Welcome in to the cool grandpa podcast. This is the podcast where we talk to grandfathers, adult grandchildren, and experts in areas of importance to grandfathers. Whether you're a new grandfather, a seasoned pro, or somebody interested in learning about relationships, this is the place for you. So come on in, join us as we learn together, laugh together, and support each other on the cool grandpa podcast. Michael Platt from Platt Motors joins me to talk about his grandfather and his grandfather starting Platt Motors back in the 1930s. We're going to hear all about his family's history about the connection that his father and him both have to cars and in helping people out finding the best car possible for their needs. Now Platt Motors isn't just selling any old used Toyota Corolla or anything like that. Michael is focused in on classic and collectible vehicles and is knowledgeable and can help you find just what you need. Now Michael and I are going to get into is talking about the cars that we were excited about growing up, helping friends switch engines out of Volkswagen's. And Michael is going to weigh in on a discussion that my wife Karen and I have been having in regards to classic car types that I'm interested in for very special activity for myself and the grandkids in the future. So I don't want to give too much away but be sure to go to the show notes, check out the links for Platt Motors and Michael. He's super knowledgeable. If you're looking around for vehicles, he's probably somebody you want to reach out to to just pick his brain about pricing, about conditions, all sorts of different things. And he's a guy that's willing to help you. You're going to hear how enthusiastic he is about vehicles. So without further ado, let's jump into this conversation. Hi, Michael. Welcome to the cool grandpa podcast. I'm excited to have this conversation. I love talking about cars and car dealerships and I love talking about grandfathers as well. So this will be great. Good morning, Greg. Thanks for having me on. What I'd love for you to do is to give us a little bit of an introduction of yourself, your background, where you're kind of living where the dealership is that you're working at. And then I'd love for you to introduce your grandfather, help us to get to know him and where he fits in with the story of the classic cars that you guys sell. Okay, great. Well, my name is Michael Platt. And my dealership Platt Motors is located in Anderson, California. I actually grew up in the Garden State of New Jersey. But when I graduated high school, I left there in 92 for the West Coast. I lived in several places, including the Bay Area, and Eureka, California, before moving out to the mountains near Willow Creek, California. I fired Platt Motors up in 2014 with my dad who's now in his early 80s. And he was retired and I kind of pulled him out of retirement. So we could do this together, spend time together, go to car shows together, and kind of relive some of the memories of our youth, and make new memories as we're both aging. And then as far as Grandpa Dan is concerned, Grandpa Dan was really a pioneer in the youth car business. He started the original Platt Motors in 1931 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. And when my dad was born in 41, he said that about nine or 10 years old. So right around 1950, he started going through the lot every day after school, spending weekends there, and helping Grandpa Dan around the lot. So that's, you know, our multi generational car family. And we've always loved cars. The ones we grew up, the ones our parents had, the ones our grandparents had. And we continue that tradition today. Oh, awesome. Awesome. A question I've got for you. That's more of a history type thing is, when did in this maybe silly? So, but when did starting these used lots and they used cars and some of that happened? Because I thought for a long time, it was the manufacturers pretty much had a lock on, you know, it's only new Ford's going out. It's only new Chrysler's going out. It's only new, you know, whatever going out. And so I'm kind of interested to hear about that part of it with your grandfather. Well, why I know that, you know, back in the early 30s, I think that's why Grandpa was was was sort of a pioneer in that area back in the day, because he did open up initially, Platt Motors, which was a used car a lot. But about 10 years in, my dad told me that he did take on the marquees of Nash and Willys, which were new vehicles. So he eventually started selling new vehicles to as well as youth, but he started out as one of the early used car dealerships in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1931. Oh man, that's a great story. And it's a tough story to in a way, because 31 is kind of right in the middle of the depression, the big dip that happened before everything started trending back upwards. Correct. Yeah, I don't know a lot about it, but I know that there was tough times back then. And you know, my dad tells me about his grandfather, Dan's dad, you know, with the horse and buggy. And so it was, it was really those times, which is now a, you know, uber industrial area, Elizabeth, New Jersey, really wasn't like that back in the day. And there was tough times, like he said, I've written that Metro liner from DC up to New York a couple of times. And the way that that goes through, it's hard to imagine New Jersey being the garden state when you just run through all that industrial and the chemical processing and all of those things. But once you get away from that, it does have the Appalachian Trail over on that, that side of the state. And there are a lot of farms and things still up there. Yeah, that's true. You know, you know, I think where we're from Essex County is a built up place. It's been built up for a long time, where I went to high school and North New Jersey, which is a sizable city. But as you get into South Jersey, they still have, you know, a rural charm to it with, with farms and the infamous Jersey tomatoes and the pine barons. And so you can still kind of get out there. