotic Car Market

Current Market Trends

• Depreciation Concerns: Steve addresses the current trend of cars depreciating below their MSRP, particularly post-COVID.
• Electric Vehicles Impact: The rise of electric vehicles (EVs) like Tesla has influenced market perceptions and values of traditional performance cars.

Investment Strategies

• High-Value Investments: Steve recommends focusing on rare and highly valued cars like the Porsche 918S and Koenigsegg Jesko for potential appreciation.
• Avoiding Common Pitfalls: Emphasis on avoiding overproduction models that tend to depreciate significantly.

Future Market Predictions

• [77:54] Steve Hamilton: "There's very few that are still hanging on to good values."
• Steve anticipates continued challenges in the luxury tire and wheel segment but remains optimistic about selective high-value investments.

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5. Personal Journey and Entrepreneurial Insights

Luck vs. Skill

• [15:08] Steve Hamilton: "I think it's 90% skill, 10% luck."
• Steve attributes his success primarily to skill, emphasizing timing and strategic decision-making over mere chance.

Early Business Ventures

• [15:25] Steve Hamilton: Recounts his entrepreneurial beginnings in elementary school selling snacks and progressing to more substantial ventures like wheel and tire packages on eBay.
• Business Growth: From small-scale operations to founding Enthusiast Enterprises, culminating in a substantial revenue stream.

Upbringing and Financial Lessons

• [20:12] Steve Hamilton: Grew up in a financially constrained environment, which instilled in him a strong work ethic and a keen eye for value and investment.

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6. Personal Life and Values

Marriage and Family

• [28:46] Steve Hamilton: Discusses his late father’s influence and the importance of open communication and trust in his marriage.
• Parenting Philosophy: Strives to instill financial responsibility and a strong work ethic in his children, balancing their access to wealth with meaningful life lessons.

Mental Health and Work-Life Balance

• [93:56] Steve Hamilton: Shares his approach to managing business demands while pursuing personal interests like obtaining a pilot's license and playing golf, highlighting the importance of balance to avoid burnout.

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7. Renting and Sharing the Exotic Car Experience

Car Rentals

• [64:00] Steve Hamilton: Details the process of renting out cars from his collection, emphasizing safety and controlled experiences.
• Revenue Generation: Car rentals provide an additional revenue stream, contributing significantly without compromising the cars' value.

Customer Vetting and Safety

• [65:32] Steve Hamilton: Implements strict guidelines to ensure respectful and safe usage of his vehicles, addressing past incidents to refine the rental process.

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8. Community Building and Influencer Relationships

Collaborations with Influencers

• [42:34] Steve Hamilton: Discusses partnerships with automotive influencers like Stradman and Cody, which amplify his brand reach and drive revenue through strategic collaborations.

Impact of Content Creation

• [40:16] Steve Hamilton: Utilizes his YouTube channel as a platform to showcase his car collection, fostering a community that appreciates and respects exotic cars without contributing to their depreciation.

Challenges with Brand Relationships

• [07:34] Steve Hamilton: Navigates complex relationships with brands, balancing personal interests with brand expectations and allocations.

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9. Future Plans and Aspirations

Expansion Goals

• [50:35] Steve Hamilton: Mentions ambitions to build a car community in Orlando and open themed restaurants, blending his passion for cars with culinary ventures.

Investment Diversification

• Real Estate and Additional Ventures: While primarily invested in cars, Steve also maintains a presence in real estate, ensuring diversified asset management.

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10. Conclusion

Steve Hamilton's candid discussion offers invaluable insights into the exotic car market's intricacies, the importance of strategic relationships, and the balancing act required to maintain a successful business while nurturing personal passions and family values. His experiences underscore the blend of skill, timing, and relentless dedication necessary to thrive in the high-octane world of exotic automobiles.

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Notable Quotes:

• Steve Hamilton [00:34]: "This is The Bugatti Chiron SS here."
• Steve Hamilton [01:26]: "So now we're doing a little bit north of $350 million in revenue."
• Steve Hamilton [12:52]: "When you buy a Bugatti like that, you don't go into the dealership, talk to the salesperson, give them a price."
• Steve Hamilton [15:08]: "I think it's 90% skill, 10% luck."
• Steve Hamilton [28:46]: "It was weird because you are getting personal and I have no problem with that."
• Steve Hamilton [64:00]: "It's more about an experience than going to a wedding and taking these."
• Steve Hamilton [93:12]: "Money will always be an insecurity."

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and personal anecdotes shared by Steve Hamilton during the episode, providing listeners with a thorough understanding of the topics covered without needing to listen to the entire podcast.

Transcript

[Unknown Host 1]

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[Steve Hamilton]

This is The Bugatti Chiron SS here.

[Unknown Host 2]

How much was that?

[Steve Hamilton]

4.2. With taxes and everything else. Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

Wow. 4.2.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yes. I don't even think I test drove any of you.

[Unknown Host 1]

Didn't even test drive it.

[Steve Hamilton]

Nothing.

[Unknown Host 1]

You spent $4 million without even trying the car.

[Steve Hamilton]

I get more joy out of other people experiencing these vehicles than my own self. I get joy out of the relationships that I foster from having this ch. I'm shocked at when these people take my cars for the first time and they're a little more bold than I would be, but they nail it like whistling Diesel. Like he's doing donuts in a tight parking lot. And an all wheel drive Bugatti with new tires.

[Unknown Host 2]

How often do you lose money on cars?

[Steve Hamilton]

I probably took a $300,000 hit on my Bugatti Chiron because of what we did on our YouTube channel. But we want to have fun. Like we're very hard on our cars. These are driven in the winter. We race them, we break them constantly. As I say this, I'm decreasing the value of the cars further.

[Unknown Host 1]

Where is the business at now?

[Steve Hamilton]

So now we're doing a little bit north of $350 million in revenue. So, like, I'm not incentivized to grow revenue on this channel all that much. But whatever I can do that is a big lever. I'm going to do it.

[Unknown Host 1]

How do you one up this car?

[Steve Hamilton]

I see. I don't know if I could share this, but.

[Unknown Host 2]

Steve, thank you so much for coming on the iced coffee. I really appreciate it.

[Steve Hamilton]

It is my pleasure. Thank you guys for having me again.

[Unknown Host 2]

This is a crazy warehouse. I absolutely love it. This is Jack and I's dream to be able to have something like one day for our podcast.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah. And I would say this was probably way out of my dream perspective when I was young. So I'm just very thankful to have what we have here. And the funny thing is we're actually missing a bunch of cars too, which is an unintentional humble Brag, but I wish we had the full breadth of vehicles because there's some heavy hitters that are not here today.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yeah, I saw your breakdown where you went over how much it cost to maintain a fleet of supercars. Yes, $135,000 a month.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah, it's absolutely insane. Now that did include like some. Some upgrades that we did to vehicles as well. But upgrades are paramount to functionality of the channel because we need to differentiate these vehicles. But more importantly, I just love having cars that shoot fire, that are loud, that are faster.

[Unknown Host 2]

How does that break down? Like, how many of those are just like monthly car payments versus insurance versus repairs.

[Steve Hamilton]

So the vlog we did just on the maintenance was legit. Just repairs, maintenance, upgrades. But as far as, like cart payments go, we did a vlog before where it covered like, finance costs. So I financed some of the vehicles. Quite a few of the vehicles I own outright as the interest rate is getting a little kind of bonkers right now. Yeah, I'm leaning a little bit heavier on higher cash down payments are fully paying in cash, but I think. I think my total output for cars is about 120k a month in finance charges. And then it was that much more in upgrades mods. Insurance is about 65, $70,000 a year now the. On the entire fleet. So we're at. We're north of 260, 270 to maintain and own this fleet. Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

You mentioned shooting fire. Can you make any car like a Corolla shoot fire?

[Steve Hamilton]

Probably. Probably. It would be difficult. It's all about like, tuning and timing and having the exhaust valve open up while there's still like a spark. So there's a cost of power, but yeah, I think you could. Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

What's the most expensive upgrade you've ever done on a car?

[Steve Hamilton]

We built this 2000 horsepower Nissan GTR that was almost 250k in upgrades and mods. And we did it early on when we were still figuring the channel out. We did it so that we could have a car that a lot of people relate to and love. And then we realized after it was it took a little longer than we expected to deliver. We realized that first I hated the car. Like, it wasn't a super hypercar and it's. It's not fun to go in a car that has like a cheaper interior and just a cheaper feel. And it's not built like a super hypercar. Now there's a lot of GTR fans and I don't want to like, crap on the car that so Many people love because to a lot of people, that's a really fantastic car. But it's hard going into that when you're driving, you know, McLaren 765 LT, a Bugatti Chiron. And then we realize that, like, our demographic doesn't want to see Nissan gtrs, they want to see super and hypercars. So spent all this money, waited all this time, got the vehicle, and then just the vlogs didn't do well.

[Unknown Host 1]

How does it feel differently driving a 2,000 horsepower car compared to, like a 700 horsepower car?

[Steve Hamilton]

That 2,000 horsepower car, I would say that particular one felt like, unhinged, wild. Like, it, it just, it felt like a Nissan GTR that was made to 2,000 horsepower, where you're like, the steering's not really the way that it would be for a bugatti that is 2000 horsepower. The, the brakes are not really where they should be. So it felt kind of wild and crazy, but from an acceleration standpoint, like, just insane. There is, there's. And if you take the Ramac, that is near 2000 horsepower, it's the fastest, quickest car in the world. It is a night and day difference from 2000 to 700. Yes.

[Unknown Host 2]

Is there diminishing return, though, beyond like a certain point, like 1500 horsepower? You really need more than that.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah, because you lose traction at that point. Like, like the Ramac has low center of gravity with a battery near the floor. It has all wheel drive so that one can get the traction. But a lot of cars are rear wheel drive where you're losing traction above 1500. So I think beyond 2000, which sounds insane, but beyond 2000s, where you're really losing that even on an all wheel drive electric vehicle, like there's anything beyond that. You're just spinning tires, I think.

[Unknown Host 1]

Okay, so we, we talked about the most expensive upgrade you've ever done to a car. What about the most expensive car you've bought?

[Steve Hamilton]

This is the Bugatti Chiron SS here. We spec'd it almost three years ago, Tommy and I. Tommy's my collection manager. Really great guy. Worked super hard together. Spent more time on this than any other car. I think we put 40 to 60 hours getting it perfect and, and then waited two and a half years and we finally got it just last June.

[Unknown Host 2]

How much was that?

[Steve Hamilton]

4.2. With taxes and everything else. Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

Wow.

[Unknown Host 1]

4.2.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yes. And I, I had a, the base Bugatti, so I had basically the cheapest model, which I paid upper twos for. And then this is like their highest tier model in the Chiron. So I went from, and I think there's the S, the, the, the S, the Sport, the Pure Sport and then the Super Sport in between it.

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[Steve Hamilton]

Yes.

[Unknown Host 2]

What does it feel like to drive a Bugatti?

[Steve Hamilton]

That one's like, it's like a Bentley with 1600 horsepower. It's actually the most comfortable of all the hypercars. It's really easy to drive. It's timeless. They don't put like a big screen in it. It's a very subtle small display like below the speedometer. And so it's just very timeless, very luxurious, elegant, smooth. It's quiet. But it has 16 cylinders so it's just like this low rumble. And my son who is, I'm so happy that he's 15 and has his permit now because he's driven like half of the cars that I have. And it's so fun sitting next to this 15 year old child getting his perspective on it. And that was the first car we had when we got his permit. It's so easy and great where I'm like this, I want this to be the first car you've ever legally driven is.

[Unknown Host 2]

How does insurance like that though?

[Steve Hamilton]

Well, so I thought, this is what I heard and I'm not going to dig any deeper but apparently when they are at the permit stage, you don't need to notify they're not a licensed driver. You can like, it's a permissive driver type thing where I can, I can put them in a vehicle but once they are a licensed driver in the household and somebody should verify out there and leave it in the comment because I'm genuinely curious. But I, I, I do believe this is the way that it is. Once they're licensed drivers, when you have to notify and then my insurance probably goes absolutely haywire, my guess is he'll have to be excluded from the policy.

