Episode 44

full
Published on:

23rd Mar 2023

Don't Let The Good Ones Get Away

00:00 - Don't Let The Good Ones Get Away

In this episode, I talk about some of the cars and trucks I've missed out on and how I would approach those potential purchases differently if I had a do-over.

01:05 - Recent Missed Opportunity to Buy a Great Jeep Wrangler TJ

I missed out on an opportunity to test drive and purchase a 2004 Jeep Wrangler TJ Unlimited (or LJ). I put off going to see the car for over a week because I really wasn't ready to part ways with my existing cars (I'm not Leno, so I can have only one or two cars at a time). Now I regret that decision, and next time a good car comes along, I will have to be ready let something go to free up space and money for a different used car.

08:00 - Should Have Bought an E30 3-Series BMW Before Prices Went Up!

Over the years I have test driven multiple examples of BMW's E30 3-series cars in an effort to find one I wanted. I drove the various 325is models and also several E30 M3s, but never found the right combination of condition and price. Even a few years ago, the 325i and is models were still affordable, but they have moved a couple of price categories and now good ones cost more than I want to spend on a car like that. The M3 is even worse. If I had purchased one of the M3s I looked at in the $12K to $15K range, it would have been worth four to five times as much.

14:05 - The Datsun 240Z and the Nissan Z32 300ZX are two more cars I missed out on.

I have driven many 240Zs over time and was never moved enough to purchase one of those cars, but today the price for a driver-quality 240Z is about $30,000, and since there are a lot of interesting cars in that price range, I may never get one. But the bigger regret for me is a 1996 300ZX I missed out on that was priced at $6900 when it should have been double that. Today, that car is probably worth closer to $20,000, and all I had to do to buy it was pick up the phone and call, but I wasn't ready to make that purchase.

23:00 - How Would I Approach These Types of Purchases Today?

I would review the 5-simple rules to buy a cool used car from Better Than New's episode 2 and episode 40, and I would pay particularly close attention to rule #5, which is "be ready to buy".

26:10 - Don't Make The Mistakes I have Made When I Comes To Being Ready

  • Make sure your have your money or financing in order
  • Make sure you have cleared it with your spouse/partner
  • Make sure you are mentally ready to give up one car for another
  • And take action when you find a used vehicle that meets your needs

27:00 - Close/Wrap-up

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About the Podcast

Better Than New
Find a cool used car, truck or SUV at a price you'll love
The average new car sales price in the US is nearly $50,000, and the average used vehicle sales price is close to $30,000... I think that's insane! Well if you're like me and you don’t want to pay these crazy inflated car prices, I believe you should still be able to drive something fun. That’s the idea behind Better Than New – a podcast to help you find a cool used car, truck or SUV at a price you’ll love.

I’m Gary Crenshaw, host of Better Than New and a long time automotive enthusiast, and I want to inspire car buyers on a budget to think differently about what they can actually afford to drive. My goal is to introduce listeners to the broad array of interesting, fun-to-drive, enthusiast-friendly used cars, trucks and SUVs available at prices just about anyone can afford… vehicles from the 80s, 90s, 2000s and beyond that offer buyers a wide range of interesting choices. Each week we’ll explore a specific vehicle or vehicle category, tell you what to look for and what to avoid, and give you practical tips to help you find your next cool used car, truck or SUV and keep it on the road for years to come.

With a little work, the joy of owning a cool used car at price you’ll love is within reach and this podcast is here to help you find it.

So hop in, buckle up and let's go for a drive!

About your host

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Gary Crenshaw

A lifelong lover of all things mechanical, Gary has spent the majority of his existence driving, dreaming about or wrenching on cars, motorcycles and even the occasional airplane.

It started with mini-bikes and go-karts as a kid, progressed to 2-stroke dirt bikes, followed by his first car… a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. Then came the Yamaha era with several RD400s, RZ350s and a Canadian RD350LC (should have kept that!). A pilot’s license was next with some memorable hours flying a 1946 Aeronca Champ low and slow around the Pacific Northwest. While in college, his brother-in-law who sold high-end cars hired him to deliver BMW, Mercedes and Porsche vehicles to customers.

Those early experiences led to a lifetime of owning an eclectic mix of interesting used cars, including a ‘65 Mustang GT, a ’72 Datsun 510, a Porsche 914, a Celica Alltrac Turbo, a Mini Cooper S, a couple of Miata’s, two Audi S4 Avants, a Galant VR4, a Fiat 850 Spider, a 1983 Subaru 4x4 GL wagon and a first gen RX-7, along with dozens of daily driver cars and SUVs from Acura, Honda, Toyota and Mazda. And his favorite? Depends on when you ask, but that distinction likely goes to the Mazda RX-4 station wagon he learned to drive in. That fun-to-drive car combined Gary's passion for wagons, rotary engines and manual transmissions all in one.

So what about you? Which used car, truck or SUV would you love to own? Let’s find it together!