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I do want to ask you a little bit, because when we had talked before this, you had mentioned that your grandfather had kind of a reputation as far as being a pioneer in some of the work around that used car market and then even the new cars and wanted to see if you could talk a little bit about that. Yes, I'm happy to do that. I know one of my dad's close friends from New Jersey from the old days was a detailed guy always referred to my grandfather as Diamond Dan. I'm not exactly sure where that came from. But I enjoyed the nickname. What I was told by my dad's cousin, Gary, when we, you know, reconnected, you know, older in life, Gary told me that my grandfather was kind of a pioneer in the industry. One, because he was selling used cars at a time that people weren't really doing that. But that a famous dealer, a huge dealer in New Jersey in the 80s and 90s and possibly even today's name was Sam Defeo. And he had told Gary that my grandfather had a real knack for marketing, especially back then before that was a big term. And people were trying to figure out how do you get your name out? How do you get people through the door? And so, yeah, he always said, Gary always told me you dad, you know, my grandfather had a real knack for marketing and Sam Defeo noted that. Oh, that's awesome. I always love hearing those innovation stories. And it always seems like it's the grandfathers, especially at that time period that were coming up with different things, whether they were farmers, or they were just mechanics or Jacksonville trade, you know, whatever it is, it always seems kind of an amazing story to hear these guys put that creative thinking hat on versus I think today we get a little bit stuck and we're told how to niche down and find a lane and do this thing. But those guys kind of just went where they needed to go. Exactly. Exactly. You know, there were those were really, you know, times where you just one foot in front of the other, get up every day, do the pet you can treat your customers well, and, and, you know, try to put a roof over your family's head, food in their belly and clothes on their back. Oh, sure. Sure. Hey, what were some of your earliest memories of your grandfather? You know, I actually lived with my grandfather during high school, but, but some of my earliest memories are of him just coming over to our house in West call on New Jersey. When I was young, he did live out of state. So we weren't super close. Well, you know, we didn't live in the neighborhood, but he would come visit us. And I remember when I was 13, he, he was living out in California and did a big trip to come see us in New Jersey. And I got to spend some time with them and have some conversations with them. And I was having my bar mitzvah at the time, which is, which is really why he came out. And so that that's one of my great early memories is that time period. Late 80s, I was around 13 years old and, and him coming out and spending a good amount of time with us. Oh, that's great. I'm glad that he was able to make it out for such a big event in your life. I think sometimes it's, it's a little bit of a tragedy when people can't make, make those kinds of trips and can't be there because family so important for some of those big milestones, whether it's graduations or bar mitzvah or whatever it is that that was special to have him out there. Yeah, I agree. And without that, you know, you know, some of your early memories as you get older, they fade. And so, you know, you know, you see the pictures of him holding me when I'm real young and stuff like that. And you resonate with the photos. But yeah, I'm glad to have that memory at 13 of him being in the house and staying with us. And, you know, everyone eating together and talking together. And so yeah, that was, that's one of my great memories. Oh, that's awesome. Now you had mentioned that you had lived with your grandfather through your high school years. Was that all four years? It wasn't all four years. It was, it was my junior year. I was, I was having a hard time in school, paying attention and then, and not doing everything that they wanted me to do. And so my mom thought it was, it would be a good idea for me to go out and spend some time with my grandfather in California. And at that, at that time, he lived in a retirement community. And so I did, I actually went for about six to eight months. I enrolled in a school program out there. And that was a time where day in and day out, I really got to spend some, some good time with them. Oh, that's awesome. How did that relationship start to change and evolve? And, and what were some of the lasting memories you had of that time together? You know, it was, it was, it was good. You know, he, he, he welcomed me in with, with open arms. And, you know, we looked, he was aging. So we, we kind of looked out