[Unknown Host 2]

Is he going to take his driver's exam in that car?

[Steve Hamilton]

I mean, that would make for a great vlog, wouldn't it?

[Unknown Host 2]

Stradman did that. I think that was one of his most viewed ever videos. Was 16 year old with a Bugatti.

[Steve Hamilton]

I think I'll have my yes go right around that time. So the Koenigsegg YesCo, which they just delivered the first one in the US like a week ago. That would be much cooler to have them do it.

[Unknown Host 1]

Wait, so this car, did you buy it new or did you brand new? Yeah, brand new. From Bugatti.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yep.

[Unknown Host 1]

And how did you get the allocation for that? Because I know that's very complicated.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah, that, that's a story in itself. So the long story short on this, and it was kind of wild what they did with it was I had a Chiron SS. I put $600,000 down on this vehicle. They said that it was a, a, essentially a guaranteed wait spot. So I was like the second in line if anybody canceled their order. And, and they said high probability that that happens. And then I think, and Bugatti's under different ownership now, and we're, we're close with Mate and he's a great guy, but this was like prior or transitional period for them. They definitely didn't like, they definitely didn't like our channel and us doing snowboarding and donuts and, and stuff with my Bugatti, that, that did not align with their values at that time. So my gut says that, that there was some strong arming where they got us out of that spot. And so all of a sudden I have 600 grand on for half a year, a year, and I have no Bugatti. So then we just started calling dealers and seeing if anybody canceled because it's different to be on a wait spot versus being like, oh, yeah, we have a canceled customer. I have an actual allocation. And then we found one where they're like, no, this is an actual build spot. Like this guy canceled and you can have it. So that's how I got it. Essentially. It was, I don't want to say it was an F you to Bugatti because again, really value the relationship with those guys now. And they built an exceptional car for me, but I'M just curious what, what it looked like over there at Bugatti once they found out that we had.

[Unknown Host 1]

This allocation and you paid like full retail for it.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah, everything.

[Unknown Host 1]

There's no markup on that?

[Steve Hamilton]

No, no, unfortunately, like, when the relationship, it's really neat in this market if you have a good enough relationship with the manufacturer or like a dealer. And I had bought my Koenigsegg Yesco through this dealer and the Remac as well through that dealer. I had a good enough relationship with them where they offered at that. And sometimes there's a little markup. But once you, once you have built like a status with a brand like McLaren, with Bugatti, with Koenigsegg, you can buy all the stuff at msrp, which doesn't sound great, right? Because traditionally people buying a car under six figures, they're like, I want 5, 10% off of them. Maybe not that high, but. But it's really hard to get a special car like this at MSRP if, if you don't have that relationship, you're paying hundreds of thousand dollars. On top of that, the new McLaren P18, that will replace the P1, they're only going to build 350 of those, I think, and that's going to be a really hard car to get at that. And, and they offered it to me because of my relationship with my local McLaren dealer. I bought a 765, a couple 720s from them, and they're just like, that's just part of the package of being an owner.

[Unknown Host 1]

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[Steve Hamilton]

No. And I don't even think I test drove any of you.

[Unknown Host 1]

Didn't even test drive.

[Steve Hamilton]

Nothing.

[Unknown Host 1]

You spent $4 million without even trying the car.

[Steve Hamilton]

Nothing I've bought. I don't think I've ever test drove any of the specific vehicles that I've bought. You just know they're special. You look at videos, you're like, it's a Koenigsegg. It's a Bugatti. Of course it's going to be fun and exhilarating.

[Unknown Host 1]

$4 million.

[Steve Hamilton]

I know. I mean, I had the one before it that was like 100 less horsepower. They're basically the same car. They really. This one looks way cooler. It's longer. It has a lot more like carbon. And then the. The whole accents in the front fenders. But it's really like if you blindfolded me and put me in both of them, I'd be like, I have no. I have no idea which one I'm in.

[Unknown Host 1]

So hypothetically speaking, if you wanted to sell this car right now, would you be able to sell it for a profit?

[Steve Hamilton]

I do, yeah. I think the SS are still going way over market. Now, our channel on vehicles. So we have to. We're very hard on our cars. Possibly definitely top three for most hard on our vehicles, maybe top one for hypercar. We drive them very hard. We race them, we break them constantly. I'm dec. As I say this, I'm decreasing the value of the cars further. But we, we want to have fun like these. These are driven in the winter. They. They don't just sit in a garage and I'll sell them if I don't. If I don't want them. So there is, There is that factor working against me. But the rarity of them and the great spec I think works more in my favor than our channel is hurting them. So I probably could get four and a half to five for that vehicle in current state. And that's the case for most stuff that I've got within the last few years. It gets a little more difficult when they're older.

[Unknown Host 2]

How much of your life would you say is Luck versus skill.

[Steve Hamilton]

As an entrepreneur, I think most of us hate the word luck. Right. Because it's about, it's about timing and having the tenacity to take an advantage, to take advantage of that timing or having a right idea to execute at that time. Right. I think that I look back at everything that's happened in my life and you're like, that this particular thing happened at that point 15 years ago to set me up for this. So I think it's a series of steps that have happened where I've made a significant pivot in my life, a change and it's just helped build me to, to where I'm fortunate enough to be right now. So I think it's, I think it's just timing and making the right decision at the right time.

[Unknown Host 1]

So what percent would you say is.

[Steve Hamilton]

Luck and skill in my life? Like with luck? I. I think like if I just think of selling cars, like investments, executing, I think it's, it sounds, it sounds bragging. I don't mean it to be, But I think it's 90 skill, 10 luck. That's what it feels like for me.

[Unknown Host 2]

What, what was your first business?

[Steve Hamilton]

My first business ever was when I was in a sixth. Well technically when I was in elementary school, I was like selling snacks to neighborhood kids. Yes. Yeah. I would go buy them from all the year jewelry wherever and then pay a buck for a box of Little Debbie's, then go resell them for more.

[Unknown Host 1]

Pretty lucrative.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah. I mean, hey, when you turn a dollar into like two or three bucks back then, that's good roi. Yeah. Yeah. And especially when you account for inflation. That's like, that's like four or five dollars in today's money. So it was pretty decent. But my first serious business was when I. So I started installing radios and vehicles. And as I mentioned, like every step has been a gradual kind of. Well, I'll walk you through it. Started installing radios and cars. Created a business card. It, it got me better understanding the mechanics works of cars got me a little bit more business minded. But it wasn't driving significant revenue by any means. Right. It was an install or two a week. And then bought myself a Camaro with my own money. I went and financed it. It was a 94Z28 and the car broke. So it was so bad where I definitely could not afford. I think it was a cracked head or a head gasket issue and I didn't have the money to go fix that so I parted it out on ebay. So you take the combination of me building this ebay account where I had built 20, 30 feedback, built some positive trust with people, positive feedback. And that I had this business card in this other venture that I ran. Then I had my idea to go sell wheels and tires on ebay. That kind of just came to me probably when I was, I was looking for wheels for that, for some vehicle of another and went and walked into this little manufacturer because part of it's because I'm cheap and I was trying to buy them at the best price. You know, you go to a Firestone and then you're like, well these guys are marking it up. Why don't I go directly to the manufacturer? So found the manufacturer, they were pretty local to me. And then I found out that hey, these wheels are actually quite a bit cheaper than what the Firestone selling them to me at. And in addition to that, like there's people selling them on ebay for where I can go make money at this price. So I walked in there, I had my radio installation business card on me. I already had the ebay account set up. And somehow, some way this only this manufacturer would allow, but somehow, some way they let this 19 year old kid walk in and start a relationship with them where anyone else would have turned me away if I didn't have business tax paperwork and actual LLC established. And, and then I just started listing stuff on ebay and it started selling right away. And the best part about it is I didn't need cash to go buy the product. I can list what they stocked locally, sell it, use the person's money to go buy the product and then pocket the difference. And that's how we started on ebay.

[Unknown Host 1]

So it's near drop shipping, like going straight to the, to the wholesaler and then selling it out of sending it.

[Steve Hamilton]

To people and exactly we would go pick it up. Because I didn't trust this manufacturer to like, like ebay was. It has always been just like Amazon where they're very particular about the whole buying experience. So I would actually go drive there. I bought this crappy old like 1989 GMC van. I drive there, pick up the product, bring it back, package it myself, ship it myself out of my location. So yeah, it was near dropship, leveraging their inventory but fulfilling it myself. And then pretty quickly you learn that they run sales or other stuff where there, there's incentive to stock. So I went and got, I think two months later I went and got a small office by our apartment building that I was operating out of and, and started just Operating my own business at age 19 out of this office and, and picking up wheels and strapping them and, and getting them shipped out. Then we transitioned into wheel and tires. I think I'm one of the first guys that did wheel and tire packages on ebay. Built our own brand with one of my partners called Mr. Wheel. It was our first e comm website that got us out of marketplaces like ebay. And then we, we partnered with some other Sean and Ben who had built custom offsets. Fitment Industries. We launched our own brands that we manufactured in China. Anthem, Arkon. So we realized we had all these businesses and kind of separate partnership partnerships and deals that we had worked throughout the way. So in 2019, we kind of merged them all together where we just created one kind of parent company called Enthusiast Enterprises. And all the owners kind of rolled up and owned all of the companies and had their share. So that's the way that it is today. We have a great partnership. Everybody works together well. And so. So now we're doing. I think we're doing a little bit north of $350 million in revenue this year. We should finish with and. And just shipping three to 4,000 wheels and tires a day out of our facility. What started as, you know, four or five sets a week.

[Unknown Host 1]

And what I love is people see like a younger guy, sure. With a bunch of cars, and they think that this guy, you know, he probably has like money from his parents or something like that. But you've mentioned before that you grew up completely broke and you even said your dad was earning like $13 an hour supporting, you know, multiple children.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

Which is.

[Steve Hamilton]

I don't know how easy. Yeah. I don't know how they did that. He was a maintenance man, and my mom cleaned homes part time, but she had to take care of the kids most of the time. And. Yeah, you're right. Like, it's hard to. It's hard to. To reconcile how someone got to where they are. And I think a lot of times it is familial wealth, I guess, where they. Where they're able to achieve that. And I see a lot of that. I think I'm just attracted to people that. That are, like, getting down and dirty, like, just use it for a living. Yeah, I just, I just, like, from a personality perspective, I just. I just get along a lot better with those people. And I just find that they're. They're more my people. Like. And I've spent 20 years on income making in the prior 20 years poor, 0 to 19 didn't have any money. And I just feel like I relate to the younger group of the earlier group of people in my life a lot better.

[Unknown Host 2]

When did you realize as a kid that you were broke?

[Steve Hamilton]

You just know, like, you know, you see what's around you. We didn't live in a bad city. We lived in like Carol Stream, Illinois. We bounced around a bunch. I went to five different elementary schools and most of them were like blue collar to a little bit better than that. Like suburbs. They weren't horrible suburbs, but so there's always a mix of kids that have money. And back then, like if you had a, if you had a 2500 square foot house, which is, which is a sizable house, right? But that was a mansion to me. Like, I remember just looking at this neighborhood by me and they were all 2,000 and I'm like, gosh, like I can't imagine having something like this in my life. And you just know like, you show up to school without enough money for, for field trips. You know, you're, you're, you're embarrassed to be dropped off if you have a car. We didn't even have a car till I was almost 10. And then it's like, gosh, mom, can you drop me off like 50ft behind the drop off line? You, you just know. It's hard to, it's hard to quantify it.

[Unknown Host 1]

But you know, in hindsight, are you glad you grew up that way?

[Steve Hamilton]

I love it. I wouldn't change a single thing about my childhood. Like we had a ton of freedom and, and I don't know if that was unique to my parents or if that's more, you know, how it is with, with income related, but like we can go anywhere doing it or the time it was probably more, more of like the time since that was 80s, 90s. But I love the freedoms that I had. I love the closeness of like my siblings. We all still live within four or five minutes of each other right now. And I think it does teach you a lot later in life to appreciate what you have, that you have to grind and work really hard to get where you're at.

