Matthew Laflin | Accountant (@matthewlaflin)

Car Guy Math EP. 2 — I ranked IS300 mods by dollars spent vs actual improvement and coilovers didn’t win 👀 As an accountant with an IS300 I had to run the numbers. The results might make some of you mad. Drop your ranking in the comments 👇 #IS300 #LexusIS300 #CarGuyMath #CarMods #2jz

First DIY job on my 2003 Lexus IS300 and of course I had to make a spreadsheet 😂 Cooling system refresh breakdown: Denso radiator: $131.97 Thermostat + gasket: $24.94 HPS silicone hoses: $278.46 Toyota Red coolant: $30.36 Toyota ATF top-off: $7.53 Filters: $31.94 Parts total: $508.06 Tools total…

In 2024 my ES330 cost me $3,636.68 in repairs and maintenance. $477.89 of that was tires. That’s the year a lot of owners sell. 2025, same car: $522.45. 2026 so far: $264.90. Don’t judge a car by its worst year. Look at a few years together and set the one time stuff aside. Comment MATH and I’ll…

My ES330 headlights are were foggy, not broken. $18.90 of wet sandpaper (400, 600, 2000 grit), and I only used about $0.95 of worth of it. The engine bay cost me nothing because I had everything already. I can't promise what it adds to your sale price, but it's the cheapest way I know to make a…

I only drive my Lexuses 9000 miles a year so your number could be wayyy higher. Comment "MATH" and I'll send you my spreadsheet so you can run your own car guy math. #is300 #carguymath #lexuses #cartires #accountantlife

I plan to pay my 2003 Lexus IS300 off early which means I’ll have no car payment before it hits 100k miles. Not too bad on a car that should hold its value or appreciate. Comment MATH and I’ll send you my car tracking spreadsheet 📊 #is300 #lexusis300 #carpayment #lexus #carguysbelike

First time you pull isn't accurate. Wipe it and pull again🫡 Link in bio for the spreadsheets I use to track the costs of both my cars📊 #is300 #lexusis #es330 #carmaintenance #oldcars

Two 20+ year old Lexus sedans. I paid $12,500 for the IS300 and it appraised at $17,000. The only catch is repairs. So I built a tool that tells you whether to DIY it or pay the shop. The tool is in my link in bio🫡 #lexus #usedcars #diycarrepair #is300 #es330

Your shop might be charging you for the same labor twice. When two repairs remove the same parts, you should only pay that labor once. My $2,400 bill got it right, but I only caught it because I read the line items. Most people never do. So I built a tool that breaks down any repair quote…

Attention: ALL CAR GUYS🗣️‼️ New Series coming soon! Comment your make model and year, repair or shop quote, and your experience level to be featured in the series👀 I will be putting your shop quotes on trial to see if you should DIY or Pay the Shop. Must be following to be featured🫡 #carguythings…

I'm an accountant, not a mechanic. But in this 2026 economy, I now identify as both😂 Not every job is worth doing yourself, so I check every repair first. Comment DIY and I'll send you the tool I use 🔧 #carguymath #is300 #carmaintenance #carrepairs #diymechanic

Everything costs more in 2026, so I tried something I never thought I'd do 👇 Groceries, insurance, rent. And car repairs are up 5.8% this year, faster than inflation. So I started working on my own car.... and I'm an accountant, not a mechanic. I had no idea what I was doing. My first DIY job…

I spent $2,419 fixing a car worth about $5,000. Everyone says sell the car when the repair is half the cars value. That was January 2024. 33 months later, that repair has cost me about $73 a month. The average new car payment is $614 a month. The car's value doesn't decide if a repair is worth…

RIP my 6CD changer😭 went on a 6 hour road trip and it couldn't take it anymore🥲 Need your help!! What should I replace it with? CarPlay with a screen for navigation would be pretty cool, I still want a CD player though so let me know if I can do both or what you guys have done🙏 #is300 #lexusis300…