for each other. And I remember, you know, there was a couple trips to the hospital and we would take the bus, just regular checkup type stuff, no, no emergency type stuff. And we talk about cars and talk about the old days. And he loved baseball. And so he started to come over here, we're going to watch the Dodgers gave her, you know, whoever was on that he was in two at the time. And so it was, it was, it was good. It was, it was, it was a fun time. And I, and I appreciate it now, probably more than I did back then. Do you think that time with him and the time your dad spent working at the dealership played a factor in you bringing back and starting plat motors again? You know, I think so. My dad wanted to take over plat motors when he was just starting out his career. And it wasn't offered to him. My grandfather had a tragedy. He lost his wife, the love of his life. And he eventually shut it down and moved out of state to kind of restart and reassess what he was doing. And so my dad just went to work on his own and became a host sale buyer in that mid Atlantic region, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, for over 40 years. And so he built up a good reputation on his own. And I remember being a young kid, sitting at a diner with him and turning the paper mat over and drawing my dealership and naming it. And so even though I didn't go into it initially, you know, I was, I was dreaming of these things as a kid. My dad would come home with different cars all the time. And, you know, I probably thought we were really wealthy, like, well, my dad has a new car every day, but he was just in the car business. So I think that's where where where some of it came from. And I think, you know, as my dad was living up in Washington and told me that he wanted to move closer to us. And as we were facilitating that, I had this kind of epiphany idea that that that hey, I've been wanting to get into the car game. And I thought we could just do classics, we can have a lot of fun, we can go to auctions, we can go to car shows, we can go to swap meets, and we can spend time together on the road. And so it's it's really been a great adventure for for both of us. Oh, man, that's awesome. Now, did you grow up like a car guy, like, you know, taking shop in class, you know, in high school and did you get into kind of the muscle cars and and all of that or was it something different that brought you into the dealership? Yeah, you know, I think I always had a love for cars. My dad worked a lot six days a week. And so he didn't have a lot of time home. He didn't always make it home for dinner. He was real, a kind of a hustling car guy. And so my mom made sure that every Saturday, he would take me to work. And so I'd be on the road with them, we would drive in different cars, we would go visit dealerships. We'd meet different people in the industry. You know, that's where I learned how to shake a hand the right way with some guy in the dealership that no, you don't shake like that, you shake like this. And so, you know, a lot of those lessons in life. You know, I think I think kind of propelled my interest in vehicles. And then, you know, as I got into my, you know, my high school colleges, I was buying Volkswagen's and and I keep them for a little bit. And then I sell them. Sometimes I'd make a profit. Sometimes I'd get to enjoy him for for a year or so and break even. And so I think, you know, it was just always evolving. But but I always had a love of cars. I wasn't super mechanically inclined. I didn't take those classes that were offered, which I should have hit retrospect. But I but I always had love for the cars. When you mentioned the the Volkswagen's, I had neighbors when I was growing up that would do Volkswagen's and I've got to ask you because we're close to the same age, your thoughts and impressions about that old choraco that Volkswagen had. Yeah, I'm a big fan. I loved it. I had one in the Bay Area. And they're they're actually quite desirable these days, like, like most folks wagons are. But I cut my teeth in the 90s. All my first vehicles were Volkswagen's. I've had dozens of them. I was a huge fan. I drove across country. I was doing the van life before van life was cool. And so I'm a big fan, including the choraco, but lots of bugs and buses. Oh, I love it. Well, and I the buddies I had in high school that had bugs when they needed to work on engines or we needed to swap those things out. It was great. You pop the back out. There's a few bolts that you have to take off. And then a couple of high school kids could just lift that motor right out the back of the Volkswagen. Exactly. It was it was absolutely a blast to to work on and and spend time with with your buddies hanging out doing stuff. For sure. My my my first one, Greg, was early 70s. I found it in the town that I lived in. It was just sitting in someone's driveway, a kind of rotting away. And so we cold knocked on the door, asked the guy if he wanted to sell it. It was orange. And he said, yeah, I would I would sell it. And I said, you know, I love Volkswagen's and I'm a high school, you know, senior here locally. I said, how much you want for it? He said, 250. I took a couple looks at it. And I said, I'll take it. But then I turned around to my buddies and I said, I don't have 250. And so they said, well, don't do here's 50. Here's 10. Here's 20. It's like, we kind of all bought it together. And then there we we had arrived. Oh, that that's that's awesome. I love hearing