[Unknown Host 1]

What did it teach you?

[Steve Hamilton]

I mean, it taught me to be like up until a few years ago, like, I, I hassle and haggle everything still and almost to a fault sometimes I had to like evaluate the way I was like paying my. I have a personal trainer that we have here at our gym. He tr like, I, I'm haggling this guy and I'm like, finally I'm like, gosh, you know, I just got to pay this guy. Like, he's a good guy.

[Unknown Host 2]

And you're just finally got to pay him.

[Steve Hamilton]

He's a good guy, he's talented. And this kind of was the way it was with a lot of things. Now I, I tip well at restaurants, I always have. But like, you just get so used to, to like having to fight and watch every dollar when you're growing, when you grow up that way where I'm like, I shouldn't be paying this guy 50 a session. Like he, he charged this. But I'm like, hey, if I buy 20 of them, can I get him? I shouldn't be doing that. I should be, I should be paying him higher than that actually and find ways for him to make more money to keep him loya.

[Unknown Host 1]

And hopefully he doesn't watch this.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah, no, that's true. I'm like, I'm like, hey, if I bring in a few more people but you still work your same hour, can we do it at, you know, 125? And of course he's, he's going to do that and he works hard and he's worth every penny of it. So I shifted my, I had to shift my mindset because you do, you learn to fight for every dollar and watch. And watch every dollar as well. And so I think that that's still a good thing because I'm still cautious. I'm not just going to go divvy that out, but I'm still going to go negotiate, search really hard on cars, making sure that I'm getting a good deal. I'm going to. And I manage all of my, I mean I have an account, but I manage all my finances. I deal with everything that gets fixed, repaired at my homes. I do way more like, everyone's like, who's your assistant? I'm like, I don't have it. I don't, I mean, Henry, Henry helps me with the Hamilton Collection channel related things. But like, I do all my stuff. I always have. I spend 10 hours a week managing emails related to properties and everything and, and like, I like being close to that stuff and, and I don't know, I've gone on a tangent, but I guess, I guess what I'm getting at is it teaches you a lot growing up that way to, to keep an eye on that stuff. But you have to be careful when you achieve wealth and some success, it's important to take care of those.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yeah. How else has your perspective on money changed?

[Steve Hamilton]

It was, it was very, it's it's different. Like you, you, you maintain that same hunger. Like I, I never lost that hunger to be successful and earn income. More of it was to be successful and break the rut that my parents put me in. And God bless them, they worked hard. My dad's no longer with us, but he worked hard. They both had their faults. I think that I was always driven. I'm still driven the wheel entire companies, I'm very involved in them today and we have a great C suite that runs the companies day to day. I'm more high level, I do some checks and balances and more high level ideas. I've never really felt like it's been rare where I've sat and I've felt successful. Where you just sit and you're like, I'm gonna just sit and embellish what I've done and what I've created. It's, it's more like just driven by like success like wanting to grow the company. Like there's like, there's a competitive aspect to it and, and, but, but like I, I am at an interesting time in my life where at one point I had I think 35, 40 properties and like, and I had a manager that did manage the properties but I was still involved to a point. I had seven pet supplies plus stores, I had an Arby's, I had other business investments and like I look at it now and I'm like, I don't know how I was able to manage that. Like I don't have the mental tenacity that I, that I did three years ago. And, and part of it was because I made a decision that, that I just wanna, I've built enough equity in my primary business where I just don't need all of this other stuff. Like it's not worth the stress. And also real estate kind of peak valued about a year ago, a year and a half ago. So I've always timed stuff really well with, with real estate. I bought when it was really low. I don't do a lot of activity when, when the market is slightly increasing. It's more like okay, there's been huge double digit growth in real estate for two or three years. It's time to sell at this point. Like it's, it's going to level out. And so I sold a ton of my properties in the last year to two to year and a half. Really sold off all the pet supplies plus stores. The Arby's actually went out of business. That was partners that were operating it and there's a Long story to that, but that's gone. And right now it's really just wheel entire companies and then this channel, the Hamilton collection that we run here. And I still feel like, mentally I still feel like I'm pretty full, but that's why I'm like, it's crazy to think back at what I managed before. And I don't, I don't know how I can. I don't know. I don't know how I could go back and do something like that.

[Unknown Host 2]

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Sutton bank member fdic Terms and conditions apply. Thank you so much to Ramp for sponsoring this episode. And back to the show. Pardon me if this is too personal, but you mentioned your dad passed away. Did he ever get to see everything that you've built?

[Steve Hamilton]

Not, not the, not the cars, but, you know, at. He passed away in 2017, so he saw 14 years of me growing and, and I was, we definitely. He worked actually for the company in the last year and so he, he knew what. We had grown. We were in a 100,000 square foot building. We had probably 200 employees at the time. So he got to see it. And it's weird. You're, you're getting personal and I have no problem with that. I think it's great and like the first thing I think of though is, is like, and maybe this is why I'm so success driven is. And maybe it's part of their generation, but like, what they didn't do was really issue praise. It felt like there was always a little bit of element of jealousy kind of, and then expectations that came along with that. And so I think that's part of why you're like, well, if I haven't done enough or if I'm not getting praise, like, how much harder do I need to work to get that price? So they. I know deep down inside because I would hear from other people how they would, how they would brag and do other things, but it's like if, if you have a kid that's doing well, no matter what it is, like, you don't understand how, how far it goes. Just saying, hey, like you, you've done a great job. I'm really proud of you. And I, and I didn't really get that. I'm not looking for like a SAP story in any way. It's just. I don't know why. My brain's just wired to think about that when I'm asked that question, it's like, well, I know they were proud, but they didn't really express it to me. They saw it, but I didn't. I don't remember really hearing. Hearing how awesome it was from them.

[Unknown Host 2]

So would that have changed the way you run business or go about that?

[Steve Hamilton]

Who knows, right? Yeah, maybe. Maybe I would have become content. Probably not, right? Probably not. But, but who knows? You never know.

[Unknown Host 2]

Now with your kids, how are you approaching. Approaching the situation differently?

[Steve Hamilton]

It's totally different. So like, there were no I love yous from my dad either. Like that, that is more a generational thing. Like, I have a lot of. There's a lot of people my age where, like that, that just, that was a weird taboo where, like my kids, I tell them 10 times a day how much I love them. Just totally different. Like, we're very close. All three of my kids are very close. You. It's, it's weird because they have a lot of things. They have access to a lot of things that other kids don't have. So it's, it's. How can I fill them with love, teach them the value of a dollar and still work ethic in them while they have all of this extra stuff? So that, that's the constant balance with the kids.

[Unknown Host 1]

Yeah, that's a, That's a tricky.

[Steve Hamilton]

It really is thing to figure out. And I read somewhere and you where the most important thing when they surveyed a bunch of kids and how they operated later in life. And the most important thing that taught kids discipline or led to success in life was if they had a job. And I'm like, maybe that was just like the Department of Labor or something. Just trying to like there are, there are shortages in the lower end sector. And I'm like, you never know what you read. Like, it literally could have been, it could have been sponsored by someone there. But, but I'm like, that one got me thinking where I'm like, I've always told my kids, like, if you do really well in school, as long as you have another hobby, whether it's football, uh, my son does coding and he does workouts. So if he's maintaining straight A's and has something else, like, I think it would be unfair to ask him to work. Cause he's already working really hard to do that stuff. But it has to be just beyond straight A's. There has to be something else. And now if there's ever a point where, where, where that stops, where it's okay, I'm, I'm just doing school, I'm getting straight A, then you, you gotta go to work.

[Unknown Host 1]

It's funny because my parents didn't let me work when I was growing up because they wanted me to focus on school.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

But I feel like for me, that ended up working out really well because then I never had money growing up. So all my friends would go out to eat and I would go and I would just watch the meat because I had no money to pay for food. And so it made me want to have money so bad. And all of this, like built up until the point where I got my first job when I was 18, you know, immediately getting a job. And then I started saving every dollar because I knew the, the value of a dollar. But maybe it's just how you, how you take it, you know?

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah. And, and we've always told our kids, like, what, what I've been fortunate enough to achieve in life, like, this is not the norm. Don't, don't expect that life is going to be easy for you. It wasn't easy for me. Like, most of the youth today think that they're going to get rich quick in one to two years. But the vast majority of people are my age or older that have achieved even close to this level of wealth. And they, and they will say it is a long grind. It is a 10, 20 plus year grind. Don't expect to get rich overnight. Drop shipping or doing whatever the next fad is. I was just having this conversation with Henry who answers a lot of our DMS for the Hamilton Collection. And it's like hey, like he, he's thinking about whether or not to go to college. And I'm like, you're young, you live with your parents. Like go to college, work, start a business, do all of it now because in five or seven years you might have a wife, you may have children, real responsibilities. Like that is the time, that is the prime time. Even in high school. Like that is the prime time for you to, to use every bit of your time to make the second half of your life a lot easier through hard work and diligence.

[Unknown Host 1]

Young what I found interesting from the first podcast that we did with you was you explained your business and you guys were valued at a billion dollars.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

And then the next year everything came to a lull. I think that you explained it was because of the lack of like the capital injection from the government, the stimulus money, the loans and all of that stuff. People started buying tires a little bit less and it went down. Cut in half.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

$500 million. Where is the business at now?

[Steve Hamilton]

We've had three flat years now and we are outpacing the market by being flat because I think and distributors that we talk with high level people that are doing billion plus in revenue on the, on the B2B end, the market has shrunk. I think part of that is because there's less disposable income, shrinking middle class, interest rates are going. The market for wheel for luxury items always shrinks when it's tough. And depending on who you talk to, some will say it's. Most business owners I talk to say it is definitely tougher now than it was during COVID years when people had money. But then you look at like unemployment statistics and other thing and, and it looks like actually it's. We're. We're quite okay. But again, most business owners say it's a tough environmental climate, particularly for retail sales so. And luxury items. So I would say that at this point we have to get growth. We've done a fantastic job maintaining bottom line and improving bottom line actually each year since we last spoke, I think it's been a year and a half or two years. But we've improved our bottom line despite being flat pretty significantly. And, but you need to have that growth element as well. So we have a very big portion of the market. We have great bottom line. But I need to get top line growth and, and we had to stop all growth projects for about a year and a half. When we over hired Covid, money ran out like it was all about stabilization for a year and a half. And when you stop growth projects, that's part of the reason why you're flat. Even though we outpaced the market, that's part of the reason why you're not seeing great growth. So now in the last nine months we've kickstarted a lot of growth projects. We're building two new tires, getting new wheel styles out there, launching other initiatives. We've significantly changed our websites, custom offsets and Fitment Industries. Shameless plug.

[Unknown Host 1]

It'll be in the description guys.

[Steve Hamilton]

Significantly change order flow trying to make it still very enthusiast driven but easier for everyone to use. And we're already seeing a little bit of the fruits of the labor where September is actually the first month this year where we're up, we're actually up in units too, which is the funky thing. We're, we're up. There's deflationary pressures that have pushed the cost of tires and wheels down, a lot of discounting. So we're actually up in units. But September is the first month where we're up in dollars. And so we're hoping that the fruits of our labor of all of the, all of the projects that we kickstarted again get us growing. So once we have that element, we're probably, we won't sell if it's south of 500 million and I think we're very close to that now. If we got top line growth, it should be based upon discussions we've had with investment banks. It sounds like that's probably on the low end. If we had top line growth, what's.

[Unknown Host 2]

Wrong with not growing and just having a great business that's consistent, that's profitable and you just sit back, let it do its thing.

[Steve Hamilton]

That's the, the worst thing is complacency. They say if you're not growing you're dying. Right. Especially with, I do think market share is decreasing but Internet and E Comm pers purchases are increasing every year. So we need the, the aftermarket automotive sector to get hot again. But I, I, I just don't think you can ever be complacent because then you're stopping growth projects and, and then you get behind. You just, you get behind when you're complacent. There's no way to stay ahead of the game if you're not seeking growth.

