Episode
The Man Who Decides What Cars Are Worth | MotoMan Podcast #019
- Podcast
- MotoManTV Podcast
- Published
- May 20, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5608
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
What does it take to become the ultimate authority on classic car values? In this special vault episode, MotoMan sits down with Dave Kinney—the founder and the publisher of the Hagerty Price Guide. From a fateful, unfiltered conversation at a New York City Shake Shack in 2006 that completely altered MotoMan's career path, to Dave’s own wild journey of turning a 2.3 GPA and severe dyslexia into a prolific writing career for The New York Times, Octane, and Automobile magazine, this episode goes far beyond simple market numbers. Whether you want to understand market arbitrage, the real difference between fair market value and forced liquidation value, or simply need bulletproof advice on how to navigate the business world without being an a$$hole, Dave Kinney delivers decades of raw, unfiltered automotive & life wisdom. Chapters: 00:00:00 - Intro to Dave Kinney and the Man Who Writes the Book on Classic Car Values 00:01:04 - Vault Episode Context and the 15-Year Conversation 00:01:49 - The Shake Shack Conversation That Changed MotoMan’s Path 00:04:36 - Growing Up in Arlington and Learning to Listen 00:06:17 - Codebreaker Father, Lincoln Memories, and Winning the Parent Lottery 00:08:24 - The Car Wash Lesson Dave Never Forgot 00:10:16 - His Mother’s Lessons and a Teenage Cross-Country Van Trip 00:15:48 - Becoming a Car Kid Through Magazines, Models, and Family Cars 00:18:30 - What Dave Learned from His Father’s Entrepreneurial Side 00:20:41 - Working Around Exotic Cars at 16 00:23:35 - Five Plymouth Valiants and Dave’s First Car-Flipping Lesson 00:25:11 - Avantis, Early Profits, and Finding Value in Weird Cars 00:29:14 - Taking Trains to New York with Cash to Buy Cars 00:33:31 - College, Unusual Cars, and Early Market Instincts 00:41:59 - Coming Home, Real Estate Lesso…