the stories. And, you know, not to get us too far off track. But I think that's something that's kind of missing with today's cars. Today's cars offer so much with it. But there's something to be said about finding kind of an old clunker that a couple of guys from high school can can work on and have it as a little bit of a project card that you could buy for super cheap. Yeah, exactly. You know, another one of my first was a was an AMC gremlin. And I and I bought it from it was rare, but would look like an old hippie guy in North New Jersey. And me and my best buddy, Andy, you know, we we bought that car and we ended up driving it across country to California to go to go visit my dad, you know, on school break or something. And so yeah, that's it was it was fun to be able to do that. And if you could, you know, if you had a problem on the side of the road, the thermostat went out or or something minor, a battery or all that you could do it, you know, you needed a couple tools and you could take care of business and a lot of the cars, these days, you pop the hood, there's a big cover there, they don't even want you to touch anything. Right, right, right. Yeah. And yeah, and I had friends that had the classic Chevy, Shavette. And you always have to be careful in saying Shavette. Right. But yeah, it was it was kind of the same thing in that same class of that that gremlin. It was like, if you had halfway decent toolbox, you could take care of most anything that might have happened to you on a road trip. Right, exactly. You know, in my high school in the early 90s, it's funny, there was a couple guys who had Shavette. And and they were legendary. They loved them. And they would rally them and take them off road and race them down the quarter mile. So there was these kids who just liked quirky cars, you know, like the Shavette. And it was it was cool that there was kids that had kind of, you know, their parents got them newer cars. And then there was, you know, kind of us working class guys, we just got whatever we got. But we loved it. Absolutely. And the stuff we used to do is was just funny and incredible with with some of those things. I would like to pivot over a little bit and talk to you about plat motors and talk to you about the type of cars that you typically are holding on inventory. What are you looking for? And then who's your typical customers that you work with? You know, plat motors has been a great, great adventure for me and dad. You know, again, we got going in 2014. It's now been 10 years. And we only deal with classic cars. You know, eventually, every once in a while, we'll get something in the 80s. But it's mostly stuff from the, you know, from the 30s, you know, through the late 70s. We love pickup trucks. That's been really good for us. We love Ford pickup trucks. 67 to 79. It's been a special year for us. And so, you know, we mostly, we mostly buy, sell, trade and consigned. And I've been working on building this consignment arm of the business. And it's been super fulfilling, because I've joined the local car clubs in the Redding area. And I get a lot of old timers and retirees, which is a lot of the folks who kind of have these cars, who buy them and sell them, who now, you know, want to maybe liquidate their collections or their estate or whatever it is. And so, that's been a lot of fun for me when these folks reach out to me. They don't do internet. Some of them don't do cell phones. And all the things in the world these days with the scammers and the shamers, I can take all that off their plate. You know, the car stays with them in their house. I can sell it on the on the collector car sites that I advertise on. And I only get a small commission at the end. So it doesn't cost them any money upfront. So it's a real win-win for everyone. And the word is starting to get out in the North State and the Redding community that I'm someone that you can go to if you're a widow or you're an old timer. And like Grandpa said, I'm going to treat you like family and I'm really going to, I'm going to take care of it. I'm going to expose the car to the world. I'm going to get it sold. I'm trying to get the most money because it benefits both of us. And so I'm really working for the client. And so I love doing that. You know, we love getting on the road and buying cars. We love selling cars and we love going to those collector car auctions that you see on TV. But it's so fulfilling to do those consignments, especially when that people really need us. A question I've got for you too, along the classic cars, the old cars is having those stories of, Hey, this was rehab by this guy 30 years ago, made it, you know, whatever, mid 30s forward made it into a hot rod of years back. Is having those kinds of stories, something that helps with selling the car and then making the connection with the new owner? It does. Absolutely. And sometimes those stories aren't available. But when they are, it's a beautiful thing because people that love classic cars love historical documentation. They love the little stuff they love when you have the original plate on the car. They like it when it's the original color, you know, so people just like originality. They like that. It was someone's grandpa's car that there's that history. And if they restored it, yeah, they love it. Oh, you went to that shop or that guy painted it. Yeah, there's some connection there. So people do love historical documentation. They love to get the books and records. I