[Unknown Host 1]

But you're pretty burnt out. I mean you mentioned that you were working 80 to 100 hour weeks for, I mean you said decades or something like that. So I'm guessing now like you said, you'd probably just want to get a high valuation sell and then I would say I would.

[Steve Hamilton]

So it's, it's different. My, my level of commitment to my wheel entire companies has always been steadfast. Like there, there actually is not burnout there. It is whatever I can do that is a big lever. I'm going to do it right now and I'm going to do it. And it's fun because we have other owners again, but like it's fun having almost complete control. Right. And so do the other guys. Like it's great when you can go in and have things done without really working, worrying about corporate bureaucracy. And I don't think there's a lot of that in our company anyway. And genuinely we have a phenomenal, phenomenal team and an amazing C suite that, where I can be like this is a project that I want to execute and be involved for a few weeks and then pass it off into their, into their trusted hands to go execute it. So right now I would say that, that I'm most passionate about supply chain and relationships with, with brands that we sell that I've had some of them for 20 years. And so, you know, the biggest opportunity I saw was, was focusing on some brands, getting them growing and trying to improve our margin with that brand if we can get them growth. So that's a big part of the reason why we've had EBITDA growth despite being flat was efforts in the supply chain.

[Unknown Host 1]

So you mentioned the revenue this year is expected to be $380 million, $350 million. What would the profit then be on that?

[Steve Hamilton]

I see. I don't know if I could share this, but historically, like if you look back during COVID years when we, when we, when people had endless amounts of money, we actually struggled like it was like 6%. Now it's, it's 10, it's low, it's 10 to 10.5. So we've done really well and you could do the math pretty easily and.

[Unknown Host 1]

You have 40% of that. So we can extrapolate, do a little bit more math.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah, so there's my, there's my annual income from the real entire companies, but my, the real value is, and I'm by no means cash for a lot of people. A lot of people have to put all of their money back in the company and take a small portion out. Like I can take a Lot of that out of the company. The company doesn't like negative working capital can be a bad thing. But we actually have that in a good way where all of the money that we get from customers, the vendor floats, that we get at no interest points. Like I don't, I don't even dip into the credit line. We have, we have access to $50 million worth of capital that we don't touch. We can operate this business cash free, which is crazy when you're doing that much volume a year. And then we don't have great leverage or we have the best leverage where we have, you know, 300,000 plus customers and then we deal with a hundred plus brands. There's, there's no buddy that has leverage on either side of the equation. So like everything about this company is great. We just need freaking top line growth.

[Unknown Host 1]

I'm curious if your YouTube channel funnels growth.

[Steve Hamilton]

It does. So that's part of the, that's part of the business plan. Was like it wasn't the intention, but then we realized that this is a good like loudspeaker for advertising for our channel. The hidden element was getting connected with influencers. Like our team couldn't do it before. And it's because you're emailing from a business that clearly has an agenda. Some people want to earn money and do ads. But like with my collection, I mean my wife and I pretty much donate most of, I mean all of what we make from this channel. I have to keep it separate because I need this channel to be profitable to an aspect and cover costs. So I have to be careful the way I pitch that. But, but we basically look at what the channel makes and my wife and I personally donate all of that income. So like I'm not, I'm not incentivized to grow revenue on this channel all that much. But I would say that because, because of that charitable aspect and we share these cars with like the amount of people that have drive that have driven these cars and access them would shock you. We're at a car show and we have the nicest cars at the show and we're the only guys opening up all of the doors on the cars, letting kids go in and honk horn, start them up and, and again, they're the nicest cars in the show. And so that's always been, been what it's been about and what this channel is about is serving the community and giving them access to cars that they couldn't have had access to otherwise. And because of that, and people know Our message, it's easier for me to get my foot in the door with people. It's, it's, you know, whistle and Diesel has been a really great guy that we have a good relationship with. And, and it's, hey, like, if you're ever in town, just come drive one of my super hypercars. Just let me know. And then that's, that's a pretty good hook, right? And then you get them in and then if they come in and they want to shoot content, all the better. And then if we happen to be going to Tennessee by where he lives or passing through, it's, hey, can we just stop by your compound? Okay, you cool if we shoot a vlog? And so, and sometimes we, we don't ask that if it doesn't make sense, but we foster these relationships. But then I'm like, okay, this guy's like in the automotive sector and he would be a great partner for Fitment Industries and custom offsets. And he's actually, it's funny because there was like a beef that happened with our company and him because some boo boos at our company went and made a comment about mirrors on his truck and, and whistling Diesel doesn't, he doesn't, he doesn't like that stuff. And I don't blame him. So he, he like went on a tirade against custom offsets. So we actually had this weird contentious relationship with him.

[Unknown Host 1]

This is while you were friends with him?

[Steve Hamilton]

This was before.

[Unknown Host 1]

This was before started.

[Steve Hamilton]

So, so like I'm friends with him and then like there was this past contentious relationship, but. But then it just opened up a conversation around like he wants to drive more income. He, he would love to have brand deals. So. So now we're appearing in his videos and brand segments because of the Hamilton collection. And he was one of our biggest drivers of revenue when he pushes an ad for us. And I've, and I've fostered a bunch of those connections at this point. My team gave me a list of people that they couldn't get in contact with. And I think we, 7 out of 10 of them, we had dialogue with and were able to get some capacity of an ad done with this team that they just were not able to get connections with before.

[Unknown Host 2]

Although before we go into that, some people don't know that I have a coffee company. It's called Bankroll Coffee. And our goal is to bring you the highest quality coffee at the most affordable price. Now of course, as far as delivering on that promise goes, I had to do a ton of research on the Best e commerce platforms to use. And that is where our sponsor Shopify is there to help.

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Lowercase again that is shopify.comich to upgrade your selling today for just $1 at shopify.comich. trust me, it's worth it. Thank you so much Shopify for sponsoring this episode. And back to the show.

[Steve Hamilton]

So huge benefit. It might even be, you know, there might be 5 plus percent of growth attributable, which on $350 million revenue is a huge number, right? Maybe more than that.

[Unknown Host 2]

I have to say from my own experience with cars, it is one of the best ways to meet people. When I was 19, I bought a Lotus Elise. I spent pretty much all of my commission selling my first house on a Lotus Elise. I went to all the car meets every single Sunday morning. I met some of my best friends through that. I got a few clients from that that more than paid for the cost of the car many times over.

[Steve Hamilton]

That's awesome.

[Unknown Host 2]

And it was just such a fun experience and I lost no money in the car. I sold the car for the same price I paid for it. I bought a nicer one, sold for the same price I paid for it. The same thing. And I just met such incredible people. So the car community and owning cars like this could often be done very profitably.

[Steve Hamilton]

It's, it's a different demographic, it's very, very loyal, very enthusiast people. And, and I, from what I hear is in the, in the YouTube segment, it's the one of the best paying in terms of brand deals and stuff like that. So I've heard.

[Unknown Host 2]

How often do you lose money on cars?

[Steve Hamilton]

So it's, it's funny because I bought most of the stuff or a lot of the cars that I've sold. I bought in 19 and 20 and then Covid went bonkers. I think I'm ahead even with. If you take out maintenance and you just talk about like modification stuff. I think I'm ahead, but not by much. I've lost some but I, but I've made a lot of money on a lot of cars. I'm being a little bit more particular now about what I buy and I am. It's more of a curated collection and I'm getting a lot more access to brand new cars. So I think going forward it will be by and large profitable even without the COVID bump in car valuations.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yeah. What is something you would never own?

[Steve Hamilton]

So I'm not a big fan of Ferrari. I hate to give more a generalized answer, but I've had a lot of Ferraris. I don't like what that company represents. They are very much into the. You need to buy all five new models that we release for the next five years to even get some kind of social ranking with us. And that's very counter to what I'm all about. I'm all about community, just being good to people that are loyal to you. And like it's just crazy what you have to do or what I've heard that you have to do to, to become part of that club. And then a lot of these guys are just, they're just storing their cars in their garages, never driving them. Like I, I have very little interest. I don't have a. I have to think through this which is. Sounds ridiculous but I don't. Yeah, I don't have a Ferrari right now. I might get like an FF. It's $130,000 four seater car that has a front engine, V12 just cause it's so cheap and we can use it as a crew car. But other than that I have no Ferraris on the horizon and I don't want to be part of that.

[Unknown Host 1]

How much? Let's say you're starting from scratch.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yep.

[Unknown Host 1]

How much money would you have to reasonably afford a new Ferrari and what steps would you have to go through to get there?

[Steve Hamilton]

If you want a base level Ferrari that's easy. Like you should be able to go and buy one off the floor or order it. It's like anything above that like 500k range is where they get like crazy. Like with McLaren, I've bought three cars with them and I got access to that P18 with them. Like I would, I would have had to have a five year long relationship, probably some inside connections and have and have had literally bought probably 20 plus cars with them to get that honestly. And the problem is that Ferrari is a much. Ferrari and Lamborghini are much bigger names than a McLaren at this point. McLaren's getting right up there in terms of production volume, but they're still a little bit more niche. And I think it's because they've been around so long that, that they can do that. They can dictate who buys what and no one's going to blink about it. So it's, it's not even possible. Like you, I mean like you have.

[Unknown Host 1]

To have like 50 million bucks.

[Unknown Host 2]

Oh, probably way more.

[Steve Hamilton]

I bet, I bet the average. Yeah, I bet the average net worth of someone that is able to get those cars is probably a hundred north of a hundred million dollars. Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

Ed Bullion was telling us about the hoops you have to jump through to get certain allocations to these cars. And apparently what happens is that Ferrari will set a new standard, a new.

[Unknown Host 1]

Expectation, and everyone will do it.

[Unknown Host 2]

So many people do it and now there are too many people. So they set another bar that you have to jump through. So many people do it and another one. And it gets to a point now where it's like if you, the latest and greatest, you have to have a history of purchases. You have to own at the same time all the other models in your collection and you have to go to like Ferrari events.

[Unknown Host 1]

And if they offer you something and you decline it, they see it as disrespectful.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

They consider removing you from whatever list.

[Steve Hamilton]

Exactly. That's part of the. You have to buy everything.

[Unknown Host 1]

You're forced to buy an upgraded versions of everything as well.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

To get cars you don't want, just to get that one car like they might give you in the future.

[Steve Hamilton]

And here's the best part. So I heard you also may have to have a relationship with Ferrari Financial and actually you utilize those services. And then I had heard that you needed to have a Ferrari LaFerrari to get access to the new SP3. And that's a $4 million car in itself. So you got to go buy an 8 year old. You have to have this 8 year old used car in your stable. You probably have to go buy the warranty as well with it. But then you get this car that you're gonna. On paper, it's worth a few million dollars more than you paid. So you're gonna get a $4 million car that's worth 5 or 6. The problem is if you sell that, they will never give you another car again. That's it. And, and a lot of times they'll do Clauses where you can't sell it for a few years. So you're, you're sitting on this car that's probably going to lose a little bit of that early value because you have to sit on it. And, and it's just, it's just not worth it. Like, look at the la fry. Those were like 1:5 to 2 when they first came out. And if you were willing to wait, you know, nine years, you could have made two two and a half million. But you had to buy all those other cars, take a hit on all those. Like how much did you really make after you bought all those depreciating vehicles that you had to get along the way and potentially finance them and spend money to go to functions? It's just, it's silly to me. It's, it's a status thing like it. That's why, that's why I think it's 100 million net worth north people that are doing this. And it's all about just saying that you have that vehicle so you can stand out from the rest of your 100 Millionaire Buddies.

[Unknown Host 1]

I'm curious just to wrap up the financial conversation as well. You don't only do the wheels and tires, but you also have commercial real estate. I think you have some residential real estate.

[Steve Hamilton]

Much less. Yeah. But much less. Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

And then any other businesses that you might have going on. What, how does all of that look like for you?

