The John Clay Wolfe Show – Episode #139 (03/10/18)

Podcast Summary with Timestamps

Overview

This episode of The John Clay Wolfe Show, broadcast on March 10, 2018, is powered by GiveMeTheVIN.com. The show is a wild, unapologetic blend of car talk, sports, workplace hijinks, pop culture, and riff-heavy radio morning mischief. Host John Clay Wolfe and his recurring cast, including J.D. Ryan, Michael Turley, DJ Pre K, and more, field listener calls to appraise and buy vehicles on air, share outlandish stories from the car business, riff on topical headlines, and drop plenty of irreverent jokes – all with a rowdy edge that skirts the boundaries of what the FCC might allow.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Crew Shenanigans & Absenteeism

[00:36 – 04:00]

• The show opens with the absence of Bobbo, a regular, prompting jokes about his unreliability. He's revealed to be in San Diego for his son's Marine Corps graduation, which earns both ribbing and genuine praise.
  • JD: “Where did he go? Bobbo’s just such an odd character...”
  • Turley: “He’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt. There’s palm trees in the background!”
• The crew muses about workplace communication failures and Bobbo’s lack of notice.

2. On-Air Car Appraisals

Throughout; e.g., [02:21, 07:00, 15:30, etc.]

• The show’s main engine: listeners call in with their cars, and John gives fast, honest, and often brutal appraisals – always aiming to outbid CarMax.
  • Example:
    [02:27] Caller: “I gotta sell this truck… 2017 Ford F250… turbo diesel…”
    John: “We’ll give abdomen the 17, big stroke, new body style, leather roof, nav MSRP, 72 grand. All right, 54, 55…”
  • John’s process: ask key details (location, mileage, options, condition), quote a price, and direct them to the website for follow-up.
  • Memorable quote, on an 06 ML 500: [09:56] John: “It’s worth $2,000.” Caller: “Yeah, no, that’s not gonna work.” John: “How does that make you feel, Nathan?”

3. The Parking Spot Saga

[04:06 – 13:13, revisited at intervals]

• Extended running gag about John having (and enforcing) his own parking spot after feeling guilty about using a handicapped space.
  • [04:36] John: “There’s a red Cadillac SRX in my spot... Would you send someone to tow it?”
  • [05:10] John: “I park in the handicap slot, right? But I’m not as handicapped as other people… I started feeling bad, so let’s get my own spot.”
  • This escalates into storytelling about colleagues with real disabilities and anecdotes about parking wars with old ladies.

4. Stories from the Car Auction World

[10:26 – 14:06, 45:00+]

• John tells war stories about the perils of running car auctions, including battles with aggressive buyers and incidents leading to a coworker losing a leg.
  • [13:25] John: “I started yelling at the Iranian that was trying to give me $800 for a $2,000 Mercedes. David picked him up… but the driver took off and ran over his damn leg.”

5. The “White, Black, Latino or Other” Game

[26:57, 50:06, 68:05]

• DJ Pre K hosts a recurring bit where he reads a news item, and the cast guesses the race/ethnicity of the perpetrator in tongue-in-cheek fashion.
  • [50:49] DJ Pre K: “A Connecticut man stole a rookie cop’s car… went to Taco Bell… What y’all think?”
  • [51:23] DJ: “21-year-old Derek Johnson, a black man.”
  • [68:16] Second round: “Identical twins proposing to identical twins at the Twins Festival…”
  • The segment balances edgy banter with self-aware humor and meta-commentary on political correctness.
  • [52:34] Listener Priscilla Hernandez posts: “Thank you for the non politically correct commentary this morning. It is so refreshing. He’s not a hater, he’s a Texan. He’s the accidental racist.”

6. Auction Fails & the Beyoncé Rolls Story

[32:11, 65:00, 130:05+]

• Behind the scenes: The show discusses a disastrous attempt to stage a viral “Single Ladies” dance bit in front of Beyoncé’s Rolls Royce at auction—with technical snafus, dancers left in silence, and everyone blaming lack of production.
  • [35:20] John: “It was a disaster… two little girls stood there in the lane in their leotards… trying to play a song over a phone.”
  • [65:00] The story is recapped with J.D. ribbing John for hiring dancers without music.
• Car values for “celebrity” cars are scrutinized; John laments losing $6,000 on Beyoncé’s Rolls due to hidden repaint/Paintwork discovered too late.