have the original manual. I have the original plates. Even for me, it gets exciting because it tells the story of the car where it's been for the last 40, 50, 60, 70 years. And that is that brings excitement to the sale for sure. And most people really appreciate that. I was wondering about that because my wife Karen, a long time ago, used to do insurance and was a broker and would in this was when we were in Eastern North Carolina. And she would have these guys bring in like two photo albums of the car that they had worked on. It's here's the picture of the original condition. Here's how we stripped down to the frame. Here's where we did like they had more pictures of their cars in the restoration process than they did of like grandkids and family and whatever. When they were doing the insurance for those things. And I was wondering with so much documentation on just the insurance side that the stories on the selling side had to maybe come into play. Yeah, I think so. I recently sold a 55 Chevy for a local gentleman and it went to Virginia. And even though that car was completely restored, he had the photos detailing the restoration process in the garage it was in and they're putting in the crate engine and they're taking components off of it and putting it back on. And then he had a binder of receipts of everything they did to that car over the years from the batteries to the tires to the big stuff. And so that new owner in Virginia, she felt really comfortable buying that vehicle because we had all that stuff. So we told the story of the car, we knew the owners, the ownership history and then with all that documentation, even though it was restored vehicle, it made the cell process a lot easier for me. Oh, that, that's awesome. And it's always fun to have that documentation. I mean, even when your grandkids maybe find it and and start talking about it, it's like, Hey, here's what grandpa did. Here's what grandpa and grandma used to go to the car shows. Here's, you know, all these different things we did to create those kind of memories and those connection points with the with the family. Exactly. You know, I have, I'm a little bit of a collector, reporter, whatever you want to call and I like having, you know, things from the past, from my youth, or just things that that I liked from my past cars, license plates, bicycles, whatever we grew up with, I love it. And I have a few special, you know, like Rubbermaid treasure troves of just things that I kept for probably late high school early college years. And I think the kids are going to get a kick of going through that pre cell phone, pre internet, like, Hey, this is the stuff the dad, or maybe at that time, grandpa was into and then it's pretty neat, you know, to kind of see the stuff. Absolutely. I do have a question for you. And I'm going to put myself into perspective buyer mode here. So here's my scenario for you. All right. Okay, I've been thinking for a while. Now, my grandkids, the oldest one is six years old, but I've been thinking for a while that it would be cool to get a car from 1970, that I could then at some point in the near future next 10 years, take the kids out on a big road trip with grandpa, like one at a time, like me and the grandson, me and the granddaughter off to see America, they pick the sites we just get in the vehicle that was made the same year grandpa was made, let's say, and right, you know, take off and do that. I've been thinking it would be a blast to get one of those series three corvettes. Now, my wife is supportive of that, but she's also like, wouldn't you rather have maybe something like more like a Lincoln or the Thunderbird or something that would be more of a land yacht, because it's like, I'm getting older, my back isn't quite what it used to be. Yeah, what kind of advice, what kind of things would you would you be talking to me about? Well, I agree. Listen, the first rated R movie that I ever saw was vacation. My dad took me to the movie theater. We convinced him to, you know, to let us go with him. And he was reluctant because wasn't sure if he was going to get backlash at home, but he but he went for it. And I never forgot that. And so that's what I love. That's what I grew up with, you know, that those road trips in the station wag. And so I'm what the wife on this one, you know, I like the lamb yachts. I like the cruisers. You know, that you're gonna get in and get out. You can only do that for so long. You know, some of those, you know, the seats are real sporty. You're almost like you're in a rocket ship, you know, and so I think I'm with the misses on that one. You know, I prefer a big cruiser, big backseat for the kids. Station wagon would be fine. But she's right. Old 70 Lincoln Continental Mark three would fit the bill. Thunderbird would fit the bill. You know, just the gas isn't going to be fun. But it's going to be a lot of what do they say miles and miles? Oh, yeah, absolutely. Well, and that gives me something to think about in terms of when I start to put this plan into execution mode is doing that because it was I forget what it was there's some kind of a video that I saw recently of it was some celebrity that was getting in and out of like, let's say a Ferrari. And the guy practically had to lay down on the ground stick his feet and kind of roll up into the seat. And then he was in the Ferrari and then he had to kind of reverse out of it kind of the same way. And I'm like, Oh, that's that's at some point that's not