The part they leave out is the reason most people think old cars are a money pit. And it has nothing to do with the car. Most people think you need a new car to have a reliable car. That's not true. I own two 20 year old Lexuses, a 2003 IS300 and a 2006 ES330. I'm an accountant, so I tracked every…

Everyone says old cars are money pits. Here are my receipts 🧾 Avg new car payment: $7,368/yr My 2 paid-off Lexuses: $1,257 Shop quoted $1,200 for radiator hoses + thermostat. I did it myself for $667. Before your next repair hits, comment DIY and I'll send you the tool I built that tells you…

Accountant by day, car guy in the driveway 🔧 I got tired of guessing whether a repair was worth doing myself or paying the shop. So I built a tool: enter your car, the repair and your skill level, and it tells you DIY or Pay the Shop, with the real costs both ways. Comment DIY and I'll send it to…

Shop quoted $1,200. I did it myself for $667. That's $533 saved in 4.5 hours, $118/hr tax-free. But not every job pays like that. Some come out to $15/hr with real risk. Comment "DIY" and I'll send you the tool that tells you which jobs are worth it 👇 #is300 #lexusis #diymechanic #carrepair…

Been working on my shooting form and this guy could tell 🏀🔫#is300 #lexusis300 #hoopersofig #basketballlovers #accountantlife

The only thing missing to make the Lexus IS300 a 10/10 is a manual transmission. TikTok kids who say every car needs 500+ horsepower aren't going to like this take😂 #is300 #lexusis300 #2jzge #jdmdaily #altezza

6 months ownership review with my 2003 Lexus IS300 on the morning commute. 23 years old, garage kept, and it still feels brand new. 2JZ-powered, LSD, perforated leather, upgraded suede panels. I’m 6’7 and it’s still comfortable. Only thing keeping it from a perfect 10 is that it’s not a true…

Tell me what daily makes you feel this way🤔 #is300 #lexusis #ls400 #gs400 #lexus

4 things worth the money as a car guy accountant I'm a 9 to 5 accountant who taught myself to work on my own cars, and number 4 alone saved me $533. 1. A good wax. Skip the cheap Turtle Wax stuff. A real one lasts about 2 months and actually protects your paint. 2. A jump starter battery pack…

When this fund hits $10,000 I'm buying someone a car. Paid off in full, keys in their hand. Here's the math. The shop quoted me $1,200 for my first ever DIY job. I did it myself and saved $533, and that money isn't going in my pocket. It's going into a fund. Every dollar I save doing my own car…

A shop quoted me $1,200 to do my radiator hoses and thermostat on my IS300. I did it myself with my brother in 4.5 hours and saved $533. The wrenching wasn’t the hard part. Figuring out if I could even do it was. Hours of digging through manuals, YouTube, and asking friends and AI just to know if…

As an ES owner the grass definitely looks greener on the other side😂 But at the same time the ES, although selling the most, I think is the most under appreciated now 20 years later. The car grows on me every day and I think it's because it does exactly what I bought it for. To be the reliable…

Some mornings all you need is a boat and some silence #ES330 #ES350 #lexuses #lexususa #ls430

Cost per mile is the car number nobody tracks. It should be the first thing you calculate before buying your next car. Add up everything that keeps your car on the road (gas, insurance, maintenance, repairs, registration), divide by total miles driven, and you have your real cost per mile. My paid…

Car Guy Math EP.6: The $47,000 difference 💸 My 2006 ES330 costs me $88/month over the last 4 years I’ve had it. My neighbor’s new ES350 costs him $614 a month in payments. Everyone thinks the difference is $526 a month — but that’s just what it is on paper. That $526/month gap, invested at a…

Car Guy Math EP.5: A dollar saved is worth more than a dollar earned 💵 My first ever DIY job on my 2003 Lexus IS300 was the radiator, upper and lower hoses, and thermostat. Saved $533 doing it myself instead of taking it to the shop. That’s $118/hour, tax free. This is my favorite part — to…