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About YCN
Hi, I’m Chris.
My first purchase: a Lexus IS 350 in Music City
I’m a car-buying expert with over 15 years of experience helping consumers save time, money and hassle buying or selling cars. You can find my advice columns in Forbes, Fortune, USA Today, US News and more. I’m also the former Lead Autos Writer for ConsumerAffairs and Money Under 30.
I’ve loved cars ever since I could pick up a Hot Wheel and put it in my mouth. I grew up in Atlanta, where I went to Westminster and was lucky enough to drive a beige 2001 Camry to school. Consumer Reports called that model “less exciting to operate than a toaster,” but to a teenage boy, it was a bona fide Bentley.
After graduating from Vanderbilt, I got a job at a healthcare IT company called Epic. There, I served as President of the Epic Driving Club for over 2 years, organizing car meets and helping coworkers buy their first cars.
Recharging my soul like a Tesla
One day, I decided to rent a Porsche Boxster for 24 hours. I dropped the top, put on some bug spray, and just drove laps around scenic Lake Menona until 3 a.m.
As the midnight breeze cut through my hair, and the German straight-6 engine howled behind me, some deeply-depleted part of my soul began to recharge. That’s when I knew I’d have a very special relationship with cars for the rest of my life.
After I left Epic in 2015, I traveled to 41 countries, wrote two books, and started testing and reviewing cars professionally. As the Lead Autos Writer for multiple websites, I started driving a different car every week to review. Car companies sent me everything from the underrated Honda Odyssey minivan to the alluring Lexus LC 500.
Testing the “frunk” of my buddy’s Porsche
Polishing a client’s RAV4 so she’d get a bigger sale offer
Becoming Your Car Negotiator
One day in 2018, my neighbor Kathy walked by and asked me why I had a different, brand new car in the driveway every week. I told her that the car companies were sending them so I could test them and write honest, long-form reviews.
“Oh!” she responded, with a look of surprise. “We all thought you were a drug dealer.”
Now that she knew the truth, Kathy called me a week later to ask her friendly neighborhood car guy/drug dealer for some advice.
“Hey, Chris! After hours of haggling with the dealer, we’re about to buy an Audi SQ5. They’re pressuring us to sign, but I had a feeling I should talk to you first. Is $80,000 a good deal?”
I told her to politely walk out and give me 24 hours to find her a better one. The next day, Kathy bought the same car from one of my industry connections for $12,000 less.
After a celebratory joyride, Kathy wrote me an (unexpected) check and asked if I could help her husband and daughter buy cars, too. I did, saving her family another $8,000 and 10+ hours sitting at the dealership.
Word began to spread that I was helping people get the perfect car at the perfect price – without wasting their whole day at the dealership. Soon, I was helping clients across the country.
Driving a minivan on a NASCAR track (that’s a long story)
My home office, where the deals are made
I saved a collector in Jacksonville $9,000 on a rare Porsche Cayman GT4. I found an exact copy of a woman’s beloved Lexus after a bear ate her old one in the Smoky Mountains. And I helped a busy healthcare worker in San Francisco avoid buying a car that had hidden, expensive problems.
But the story I’m most proud of – the one that inspired me to launch YourCarNegotiator.org and do this full-time – is Leesa’s.
Using my love for cars to help others
A Tampa resident in her 60s, Leesa, walked into a dealership one day and explained that she just needed good, honest help buying a car. Normally, her husband would be there to help, she said – but he’d just passed away.
The dealer shared their condolences and promised to take care of her.
They didn’t.
Meet Joy Butsch, the official mascot of YCN
Like millions of Americans each year, Leesa was manipulated into paying way too much for a car she didn’t know enough about. Distraught, she called me.
Even though Leesa had already signed the paperwork to buy the car, I got the dealer to give her a $2,000 cash refund, $2,400 in maintenance and repairs, and a flatbed home delivery.
If you, too, would like to save time, money and stress on your next car purchase or sale, let’s connect.