going to be worth it. I don't care how cool the car is. Right. And they are super cool. But you're totally right. I've sold a few cars over the years for older gentlemen's that just complained. One of the most recent ones that we actually purchased for plat motors was an 88 Porsche 944 s super cool car. The guy was the original owner. But he was getting up there and he said the truth is I just can't get in and out of it anymore. I still love it. But it sits here. I have something minor modern. I never use it anymore. And so it's it's got to go. And so I was excited to buy it because it's reminiscent of the cars that were hanging up in our walls when we were kids. But yeah, he was open about it. He said, I just I just can't get it in and out anymore. It's just not it's not comfortable. And I've come across that several times. I think that's why the guys like the stuff on the 50s and 60s, because it's just a little bit more comfortable. Oh, sure. Sure. And I think I saw that vehicle on your website. That was the one that had the 16 candles. Yeah, something on it. Yeah, a brownish root beer color. Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, that was a that was a good one. And it actually went to a young man who's just starting his car career was really excited about the 944s. And he lived up in Seattle. And so I, you know, I always tell the people, Hey, you know, if you ever want to take some pictures and send them to me, I'd love to see it, love to see what you did do it, love to see it, you know, in the downtown Seattle area or wherever you're living. And I'm happy to post it or put it on social media. And so we can kind of keep in touch that way. So I love when that stuff comes back. Oh, that's that's awesome. A question I've got for you as we start to wrap up the conversation is, are there any rules of thumb that you would suggest people keep in mind if they're going out and looking at at classic cars or older cars? Are there little pieces where it's like, Hey, make sure you check this out, make sure you check that out that you would give for folks? You know, cars, even back then are, they're they're still complex, they're way more complex today, but they were still complex back then, meaning that they have hundreds of components. And when you're dealing with cars that are 50, 60, 70 years old, these components, you know, go through wear and tear, have they been updated, have they been upgraded, what's some of the most recent maintenance that the person did? And so it is good to do an inspection to see if there's any maintenance records, you know, every car is different. But and then if you're buying something from from out of the area that you fell in love with, there's these inspectors online that you can call. They're typically mechanics who work, you know, nine to five jobs in that area that you're looking to buy. But late at night, they moonlight after work, and they'll go do these inspections for you and they give you a piece of mine, they fill out detailed sheets, they'll crawl underneath and all around and and make sure that it's what you're looking for. I think the good thing with plat motors, not to to my own horn is what I try to do is I tell the people the good bad and the ugly. And so if a car even has something minor, I want to tell you about it, Greg, because then when you get it in to your house in Georgia, you see it, but you go, Mike told me about it. Well, I saw it on the video, I saw it on the pictures, it was it was pointed out to me. So there's no surprises. Not everyone's going to do that. And I think that's why those inspectors are starting to get more popular, because you can give a guy a couple hundred bucks, who's got mechanical knowledge that can go inspect a car for you. So I don't have a company that I'm suggesting, but I know they're out there. And I think they could be an asset to folks who aren't as mechanically inclined or maybe you're buying something, you know, across state lines or something like that. Great advice. And because you're right, if you're laying out that kind of money for a car, you've got a certain image in your head. And if you find the little dings and you find the little things that are wrong with it, it just becomes a little bit more of that buyer's remorse that sometimes kicks in. Exactly. And yeah, we want to avoid that. But I know there's folks out there that don't provide private people or even dealers who just don't don't expose everything about the vehicle. There's things that are kind of hidden and you don't find out until till after the fact. So I, you know, I want people to avoid that. You know, the best deals are where everybody's happy. And I love when people get their cars, they say, I'm so happy. We love it. It's exactly what we thought, you know, and a lot of times they don't send those inspectors. They go off my pictures, my videos and our phone calls. And I can lay everything out, point it out. We could even do these days with the with the iPhones. We can do a video being you and I can walk around the car and point out anything I see I did one the other day and it really made the guy feel comfortable living out of state and sending me money before having the vehicle in its possession in hopes of getting it and it and it being in the condition that he thinks it is. And so that I think that's what's special about flat motors is we really go above board to make sure that everyone's happy because if they're not happy, we're we're not happy. You know, it means