[Steve Hamilton]

It used to be whenever I would go do things, it was for another leg to stand on. Like I was saying, like I, I think I've built enough equity in this company where even if crap hit the fans with my wheel and tire, I could still with how much equity I have built up in cars and real estate. And even if crap hits the fans, I think the company's still worth enough where I'm living comfortably for the rest of my life. And I say that humbly, but it's very balanced. Everything that I'm doing is very balanced. I. There are a lot of people that email me for investments and it will be. There's really only two things I want to do right now and it's build a car community like this in the Orlando area and then a restaurant I would love. Like I love heavy themed restaurants and that's why I like Disney World so much. I think I'd love to build like a restaurant that is like 50s themed and not like the checkered tiles, more like the what a steakhouse would look like in the 50s. And just immerse people in that experience. Make sure. Servers are wearing period correct items, serve food that's, you know. And there's a group here in Chicago called Hog Salt, and they do that with all of their restaurants. They have Trevoli Tavern, Oshaval is one of them. And, like, I just love going to. The restaurants. Are delicious, and they are so heavy, packed with theme, that they're just my favorite things.

[Unknown Host 2]

Speak of that. Guess where we just came from. Cracker Barrel.

[Steve Hamilton]

Oh, did you. I was there yesterday.

[Unknown Host 2]

Gosh.

[Unknown Host 1]

You guys ever been to Cracker Barrel?

[Unknown Host 2]

I love crackers. Our first experience, we walked through this. This whole shop, and it was like we just walked into, like, a different world entirely.

[Steve Hamilton]

And they're all the same. Like, you could walk into one anywhere. The south, the north, and they all are the exact same.

[Unknown Host 1]

And they were so friendly, too.

[Unknown Host 2]

The lady was so nice.

[Unknown Host 1]

She recommended the pancakes. They were 10 out of 10. The entire experience. I mean, the food was very affordable as well.

[Unknown Host 2]

My whole meal was 15 bucks, and it was delicious. And. And the. The black coffee, she kept filling it up all the way to the top for free.

[Steve Hamilton]

And you get to.

[Unknown Host 1]

When you get out of the table, which I also love, like, I don't like sitting down and waiting for them. I love just going right up there and paying.

[Steve Hamilton]

And they want to get you out of there pretty quick in a. In a kind way where they're dropping that receipt off. Once they've got the food and they know you're. They've dropped off the food and they know you're comfortable, it's okay. There's the receipt. Go pay whenever you guys are done. And what you really got to eat there is the Southern food, because that's, like, what they're known for. You got to get the sweet tea, you got to get the chicken, fried chicken with milk, gravy, the dumplings, like their. Their greens, their green beans. Basically, you got to eat 2 to 3,000 calories if you really want to fully experience it.

[Unknown Host 2]

We were the youngest ones in there, but everyone could be everyone's grandchild. Yeah, it was nice and it was funny. Both Jack and I were like, you know what? We feel very safe here. Everyone was like, 80 years old and you're. We come in, and the guy behind us, because we're traveling with a suitcase is like, oh, you're here to stay, I see. Yeah, like, yep, we're not going to leave.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yep. Cracker Bill's the best. Like I said, I had it yesterday. I love it. It's delicious.

[Unknown Host 2]

That's really neat. Any other investments that you make, are you?

[Steve Hamilton]

So, yeah, I mean, I have, I have some money. I mean, most of my money is in real estate and cars. Most of it is in cars, which sounds crazy because that's a depreciating asset. So. So again, it all ties back to the, like, I'm comfortably, I'm set. I want to do what's fun for me now and what I enjoy because I have enough money war chested where it's, it's. Let me just go have fun. I want to buy some, some houses that I'm gonna. A house? Really? I mean, I have two homes in Florida. One of them's up for sale, but it's. I'm down there a lot. I want to, I want to live in a really cool house on the lake. So I went and did that. What. It's more about how will this money drive happiness versus how will it increase my wealth in the future? And cars are a big part of that. Right? And, and it sounds weird, but most of my happiness comes from watching people experience these vehicles. I get more joy out of, out of people experiencing other people experiencing these vehicles than my own self. And then I get, I get joy out of the relationships that I foster from having this channel meeting. Like, I had Jake Paul texting me for insurance quotes every day. There's. There's some well known influencer or celebrity that's, that's texting me or Tommy. And it's just, it's surreal. It's crazy. And, and I love giving access where I'm like, when I visited Cody, I know I already use the Cody example. Whistle Diesel. I'm like, hey, can I bring my kids? And he's. Of course, we all, we all get to sleep over in his house and visit his property. Like my kids and oftentimes their friends get to experience this stuff. I'm going to the McLaren factory and, and I'm like, can I bring my son? And they're like, yeah, you can bring my son. And it's just so cool that they get to experience something that unfortunately they can never experience because they don't have a vehicle or a relationship with McLaren or they don't have enough, they don't have enough social cred to connect with these people. So that's, that's what spending the money is all about, is getting that jolly happy feeling which the rest they say, never invest in your passion. Right? And I think the 50s thing is my passion, and I'll probably hate it once it's up and running because the restaurant business, I Hear is the toughest.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yes.

[Steve Hamilton]

Business in the world. But yeah, it's really. I have some money in stocks, I have some money for the kids education, I have a quarter of the properties that I had right now and I don't intend to really invest in anything other than what I just talked about.

[Unknown Host 2]

At what point did you feel financially insulated where you didn't have to worry about if the market's going down or if the economy turns?

[Steve Hamilton]

I think it was when. Probably when. About when I got that billion dollar valuation. Right. Like when we sat there and valuations in Covid were stupid in most PE firms. I think 9 out of 10 PE firms that invested in a company at that time were like, I really effing messed up. Yeah. And we see that in our industry where a company, a major company filing for bankruptcy that bought a whole bunch of these companies up at 10 + x EBITDA that were nowhere near worth that. And that was. Had we achieved the bottom line during then that would have been the peak time to sell and I might have got my billion dollar valuation for an 80 or 100% stake. But I think that was when we realized that there was value in this company. Even if, even if we, you look at like Car id, who's a company that I believe did file for bankruptcy and like even at liquidation value, their stock still I think at the, the lowest point there at 20 to 30 million dollars of value. And this was a company far less profitable than us. Like it would take us hard work to get to how much they were losing and hemorrhaging money and they're still worth $30 million.

[Unknown Host 2]

What do you think of the Hoonigan bankruptcy?

[Steve Hamilton]

That was the one I was talking about. Yeah. And, and I, I've known him as wheel pros for 20 years and that's what they went by. And then they changed to Hoonigan. I still call them Wheel Pros. But yeah, that's, that's the one where they bought up a whole bunch of companies and they were a huge amount of money in debt and they couldn't even, they were using all of their, all of their revenue to just cover debt service. And that's. Yeah. And that's, that's what happens when you give people stupid crazy evaluation. So the billion dollars was. Even if we had the same growth trajectory, like if you place that now, no company values at us values us at a billion dollars today.

[Unknown Host 2]

Now for the average car enthusiast who wants to own an exotic car, what do you think is the best way for them to Be able to do that and not lose money or keep a hobby alive.

[Steve Hamilton]

Depends on what kind of really nice car we're talking about. Like what value, Range, range.

[Unknown Host 2]

Under 150.

[Steve Hamilton]

Under 150. I mean I would buy. There's ways to afford and work that out. Like I'm buying an R8 or a Gallardo. To me, a Gallardo is kind of a car that is the. Oh, this guy wants to look like he has a supercar where the R8 is a true enthusiast car. Even though they're the same car, actually like same chassis, a lot of stuff they share. If you get the V10 Audi. So I'd go get a V10 Audi R8. I had a 2018 one that I sold for like 1251130 that had a branded title but I put a bunch of money into. So like an R8 already is fast. That's. That's your 6,700 horsepower car. People love that car. I would have that. I had a. Somehow I landed a one of one off color maritime blue. And like I'd have. My condo was packed full of my P1, my loft. Right. And people would walk to my 120, $30,000 R8. So that was a, that's a car that people just love that they're attracted to. And you can, you don't have to do any modifications to it. It's already fast, it's already comfortable. It fits like. I'm told that Audi did something where, where they just, they let 6 foot 4, 6 foot 6 people fit in those cars comfortably. And I don't know what with today's rates, I don't know what, you know, you put money down. I don't know what the finance. But that, that is a car where you can, it can become affordable for someone with no mods.

[Unknown Host 2]

I typically think that a lot of cars are cheaper than people imagine them to be.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

I think, you know, a good used exotic car could in many ways be cheaper than a brand new Toyota Corolla.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

When you, when you think of the depreciation over the following five years, like a lot of the, like the Porsches, like you just get a solid 911 that's, you know, from 2008. My gosh, that's going to hold its value. You could essentially drive it for free as long as, you know, the maintenance is.

[Steve Hamilton]

If that's more where you're going where it's like, okay, we're not talking about. Because the R8 is really super car tier Right. If we're talking about the flex car. Yeah, you're right. The Porsche from 99 to 04, that was kind of an ugly style and those are very cheap. But when you get to 05, where they all still kind of look like that, like 05, they made a big change with headlight. And nobody knows unless you're a real enthusiast, they don't know it's an 05 or an 06. They could assume it's an 18 or a 2020. And yeah, that's a great car. That's definitely an affordable car.

[Unknown Host 2]

You know what, there's a TikTok that I love. Watching this dude goes over the best cars to buy for cheap.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

That makes you look rich.

[Steve Hamilton]

That's so fun.

[Unknown Host 2]

I love it.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

He's like, you could get this aston Martin from 2005 and it's going to cost you $35,000, but you look like a millionaire driving this car. Or the BMW M6. He's like, here's a car for 18 grand that was like $90,000 new and it could be yours.

[Steve Hamilton]

And those are V10 super fun.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yes. Or a lot of the old S class Mercedes. There are like certain cars that you could buy that makes you look like you just spent 200 grand, but in reality you spent 25,000. I love these videos.

[Steve Hamilton]

To me, that feels dangerous because I'm like, the guys watching that are the guys that. That need to probably be extra careful. I think he's going after the wrong audience. But. But that's still really fun. That's fine. What's this guy's name? Do you remember?

[Unknown Host 2]

I don't.

[Steve Hamilton]

Okay.

[Unknown Host 2]

I don't. I'm scrolling tick tock. And it's like five cars that under $30,000 that make you look rich.

[Steve Hamilton]

I.

[Unknown Host 2]

And I'm like, yeah, there's your.

[Steve Hamilton]

I'm go find this guy. That sounds.

[Unknown Host 2]

I think the Dodge Viper was. Was one of them. Where it's like you find a high mileage Dodge Viper, low 40s, and it makes you look like you're driving a superar.

[Steve Hamilton]

And that's a. That's a gen one. That was the first gen that they made. Obviously it's general. Right. But really fun. It's like a go kart, but it's like the most fun car. And that was the car on my wall. People that really lived during the 80s in their teenage years. It was the Countach, but I was a little younger than that. And. And like that was my car. I'm in seventh grade reading a magazine about this car that has no door handles is a V10 with no trash control. I'm like, God, this, this was the, the end all be all for me. And I finally got it. It has four. It had 495 miles on it and I overpaid because of it. It's really hard to find one of these with a clean body. People don't take care of these as.

[Unknown Host 2]

Well as they roll, they crash them. Right. I heard that dangerous.

[Steve Hamilton]

I heard it was a tire issue. Where it was the technology and the crappiness of the tires. I threw a brand new set of tires because it had the original tires on it. This thing runs amazing like it's, it sticks to the ground. And I would have to work hard to crash this thing.

[Unknown Host 1]

If someone wants to get like a supercar or some sort of exotic car, but they're very concerned about the maintenance. This is exactly how I feel, honestly. Like I'm worried about like something going bad. I know even like normal like BMWs to replace something as simple as like a window that won't go down all the way. Could be like a thousand dollars.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

What car would you recommend for people that want the super car but and they want to keep their, their maintenance.

