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Scouting Report: Ray "The Appraiser" Dominguez

1:24
He will make your trade-in feel worthless. Bring competing offers and control the conversation.
0:000:00
Continuous
PLAYLIST
1The Four Square Trap4:30
2The Finance Office Gauntlet5:00
3The Trade-In Lowball4:15
4The Monthly Payment Mindset4:00
5The Dealer Fee Maze4:45
6Internet Price vs. Reality3:45
7Walking Away Is Your Superpower3:30
8Where This Goes Wrong4:26
9Where Humans Break3:03
10The Motivation Dip4:28
11The Day One Email3:52
12The Tomi Pitch4:22
13The Builder in Motion2:59
14The Boring Stuff That Saves Your Ass~3 min
15Support Before You Need It~3 min
16The Five Numbers That Matter~3 min
17The Thirty Day Sprint~4 min
18The Dollar Water Hustle3:46
1920 Ways to Get Eat My Money in Front of Real People8:46
20Scouting Report: Mike "The Calculator" Reeves1:28
21Scouting Report: Denise "The Closer" Watkins1:24
22Scouting Report: Ray "The Appraiser" Dominguez1:24
23Scouting Report: Sandra "The Shield" Okafor1:37
24Scouting Report: Tony "The Grinder" Bianchi1:35
25Scouting Report: Vince "The Storyteller" Morales1:38
26The Hundred Dollar Bill on the Ground
27Your First $1,000 with Eat My Money
Edge TTS (en-US-GuyNeural) on Mac Mini

Alright, heads up on this one. Ray Dominguez. The Appraiser. Used car manager. This guy has one job: make your trade-in worth as little as possible so the dealership makes as much as possible.

Here's his routine. He walks around your car like a surgeon examining a patient. He points at every scratch, every ding, every tiny imperfection. He sucks air through his teeth like he's looking at a car wreck. He has a clipboard, but he never writes anything on it. It's all theater.

By the time he's done with his inspection, you feel embarrassed you even drove that car in. That's the point. He wants you emotionally deflated so when he offers you sixty percent of what Kelley Blue Book says, you think maybe he's right. Maybe your car really is that worthless.

He will also attack your research. If you come in with a KBB printout, he'll say "that's retail, we can't go by that." If you show Carvana or CarMax quotes, he'll find reasons to dismiss them.

Your playbook: get three written offers before you walk in. Carvana. CarMax. Another dealer. Bring them printed. When Ray lowballs you, put the competing offers on the desk. If he can't match them, sell the trade separately. Never let him wrap the trade into the new car deal — that's where the money disappears.