we didn't do our job right. Well, and to your point, if the customers and the people even working with you on consignments, if they're not happy, you're you're essentially your national brand, you're your national. So you're on these different boards, you're on these different things. And so that reputation, like you said, you've got a really good reputation. You do little things like that. Word will get out about like, hey, you may not want to get your get your car from this guy. Yeah, exactly. And I and I think it has been it's starting to be after I sold that 55 Chevy for the gentleman in Redding. I mean, he went out and just he started being like my marketing advertising guy, but he's but he's unpaid. He was just so happy that he's telling his buddies in town and at the VA and in the club that he's in. He goes, If you ever want to sell your car, you got to talk to this guy because he did a great job. And he's you know, he's an honest good guy and he treated me like family. And you know, that's one of the things that Grandpa always taught me is that, you know, your customers are everything. And without them, you don't have a business doesn't matter what you do. But you know, especially with cars. And so he always said, you know, we treat everyone like family. And and that's what we do in in in Platte Motors today. That's awesome. Michael, is there anything about Platte Motors? Anything about your grandfather that I haven't asked you or we haven't talked about that you would love to bring up? You know, I don't think so. I think we covered most of the stuff that I was thinking of. I know that last part that I just mentioned was real important. I wanted to tell you that how we how we told me that, you know, the customers were so important. And and without them, you know, he just didn't have a viable business. And just treating everyone with with kindness, and like family, and explaining everything to everyone, you know, I think that's the that's that's the real good stuff that I that I got from Grandpa Dan. And Michael, where can people find you where where can they get connected with you if they want to learn more about Platte Motors or more about just getting in touch with you? Sure, I have a website. It's it's Platte Motors dot com. I have email it's Platte Motors at gmail dot com. And then I have a phone number. It's it's 707 5999 9448. My text and email. But like we're doing right now, Greg, I love to talk. And Michael, thank you again for taking time out of your day to talk to me about your grandfather about Platte Motors. And give me some little insight on maybe a future car purchase I make through you. Yeah, I'll definitely keep my eyes open. And if everything is is road trip worthy and and read or and ready, I'll make sure to send them over to you just to kind of wet your appetite a little bit. And you can see some different stuff that's coming and going and and start to get excited and move towards that journey. And and I'm helping. I'm happy to guide whether you buy it from Platte Motors or not. We're friends now, Greg, you can call me anytime. You have questions, concerns, you're looking at something and need me to do a little research. See if the price is right. See if the vehicle looks good. I'm happy to do all that stuff for you. Oh, man, thank you so much. I really appreciate that. And thanks again for being on the Cool Grandpa podcast. Thanks so much for having me, Greg. I I loved it. I appreciate you. And have a great day. I enjoyed this conversation with Michael. As you could sense, I was getting really excited about talking with him about the shurakos and the Volkswagen's and classic cars. I also remembered who that celebrity was that had to basically get on the ground and scoot his butt and climb into the Ferrari. And that was Johnny Cash. So there's a video that's out there on social media, YouTube, you know, Facebook, whatever. And you can see Johnny Cash having to sit down in the driveway, scoot himself up, get his legs into the car, then kind of maneuver himself into the seat. So that's that's kind of a funny video there. But it illustrated the point of how when we get older, we love to, you know, put ourselves into these small cars and look really cool. Sometimes, you know, age has a way of being a little mean to us and playing those tricks as far as backs and legs and hips and everything not being as flexible as we want. So I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Michael. I had a blast. You could definitely tell that we enjoyed each other's company. Please go to cool dash grandpa dot us check out the links. Be sure to check on Platt Motors. See what his inventory is. As well as just, you know, shoot Michael in an email if you're looking at vehicles and kind of get his two cents on the vehicle you're looking at and what you're trying to do with that vehicle. So I hope you had as good a time as I did listening to this conversation and cool kids. Until next time, remember to stay cool. Thank you for listening to the cool grandpa podcast. If you've enjoyed this episode, please do me a favor and share it with a friend. That's the best way you can help us to expand our community as well as get the news out about how valuable grandpa's are in the lives of those kids. If you'd like to leave me a comment or shoot me a potential topic for this podcast, please go to www.cool-grandpa.us look for the comments tab, fill it out, hit submit, it's as easy as that. Until next time, remember to stay cool. [Music]