[Steve Hamilton]

If we're talking like those that are just out of warranty. Right. Which might be your 19s. Like I, I. When I think of superar entry level, I think around 200 grand. Now you can get 100 grand ones but those are the ones where they're, they're 10, 15 years old. And but I think of the, the GT3s that I just mentioned, the 9912 which was the one they built in 2019 workhorse. Some people may not consider it a superar, but I think most do, especially enthusiasts. It's got the big wing, incredibly reliable. McLaren has actually surprised me. I think they've done some hard work in improving their reliability. They've been known they're MP4 12C was possibly the most unreliable supercar ever built. And that was one of the, the first mainstream car I think that they did. But like my 765 I've tuned, I've put downpipes on it. I've driven it hard, I've shot fire with it countless amount of times. And it goes and it runs exceptionally well. And that's my newest McLaren that I have. I think that they've done a good job turning it around and assuming that a 7 20s probably the most fun car you can get for that. You can get a seven twenties for Those low two hundreds and they're going to be, they're going to be five, six out of ten reliable. But that's probably the car I'm buying If I have 200, is that McLaren? And I'll deal with the drama of it. I'm trying to think if there's anything else at the top end of that, but really it's probably the Porsche. When people ask me I need something reliable, I can't afford to go fix a huge issue. It's that car.

[Unknown Host 2]

As far as renting out your cars, I was showing Jack this and we were actually really impressed by the rates that you offer, which is surprisingly affordable given the, you know, the MSRP of the cars.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

Have you ever had a bad experience rent or how do you vet people? If someone goes on.

[Steve Hamilton]

So it's 30 minute rentals and you have a passenger with you that's from our team.

[Unknown Host 2]

Okay.

[Steve Hamilton]

Because there's, these cars are, there's a five step process just to get some of these started sometimes. And so you kind of need someone to coach you along the way. It's more about an experience than going to a wedding and taking these. So that's why they're a little cheaper. It's a quick experience. But like you can't rent any, some of these cars anywhere. Like I don't think you can go rent a Charon SS anywhere in the world right now. Part of that. So there's, there's a few parts to it. One of those parts is to drive additional revenue. Everything we've looked up from a legal standpoint, like it's a perk that it drives revenue. But I think from, from what we've read, you have to have a rental aspect to be able to depreciate cars and do other stuff and take advantage of certain perks offered. So that's part of the, that's part of it there. But again we, the revenue helps. Like it, it does drive a lot of revenue. We've had months where we've made nearly $20,000 in revenue from, from rentals.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yeah.

[Steve Hamilton]

And, and it makes people really happy because they're, they're reasonable. We still make, we still profit on, on them by and large. But people love that. We have people fly out here regularly to drive these because you can't rent these cars. Some of the. Sure. A revolto. Maybe not now a revolto, but a G wagon. Sure. A cybertruck. Yes. Like you can get access to one of those and rent one of those. But most of this other stuff you can't and people just really appreciate that about us, and it helps push our message further about serving the community.

[Unknown Host 2]

Have you ever had any bad experiences renting out a car, Someone who maybe pushes it a little too much? Has everyone been respectful?

[Steve Hamilton]

Henry. Henry deals with all that stuff, but I think. I think he did. I think early on, when we were learning how to handle people, he had a guy go almost 200 miles an hour in the Senna. This was. Yeah, this was the old Senate that ended up getting wrecked later. But I. I told him, if that happens again, stop the. I don't care about the revenue at that point. Like, you need to let people know that this is not a time for you to go and race. You're not familiar with these cars. This is just a driving experience. If you want to do, like, a small poll safely, that's at. At Henry's discretion. But I check with him regularly on this, and he said people are being respectful with the cars. And again, I've made it abundantly clear. Stop the ride, give them their money back, and I don't care. Uh, safety is. Is paramount in this. It's not meant to be a racing experience. If they want that, go to Richard Petty's racing experience and go race around an oval track. But that. That was really it. Um, I will say that I don't know why my brain thought of this, but people always ask me what my scariest experience was. Vlogging. And it was driving with Alex Choi. I don't know if you know Alex Choi. Yes, bro. Was driving my Porsche, and I thought I was gonna die. Like, it's that moment where you're out of body and you're frozen and you can't react. He is an immensely talented driver, the most talented driver I've been with, first of all, because the way that he was driving my car, I'm like, it was 30 miles an hour faster than I would ever drive around those can. And I. I was just shocked at how well it stayed planted, how well he did. But I was so scared. Far more than any other experience I've had.

[Unknown Host 1]

Did he mention anything before he started driving? Like, hey, just letting you know.

[Steve Hamilton]

I don't think so.

[Unknown Host 1]

I'm gonna take it a little crazy around these turns and you. And you're like, okay, okay, but. Or was it completely unmentioned and he just started going crazy and it was.

[Steve Hamilton]

It was wet, and it was all the hairpin turns that are like that and just going stupid. 80 mile an hour around, like, hair. I'm like, it's no, he didn't. But, but I, I'm sure if I said, oh my God, stop, like he would have stopped. I, I put a lot of trust in him and he didn't. I didn't die that day. So he's just a really good. He must. It's always different from the passenger. Passenger seat too. Right. If I was a passenger in my own vehicle, I would probably say pull over, like, you gotta stop driving like this. But he was far worse than the way that I would've ever driven that. And it was scary. And I love the guy, have respect for the guy, chat with him here and there, but that was the scariest moment.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yeah. He drives some pretty crazy cars and I don't think he's ever gotten an accident. I think he has. Yeah. Right. But I think he has a spotless record given.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

The cars that he's like tuning and getting to the craziest levels.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah. I think he's just driving them like.

[Unknown Host 2]

On a daily basis.

[Steve Hamilton]

He's legit a very talented driver. So is, so is whistle and diesel like you. I'm shocked at when these people take my cars for the first time and they're a little more bold than I would be, but they nail it. Like he's doing donuts in a tight parking lot and an all wheel drive Bugatti with new tires. First of all, I'm like, how are you even getting this thing to do donuts? Like, I work hard to get. And then how are you not hitting curbs and stuff? And some of these guys, really, there's, I think with YouTubers in general, there's a reason why they're successful. There's a common denominator with, with every influencer I've met. And all of them are intelligent people that, that are business savvy, that are particular with their edits and, and, and you just, you know why they, they are where they are. They're, they're driven. Like, you don't. I don't stumble onto people that, that stumbled into success where you're like, why does this guy, how did this guy get like, you've met a lot more people than I have, but that, that's been my synopsis by and large. And, and part of that I think is their, you know, their talent, especially if they're an automotive influencer, also translates like you have Adam lz, who is immensely talented in drifting cars. But some of these guys are like hidden talents. Like Cody. Like, I don't think people realize how well he can drive for Cody Though.

[Unknown Host 2]

I think it's his humor really does it for me. His vlogs are so entertaining. He reminds me almost Danny Duncan esque.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

In the vlogs that he could do. But it's also his humor along the way that just makes it so entertaining. Throws in jokes like every 45 seconds.

[Steve Hamilton]

He's very particular about his editing. They take a long time to do their stuff. Like, I have nothing but respect and I, and I, I want to emulate his like, process and his work ethic without copying what he's doing, of course, because he's, he's one of the best, if not the best out there now.

[Unknown Host 2]

What do you think about him destroying cars?

[Steve Hamilton]

I love it. Like, if he can make it profitable through, through brand deals and through like selling the, the cars off in little jars, then cool, man. You found an amazing niche. I, I hope that he's safe in what he does. Like, I always worry about some, some people's safety. Like, I want him to make sure he's, he cares, he's taking care of himself. But I think he does. Like, I think he really makes the best effort, as do all other influencers, to stay safe.

[Unknown Host 2]

It's interesting reading the comments on his video on the Ferrari where so many people on all of his videos really felt it was incredibly disrespectful of what he did to the Ferrari. Hitting the mirror and scratching it and then like, you know, I love it.

[Steve Hamilton]

I love that he did that to a Ferrari and saws all that off. But like, yeah, but that's his, that's his brand, right? That, that's, that's what he does. He loves doing it. And like his, like we, we measure. And I might have said this in your last one, like, we measure the success of our, of our videos on how many percentage of subs that watch it. And by that I mean if I have a million subs and a million people watch this video, that's a really successful video. We do it. We now do a 25, 50. If I get 25 of my sub count and views, that's a, that's a good video. If I get 50 plus percent, that's a great video. If I get 100, that's an excellent video. He is averaging above. If you take the, the conglomerate of his last 20 videos, he's averaging above a hundred percent, which almost nobody does. Even Mr. Beast doesn't do that. Right. He's getting 50, 75% sub count penetration like, like that. That's how you know when someone's figured it out. And a lot of it's the quick cuts, it's the crazy stuff that he's doing. But he's. I mean, props to him. He does it. He does a great job. Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

What'd you think on his cybertruck video? Do you think it was fair? Because when I first watched it, I was like, it seems like he was pushing the cybertruck a little bit more than the Ford, but at the same time, it was kind of unacceptable that the back would snap off in the way it did.

[Steve Hamilton]

That's kind of where I landed. You never know how much went on behind the scenes. But, like. But I think that it probably. I think it was probably fair, just a comparison between the two. I would assume he closed the amount. The doors the same amount of times. But, like, I assume that it was fair. It scared me about the cyber truck, the towing. Like, his video educated me that it's probably not a good idea to go and tow something. That was my takeaway from that video. And that was really. It. Like it's attached to some plastic subframe or something. Or like, I don't feel comfortable towing something after that. That was. Yeah. Otherwise, I. I think. I think it was probably fair. And then he did a follow up to it where he. He's like, well, you didn't think I dropped the Ford, so. And then he's like, then he dropped it a bunch. And I think it was still far more durable.

[Unknown Host 1]

Yeah, I liked how he bent and.

[Unknown Host 2]

Then he bent and then he just dropped it and just.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yes. I don't have enough free time to watch a bunch of influencers. As much as I want to and as much as I would love to, there's just not enough time to get caught up on the. But he is one of the very, very few people where I will. At least half of his stuff I'll watch, and it's usually through my kids having it on the screen and I'll sit down and I'll engage and watch it because it's just fascinating.

[Unknown Host 1]

Yeah, we're huge fans. Cody, if you're watching this, come on the show. We'll travel to you. We'll make it easy.

[Unknown Host 2]

I'm curious, are there any stereotypes for Ferrari owners that you find are true?

[Steve Hamilton]

I watched a. I watched a TikTok that showed Lamborghini versus Ferrari where the Ferrari is like the bougie guy that. That doesn't drive in the Lamborghini is like the gung ho guy that's like ripping and doing donuts and like that. That feels like it's, it's pretty spot on. Like Ferrari guys want to flex. Wealth, status, achievements, Lamborghini. These guys just want to flex. They just want to go have fun and, and just flex period.

[Unknown Host 1]

What would you say is the best investment you've made in terms of cars?

[Steve Hamilton]

So right now the Porsche 918S, I paid about 1.6 for mine and the WSAC model that I have are going for like, like 21 to 2 3, so 50 return on a car that I put 10,000 miles on and I've owned for two and a half years. That one is the first one that comes to mind. Keep in mind I only started this collection about three years ago. I had a couple super hypercars prior to that, but I only have three years of, of history on super and hyper cars. And then all of the like lower dollar ones, I made a lot because I sold a lot of them. Like I, I changed my, my buying habit to when you have hypers, it's really hard to drive anything under 500 grand. And again, that sounds silly, but like if you have five hypercars, a 765 LT or V2, that's a $500,000 plus car, and then you have multiple million, you're far less likely to go drive your Ford GT or your Countach or your GT3s because there's way cooler cars that you can go drive. So I sold a lot of the GT3s, the 488 GTB, my Ford GT and I made like a hundred grand on every single one of those cars because I bought them all just before the COVID pop and I sold them all in like 22. So that, that was great, that was a great time. But I think the 918 is the one that's increased the most in value. We, we get hit really if you take away the YouTube tax. And, and I call it that because influencers that sell cars that have been abused on their channel, like it's, there's a real expense there. It's 5 to 10% of your car's value. I probably took a $300,000 hit on my Bugatti Chiron because of what we did on our YouTube channel.

[Unknown Host 1]

Which of the cars in here are the cars that you own would you want to keep if you had to get rid of every single other one aside from like daily drivers like your Model X and stuff like that.