7. Dealer Tricks, Paint Meters, and Market Realities

[141:06+]

• John and callers discuss dealer games—like using paint meters to slash trade-in values—and John rails against dealers who exploit customers unfairly.
  • [142:18] Caller: “They started off with $15,000. They cut me to 10.”
    John: “I would have busted you back a thousand, not five. You could still be a sorry-ass used car dealer and be a good one…”

8. Show Growth, Podcasting, and Future Plans

[81:07, 149:39, 150:22+]

• Discussion about the rise of their podcast—how listeners binge old episodes, why the format works, and the boom in podcasting among younger audiences.
  • [150:22+] John shares ambitions to create a highly produced, NPR-style “behind the scenes” podcast about their world—complete with all the drama, business risks, and memorable moments.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [05:48] John: “I don’t need the handicap spot. I need to leave it for others that need it. So I had a sign made that said ‘parking for me.’”
• [13:51] John: “David picked him up like a blocking back. But then the driver took off and ran over his damn leg.”
• [44:39] John (on the Dodge Demon): “It is the fastest car ever built… Zero to 60 in 2.3. It’s got 880 horsepower. This new Dodge Demon… It’s a freakin’ race car. It’s stupid.”
• [51:56] DJ Pre K: “I’m 27 years young, you know. Welcome back, Cotter.”
• [130:01] John (Beyoncé’s Rolls): “I lost $6,000… And it hurt. Made me mad about blue cars all over again. Sometimes you get away from that, you’re like—OK, I know this is bad. It’s loser blue.”
• [150:23+] John: “There’s an audio boom going on… These kids, 35-year-olds, everybody’s got earbuds. The amount of listening they’re doing on podcasts is just unbelievable.”

Highlighted Segments (Timestamps)

• [00:36 – 04:00] – Crew banter & the missing Bobbo
• [02:21, 07:00, 15:30, etc.] – Regular car calls and John’s radio appraisals
• [04:06 – 13:13] – Ongoing “parking spot” dramady
• [13:25 – 14:06, 45:00+] – Auction stories, injured coworkers
• [26:57, 50:06, 68:05] – "White, Black, Latino or Other" bit
• [35:20, 65:00] – The Beyoncé Rolls / “Single Ladies” dance fail recap
• [44:39 – 47:50] – Dodge Demon test drive and fears
• [81:07, 149:39, 150:22+] – Podcasting: listener growth, future plans, and meta-discussion

Tone & Style

• The show lives up to its promise: a bawdy, unfiltered, fast-talking riff on cars, business, and life—driven by John’s irreverent, sometimes abrasive humor and willingness to veer into personal territory.
• Humor is self-deprecating and sometimes edgy, but there’s frequent self-awareness and reflection on walking the lines of taste, race, and sensitivity.
• The team’s chemistry and inside-joke-laden banter underpin the frenetic, fun, and candid mood.
• Pop culture references, inside car biz lingo, and running gags abound.

Takeaways & Themes

• Power of Honesty: John prides himself on telling the uncomfortable truth—to sellers and listeners alike—about car values and the “real” auto business.
• Radio as Community: The show leverages listener calls for both business and entertainment, blurring lines between sales pitch, comedy, and confessional.
• Scaling Up: From parking spot politics to auction disasters, the show vividly details the chaos and comedy of running a fast-growing car-buying operation.
• Meta-Reflection: The cast is keenly aware of their success in the audio/podcast space, brainstorming out loud about future directions.
• Equal Opportunity Offense: The crew skewers themselves, their listeners, and each other across lines of culture and identity, often recognizing the absurdity of their own positions.

For New Listeners

If you’re new to The John Clay Wolfe Show, this episode is a sprawling, unscripted ride through the collapse of the traditional radio “fourth wall.” Expect a raucous blend of car values, real-life pain, hilarious crew dynamics, and glimpses into a thriving business. The show is uniquely Texan in its brashness and flavor, but anyone who likes Howard Stern, Car Talk, and rowdy long-form banter will find a lot to enjoy.

To hear more, catch up on full shows at their podcast site, or call in yourself for a wild time and a real car offer – “so easy you can do it in your underwear.”