[Steve Hamilton]

So like I talked to str ad man and he's like, you want to build long term connections with your cars and your, and Your viewers. And I think he's right. Like, people don't want to see you go through cars, but I want to go through cars. Like, I'm not super loyal to these cars. I get. I get very tired of things very quickly. And so in my head there's like two of those cars. Like, I think I hold onto the Chiron SS for a long time because there's a good story behind that and there was a lot of work and energy. My Chevell ss, I tried to sell it like two years ago and my kids wanted to kill me because they love that car. Like, they were teeny tiny when I would drive them around. And they. That I've had that longer than any other car. That one stays here. I really thoroughly like my 765 LT. That one's super fun. I've had it for. That's one of the few cars that survived like my purge that I did two years ago. I have total. Like, I looked at my last collection, the tour of the collection that we did two years ago, and like 95, 80, 90% of those cars are gone. Like, we have all new hypers, all new superars. And. And I just, I don't think for our channel, like, James Stradman does really well, like just lifestyle. Like people want to see him have journeys with cars were with us. It's just taking deliveries, doing really fun, stupid stuff and then moving on to the next. And so it, it fits my. My personality and the way that I do it. Well, I think I gotta look the Viper, I'll have forever. That's. That's the one that I bought and I bought that to keep that. I don't think there's any other car here that I'm loyal to. I said that about my 918, but like. Like, then I saw that it went up 50% in value. I'm like, how do I keep this car? Is it bringing me that much joy where it's worth 50% more than what I paid for? I don't know. I'd rather capitalize while that market is hot. That's probably it. I think those three, the last tour.

[Unknown Host 1]

That you did valued the entire collection at 30 million.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

And would you. That's about where it's at.

[Steve Hamilton]

We're probably closer to with deposits that I have for all these cars. I have the Bugatti Tourbillon. I have the Koenigsegg Jamera, the Koenigsegg Jesko, the Pagani utopia. Oh, the McLaren P18. You have to put A lot of money down on these cars like you have to put for the Bugatti. I think I had one and a half million dollars down for two years, not earning interest, just sitting there. And so you got to put down big bucks along the way. So if you include all the money I have invested in that crap, I'm probably near 30 and there's 23 to 23 to 25 sitting here, plus all the deposits that I have. And we've shifted into more hypercars and expensive hypercars now and less supercars. But like, it's weird because the value really is about the same, but I have like 10 less cars and it's because I sold 10 cars that equal one of these hypercars and value. And it's got me thinking, I'm like, how important is it to have those extra 10 cars? And is it worth just going and buying a bunch of those other fun cars to improve experience, just have more color and variety for the channel? Is it worth just making another two, $3 million investment, the same as one hypercar, just to bring all of them back? And I struggle with that.

[Unknown Host 2]

What are you noticing that's happening in the car market right now? Because I've seen a lot of prices begin to come down significantly.

[Steve Hamilton]

There's very few that are still hanging on to good values. Like the 4 GT is staying strong. Oh yeah, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. Personal. Yeah, those, those I bought, I bought mine at 295 in 2020 and I sold it for almost 400. And they're all going. I just asked today about it and I'm like, if you ever get one under four, let me know. I'm not going to buy it anyway, but I just want to know. And they're selling Chicago motor cars here locally who, who have helped transact a bunch of our cars. And they're tremendous human beings over there. They said they're all going like 425, 450 plus, which is pretty crazy.

[Unknown Host 2]

I'm tempted to sell mine. Yeah, very tempted.

[Steve Hamilton]

And, and this is one of those times where I'm like, at that valuation, I don't think they, I don't think there, there's crazy growth in that price for a little bit. But you never know. If that's a million dollar car in two years, that one's.

[Unknown Host 2]

A lot of people are saying that it, they're hoping for that million where.

[Steve Hamilton]

We'Re like, this is going to be a million dollar car in five years, like two years ago. And it's on that trajectory right yeah but by and large everything, all of the COVID stuff has been wiped away. And it's. And it's even corrected itself where my Ferrari SF90 that I bought and waited a year and a half for when I ordered that thing. It was. They were all selling for 100 grand above MSRP by the time I got it. They were like 20 grand below MSRP by the time I was able to sell it. I put it up for sale right away because I hated that car. That was my least favorite car that I've. I've actually specific model that I've ever owned. It has no soul. Too much electric. Just hated it. And that one I ended up selling for 570 and I paid 720. So that. That's how big of a hit. And this was all over the course of like six months. So they overproduced that car I think. And. But that's happening kind of with, with everything. Like you can get Aventadors for high twos again. And like I sold my 13000 mile base Aventador for 360370 during COVID and I paid like 2, 280, 290 for it. So everything is kind of corrected. It. It is. If interest rates were low, I'd be like this is such a good time if you're building a channel to go buy cars. But interest rates are high, so it's tough. 20, 20 and 21 were like peak times to go to go buy your and build your fleet.

[Unknown Host 2]

Where do you see the market going from here?

[Steve Hamilton]

I. I know of some cars that I know will be significantly higher. Like a Bugatti Veyron is a 1.1, $1.2 million car for an 0607. That's crazy to me like that. That's gotta be a $5 million car in five years, maybe more like that. That car broke top speed records. It's already almost 20 years old. It shocks me how they're a lot to maintain and repair, but it shocks me how cheap those things are. The Porsche 918 I had been saying was undervalued in the McLaren P1. Similar actually less production numbers than the LaFerrari because I think a lot of car manufacturers inflation actual numbers than particularly in the Italian market. They seem to inflate what they actually produce or say that they produce. But like all those cars are about the same price. That's the holy trinity. And the 918 and the P1, the non Weissach 918 is still in the mid ones where the LA Ferrari has hit 4. Part of that could be because of Ferrari shenanigans with trying to get you to buy your way up to new allocations. That probably has a lot to do with it. But those, those I think are the P1, I think is an undervalued car. Those actually took a big hit. They're in. I think they're in the mid ones. Again, like that car will be worth a lot more money. The Ford GT is, is. If you can get one at 390, 400, that's a good car to buy. But if we're generally speaking, I think that it's going to follow the same thing that it's done where if you go buy a. A just off the shelf Aventador, you're going to take a big hit. That car is not going to be worth anything. If you get a special variant like an SV, an SVJ and you want to hold onto it for 20 years, okay, yeah, maybe you're going to make some money at that point. You're really only going to make money if you can pick that unicorn because there are so few vehicles under a million dollars where they're going to be worth more. And it's usually rare color combos or variants of cars that you have to sit on and keep low mileage or if you can get that allocation at MSRP for a hypercar like it's. It's hard to make money on cars. I think the vast majority of them you're going to lose money on.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yeah. I saw recently the Huracan STO on bring a trailer brand new car. The guy probably just took delivery like 20 miles on. It sold significantly below or I think it didn't even hit his reserve. Significantly below the MSRP of the car from the guy just taking delivery of this thing. Which is, which is, which is crazy because that's what it used to be like. I mean my recollection has always been pre 2020 that you would get a car and instantly lose 10, 15% of.

[Steve Hamilton]

Its value with the exception of a few. I think you're right. Yeah. By and large, it's time to start discounting off of MSRP. The URUs has taken is.

[Unknown Host 2]

Oh my gosh. Yes.

[Steve Hamilton]

Those were, those were like if you got a year or two old model, they were 300 and now they're all like 200.

[Unknown Host 2]

Those have the Bentley Bentayga. You may as well buy one of those things for. You can get one 70 grand.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah, you can get it one a couple years old.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yep. 20, 18, 70 something. Thousand dollars. That's one of the cars you buy that makes you look rich.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 1]

Which car, when you take it out, gets the most attention?

[Steve Hamilton]

The Dodge Daytona. That one. That one is shocking. So this is the one from the late 60s with the huge wing.

[Unknown Host 2]

Oh, yes. And those are expensive.

[Steve Hamilton]

They're 300 grand. And it's. People have them. There's probably less of them than there are charans at this point. They built 500 of them. There might be 100 left that are. But nobody drives them that has them. And I love just cruising that thing. And mine's immaculate. The car looks amazing. Like it looks so cool, but so crazy. And they built it to basically be able to, to be able to participate in nascar. And they have to. Back then they had to build production cars if they wanted to race them in nascar. And so it was built to be a NASCAR raceable vehicle. And it looks like it. And just such a cool history with that car. And it looks so crazy where it just super breaks necks.

[Unknown Host 2]

Do you think the car market is a leading indicator for the economy?

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah, and if so, then, then there are tough times maybe ahead. Right. With how much. It's what they're saying. I mean, people have these assets and if, and, and they own these cars and if they, even if they don't sell them, they might be worth 10, 20% less. So yeah, just generally speaking, I think, I think so.

[Unknown Host 2]

It's going to be interesting to see what happens to the car market because so many people are underwater on their car loans and they bought these cars two years ago and lenders were giving valuations of these cars more than what they were overvalued on. And now it's like for people that had that $700 month pickup truck and it's worth 30 grand and they, they owe 60 on it. Well, it'll be interesting how that plays out if people just continue making the payments because they have no choice and they need a car or they just let it go and have it be repossessed.

[Steve Hamilton]

I think the biggest shock was the Tesla market with Elon's volatility on, on pricing and slashing and different tax credits and the amount that they've produced and the general hate towards electric vehicles now, I don't know what happened. There was like a paradigm, like a big shift in the, in the viewership of electric cars. There was a bunch of Tic Tacs and short forms. Maybe it was paid for by big oil. It's like you never know who's sponsoring this stuff. True. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but all of that stuff, like, hurts the value. You can get a Model 3 for, with, with, you know, ninety hundred thousand miles for like thirteen grand, which is crazy.

[Unknown Host 2]

I'm seeing such great deals. It makes me want to buy another Tesla.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

Just because I see the value in that. Like, I've not had a single issue with my Model 3 in five years.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

And I just drive it.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Unknown Host 2]

And that's it. And it just works same.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah. I've had like five X's, an S Cybertruck on the cybertruck I just got. I love them. They're fantastic cars.

[Unknown Host 2]

How much of the Tesla hate or electric car hate is purely due to Elon Musk's political affiliations with act yes.

[Steve Hamilton]

Who knows? It's weird. It's weird how his car, you would think would be a high liberal focus car because it's environmental. But like, he is so right wing. It's weird to me. We had an old neighbor at our Florida home was like, I refuse to buy a Tesla just because of Elon Musk's political. I'm like that, that seems silly to me. Like, they're really safe cars. They're exceptional. They're five years ahead of their time. I don't know. I'm sure it's so just based upon that small, tiny example. Like, there's got to be people that think like that and that, that it hurts the brand.

[Unknown Host 2]

I heard someone tell me that they were talking to someone and that person said, oh, I drive a Tesla. But I, I don't agree with what Elon Musk is doing. But, but, you know, but I like the car. But yeah. And I was like, to me it's like, holy crap. Like, to associate the car that much with Elon Musk is just absurd to me that you have to like, make a statement that like, you drive the car but don't agree with us.

[Steve Hamilton]

And like his mission statement. I don't know what it is, but it's, it's not to build cars. It's like to reduce reliance upon energy for like a cleaner future. That's not exactly what it is. I'm paraphrasing. Like, I really think that everything he does is for the greater good of the world and people just hate on him. And like, I had never really been an X user until recently and I'm like, it's actually crazy how right wing that app is in general. And it's not just because I'm clicking on.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yeah, exactly.

[Steve Hamilton]

I'm actually surprised how much it leans that way. And, and I'm surprised at how much Elon actually posts political.

[Unknown Host 2]

He is, he is so active.

[Steve Hamilton]

He's got to be.

[Unknown Host 1]

So he started becoming more political on X, I would say within the past like five months.

[Steve Hamilton]

Okay.

[Unknown Host 1]

It's, it's been a pretty like dramatic.

[Unknown Host 2]

I don't know to me I thought it's been like the last year or so.

[Steve Hamilton]

Got you.

[Unknown Host 1]

I think it was, it was like pretty gradual, like just getting his toes wet. And then in the past five months he started to get a lot more.

[Steve Hamilton]

And I've, I've always looked at myself pretty near the center, but like, like when I almost have to separate myself from that app. Because when, when you look at it all day and you're fed 90% of what you're seeing is, is right wing propaganda. And I don't mean that in a bad way. I'm just saying that, that that's what it is. And it's like you, you need that balance of, you need a 50, 50 balance of what you're seeing to be left wing stuff too. Like you need, you need the counter to that or you can create your own biases and you, I think you just have to be careful.

[Unknown Host 2]

Tell us this, what's the secret to a successful marriage?

[Steve Hamilton]

I have always tried to be incredibly open and honest with my team, with my wife. I've tried to pitch that to everyone. My kids, I'm so thankful that they've, that they've like adopted that mentality as well. That that's the most important aspect in a human being. And like I can trust my wife wholeheartedly and she can trust me. Like if I'm saying it, it's, it's the truth. And that's huge, number one thing in a marriage. And just like more of it's like. And, and we, we did like just candidly, I think everyone should, should do counseling, look at it at its coaching. And my wife and I went and did that in like 2009, 2020 I think, or 21. And like we, you learn some things that, that are really important and maybe I'll save you a bunch of money. But a lot of it was like, it's all about like meeting in the middle, but most of it's about validation. And that's what I try to tell people that are, are that are going through this because they see that my wife and I have had a long relationship and it's always what is the secret? And I'm like just like understand that rarely are. Is one person 100, right? And it's the truth. Like, there's a reason that she or I reacted the way that I did. Like, stop and pause before you have your knee jerk negative reaction. Think it through and just validate her. Even. Even if. Unless you know for. Like, unless you know that she's wrong. Like, three plus three is seven. Like, no, you're wrong. Like, come on. It's not seven, but most cases, it's not that finite. And it's okay. Like, I understand. I understand why you reacted that way. Like, this is how I feel. Just validate. Just let her know you understand. And that means the world to her. That means the world to me. It makes such a big difference. Instead of saying, no, like, you're wrong like that. No, that's not right. Like, no way. It's just, okay, I. I get where you're at. Maybe I overreacted. Like, I understand. I understand your perspective.

[Unknown Host 1]

That's a complicated thing because I know for myself, I have unfortunately very, very low tolerance for what I would, like, determine as, like, delusion. Where I'd be like, okay, like, you know, you're clearly. You know, something's wrong here, because it's not. Like, when do you.

[Steve Hamilton]

Where.

[Unknown Host 1]

How do you learn where to draw the line between, like, validating delusion versus validating someone's feelings to be able to, like, strengthen the relationship rather than further distance it?

[Steve Hamilton]

So, yeah, nothing's perfect. And like. Like, for me, like, she has. She and every other woman have their time of the month and, like, my wife's favorite thing to. To be. I'm like, I shouldn't say it. Like, this is one of those things where I have to apologize. I'm like, it's coming up soon, isn't it? And she'll be like, no. And I'm like, all right. I probably shouldn't say it like that. In my head. I should be like, hey, Like, I don't even know how to approach that subject, actually. But I need to know that it's coming and I will act differently. Like, and I tell them, like, just let me know if it's a few days away, then I understand why you're acting a certain way, that you're acting. Why you're a little more crabby short with me. Me like, you just acting like that. Like, why? Like, why, why? Why I joke with my wife. Like, I'm sorry for existing sometimes. And I'm like, just tell me, like, it's coming soon. I'm like, okay, cool. Like, you have a good Reason. You have a good reason to act like this, then, like, I get it. You have a hormonal imbalance. That's happening. Bloating, cramps. That's a good reason. But, like, I need to hear that. I need to know that even though I suspect it. And 99%, like, I just need to hear you say that. And that's. That's almost a validation in itself.

[Unknown Host 1]

It is very taboo, unfortunately, to ask, is it the time of the. I know, but I think it shouldn't be. I think it should be something that's discussed, and you can ask respectfully, hey, by the way, is it the time?

[Unknown Host 2]

I think the reason for that is because women are accused always of being emotional. And if you say it wasn't a hormonal imbalance, it's. It seems dismissive.

[Unknown Host 1]

No, I think it's. I think you're. You're validating the way that they feel because it's something that they can't control. You know what I mean? It's like, I understand you're afflicted by this thing, so let's let me know so I can properly navigate this so we.

[Unknown Host 2]

I can make this better. Three dudes, they're like, yeah, what do.

[Unknown Host 1]

You two guys think? Do you guys agree? Two other guys over there, they're sitting out of the conversation, will always be 30 guys.

[Unknown Host 2]

I don't think it should be taboo.

[Unknown Host 1]

I think you should be able to ask that question when someone is acting upset. Look, okay, fortunately, I think your viewership is probably 95% guys, and fortunately, ours is like 90% guys as well. So I don't think I'll get flamed that bad in the comments. I could be totally wrong.

[Unknown Host 2]

And if you're a woman listening, go.

[Unknown Host 1]

Ahead and, you know, respectfully flame me in the comments.

[Steve Hamilton]

It. It makes a big difference if you're like, you know what? I'm. I'm having my period in a day, or I'm. Or it's happening now, and. And, like, I'm. Okay, cool. Like, I understand that. I won't poke and prod at you as much.

[Unknown Host 2]

How do you make sure your kids don't grow up spoiled?

[Steve Hamilton]

That's just. It's just tough reminding them that. That what we have is not normal. Making sure that they are. They are cleaning, helping around the house. They pull their fair share doing, you know, if they're not working, doing that extra stuff outside of it to fill their time. I want to do a better job having them do charitable stuff with their time. And I think it's time and we've had some, some meetings with other people's time to get them involved and in helping on that aspect. But we refuse to do private school with them. Like I, I, I'm sure there's plenty of people that, that are in private school that are perfectly normal people but my kids don't want to. They have this stigma about it that it's all like stuck up kids. Which I don't think it is by any means but I think it's a lot of, it's just through, I don't, I don't know, I don't know. But we're, that's, it's, it's a battle like it's hard to answer that question.

[Unknown Host 2]

Luck versus skill.

[Steve Hamilton]

Yeah. We're doing everything we can to just help them to understand that this isn't normal and you have to work for a living and, and, and even a, even a six figure income across a family is hard to live on with pricing and inflation where it's at now. I have told them do what you love. Like don't put money first. Do something. If I didn't love doing what I do then I don't think I would do it especially at this point. But I think it's more important to do if you want to be a teacher, if that's what you love and are passionate about, then be a teacher. Like it, it's more rewarding to you to do that than, than I think than just having money. And that's my opinion and that's what I want them to do. I'm not going to be angry if they're not. Doctors, lawyers, making six figures, as long as they're happy.

[Unknown Host 2]

What's been the effect for you of scaling back a bit on your business?

[Steve Hamilton]

I fill my time with other stuff. It's never, my time is always equally committed. When I had stepped away from my business for a little bit, I got my pilot's license, I went and got my Lean certification. I started this channel up like it's just, it's filling it with stuff that I want to do like playing a little bit of golf. I get out and play nine holes a week and like filling it, filling my time but doing more stuff that I like. And I think that it's, it's rewarding being able to do that stuff, spending more time with friends.

[Unknown Host 1]

What would you say is your biggest insecurity?

[Steve Hamilton]

Money will always be an insecurity. Even though I, I like, even though I think that I could, I could live comfortably if I had to sell off everything right now in its current state. You always worry about the health of your business, right? You never know. Like, they could invent a tire that Michelin was working on something and I heard it failed, or someone was like, you never know. Like the, the refrigerator got rid of ice delivery people, right? Like, you never know what can come and knock out an industry. Internet got rid of print. I don't think there's any big threat to what we're doing right now. But like, electric vehicles are a threat to the performance industry. Actually, performance parts industry gets significantly less valuation now than what we do. What we do is actually translates into the electric vehicle. They still need suspension, they still need wheels and tires. Nothing change. If not, they may even need more tires. And the vehicles look so bland and plain that maybe there's a greater amount of people that want to customize their electric vehicle. So. But you never know if something comes and just knocks out the valuation. So any business owner will always worry about that, even if they're living comfortably. Um, and then like my kids, just the safety of my kids as my son learns how to drive. And I'm trying not to teach him bad habits. He's. He's taking extra long to wait for people. And I'm like, that's good. I would rather you do that than make an aggressive. But then when I'm driving, I'm making all of these aggressive maneuvers and the, the biggest likelihood of them getting hurt is on the road in a car. I think there's. So that. That will be my huge worry as they go on into that. I think I'll be worrying all the time about my kids and them being driving and on their own.

[Unknown Host 2]

Last question for you. Why can't you go back to Croatia?

[Steve Hamilton]

Went there, spec'd out a car with. With mate at the Ramak factory. And let me rephrase. I didn't spec. I had to test drive it before I speced it. So I went and test drove it on Croatian highways, just regular public highways. And I went to 300 kilometers an hour or 200 miles an hour, because it gets there in like 11 seconds and it's just a highway. And I'm like, yeah, this is Croatia. Like, what are they going to do? I also filmed it and then I put it up on YouTube after I got back home. Again, like, what. What can they do? I'm just speeding in some other country and I didn't really think about it. And. And so video did pretty okay. And then I'm. I'm on the Potty in the morning. Tmi. But I'm on the potty in the morning. I'm looking at my phone. I'm like, boy, there's a lot of like, like foreign language comments on this video. Far more than usual. Some Slavic language. And then, and then I look at the views and I'm like, boy, this really took off like at a weird time, like our middle of the night. And then I went and golfed like three hours later. And I'm getting texts from Mate that, hey, can you send me your license? And like, other stuff. He's like, you made national news. Like, you're on. You're on news channels for like going 200 miles an hour. I'm like, oh my. He's like, you're creating like fires for us to put out right now. He said it nice, nice and respectfully so. And then I'm like, okay. Like later on after it calmed down two days later, I'm like, can I like, come back to Croatia when my car's done? And he's, he's like, you just need to go to the police station. And I'm like, okay, I'm not, I'm not going back to Croatia. Like, I don't want to end up in some. Wow. I don't know how they're. I'm sure it's. I'm sure it's a nice, you know, I'm sure everything is great there, but I don't understand that culture there of the police and Yeah, I think I would have to contact an attorney, get that straightened out and I still would be uneasy.

[Unknown Host 2]

Wow.

[Steve Hamilton]

So I don't think I can go there anymore. All right, we'll see.

[Unknown Host 1]

How do you one up this car?

[Steve Hamilton]

Koenigsegg Jesko. Despite it being around the same price, I think that that is the most hyped hypercar coming. The Jesko will be the end all, be all until the next thing comes out. Out.

[Unknown Host 2]

All right, well, thank you so much. Is there anything else you want to mention before we. Any shout outs? Anything?

[Steve Hamilton]

Well, we've talked about it a bunch, but you guys can get the best deals on wheels and tires for your trucker, SUV or Jeep. Custom offsets.com and then for your car, fitment industries.com. i think we have the best site and the best selection in the industry and hundreds of thousands of customers can't be wrong. Please go give us a check out.

[Unknown Host 2]

Cool.

[Steve Hamilton]

That's all I got.

[Unknown Host 2]

Thank you so much. Is insane.

[Steve Hamilton]

It's pretty walking in here.

[Unknown Host 1]

I mean, it's gorgeous.

[Steve Hamilton]

Thank you.

[Unknown Host 1]

Love that. The Hamilton collection. The gym over there.

[Unknown Host 2]

It's taken so much self control not to go and like, browse the cars because I wanted to get set up here because I want to be respectful of your time.

[Steve Hamilton]

Oh, no, you're fine.

[Unknown Host 2]

I've been looking at this the entire time and just I wanted to sit in one of these cars.

[Steve Hamilton]

Sit, drive, go, hoon one, go, do some donuts. Whatever you want to do, man. Me collection. Sioux collection.

[Unknown Host 2]

This is incredible. Okay, we're going to stay. Brought our suitcases, so we'll just. We'll camp out on the floor.

[Steve Hamilton]

Sounds good.

[Unknown Host 2]

Thanks so much, man.

[Steve Hamilton]

Thanks for having me.