Better Than New

00:00 - SHOW OPEN - Watch Out For Base Car Inflation Don't Pay Too Much For a Base Model Used Car When the top of the line model of a particular used car or truck goes up in value, many sellers of base-model examples of the same car try to capitalize on this by asking inflated prices for their base cars. 01:25 - INTRO -What Is Base Car Inflation? EXAMPLE: Price of the 300ZX Turbo vs. lesser non-tu...

00:00 - OPEN: You Can Save The World In Style With This Fun, Affordable Italian EV Today I am going to tell you about today a small, 2-door EV hatchback at the very top of my list of used electric vehicles that I would buy if I were in the market for a used EV.  Why?  It’s got attitude, it’s got style, it’s affordable, and most important... it’s fun to drive. 00:45 - INTRO: The 2013-2019...

00:00 - OPEN - Saturn Sky is a Sports Car Bargain Hiding in Plain Sight 01:06 - Introduce Loren Campbell - Owner of a 2008 Saturn Sky Redline Purchased car new from San Jose Dealer in 2007 Has all options except spoiler and automatic transmission We discuss the merits of a manual transmission 05:35 - What Makes the Saturn Sky Redline Great? The Saturn Sky and Sky Redline looks great It came with a...

00:00 - OPEN - The EV Purchase Conundrum - Buy New, Used or Not at All? In this episode, learn more about government mandated EV target dates, the problems that lie ahead for Electric Vehicle adoption in the US and how those problems might affect you.  Also, if you’re considering getting an EV sooner than later, I’ll give you some ideas on how to dip your toe into the EV waters, without...

00:00 - OPEN: The 4th Gen Pontiac Firebird With A V8 is The Devil On Your Shoulder The focus of today’s episode is a car that can bring out the inner hooligan in all of us. And for those who aren't certain if an inner-hooligan lurks just below the surface of their personality, rest assured that if it's there, this car will find it, yank it loose and set it free.  01:15 - INTRO Looking for Fun...

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 f...

00:00 - SHOW OPEN In a world where the average new car costs more than $48,000 and the average used car costs more than $27,000, an affordable price truly matters if you’re looking for a something fun to drive on a budget. And the focus of today’s podcast episode is on a car from Mazda that’s a performance bargain today, because the average used car buyer likely doesn’t remember that this car...

00:00 - Better Than New BONUS SEGMENT: Why You Need a Cheap OBD2 Scan Tool And the subject of today’s Bonus segment is… an OBDII scan tool.  Or more specifically, my pitch to you that you should have at least an inexpensive one so you can quickly check trouble codes and stay on top of your car or truck’s operating condition.   00:45 - What is OBD2? OBD2 or On Board Diagnostic T...

00:00 - INTRO: The 60+ MPG Commute-Crushing Hybrid If I wanted a used vehicle that gets amazing fuel economy at a far more reasonable price than a used Tesla, I would buy the first hybrid sold in the US.  It’s a vehicle that had an amazing EPA fuel economy rating and it’s a car I still geek out over today, in spite of the fact that the earliest examples are more than 20 years old and the...

00:00 - SHOW OPEN Five Simple Rules To Help You (and Your Partner) Find A Cool Used Car at a Great Price   We review five simple, yet effective rules to help you find the perfect, fun-to-drive used car at a price that’s within your budget. If you follow them during your search, you should be able to find the vehicle you want at a great price with less effort.  In addition to reviewing th...

00:00 - SHOW OPEN - Your Daily Serving of Spicy Italian If you’re looking for passion, fun and value in a daily driver, today’s Better Than New vehicle - a 2-door turbocharged hatchback from that country shaped like a boot - definitely serves up copious amounts of all three.  And I'll tell you what this car is and why you might want one in just a moment. So hop in, buckle up, and let's go for...

00:00 - OPEN - Takata Airbag Roulette 00:50 - The Big Warning and The Quick Solution If you have a used car or truck built since the late 1990s, you and your passengers could be in danger every time you get behind the wheel if your vehicle has a Takata airbag that hasn’t been repaired or replaced.  The good news is, there is a simple solution for this problem.  It’s a nationwide recall a...

00:00 - OPEN If you love wagons, today’s Better Than New used vehicle is a bad-ass wagon made by Dodge that has a little bit of something for everyone.    01:00 - INTRO The Dodge Magnum was sold in the US from 2005-2008.  Like many other manufacturers, Dodge didn’t call their wagon "a wagon" either.  They simply called it “Magnum” and like wagons of yester-year, the D...

00:00 - OPEN This SUV is cheaper than it should be because a lot of people forgot about it, or never knew what it was in the first place. If you find the right example, it makes a nearly perfect personal or family commute-to-work, haul-your-kids, haul-your-stuff and go-on-a-getaway vehicle that's really affordable.    01:20 - INTRO - 2nd Gen Isuzu Trooper – A Cheap and Nearly Perfect SUV...

00:00 - OPEN - Check a V8 Off Your Bucket List With A 2011-2014 Mustang GT 01:00 - EPISODE INTRO - The 2011 or Newer Mustang GT 02:00 - State of America's V8 Pony Cars in The Early 2000s Forth Generation Mustang Only three Pony Cars left at the beginning of the decade Camaro and Firebird were cancelled at the end of 2002 Fourth generation Mustang continue to be developed Mach 1 and SVT Mustang Cob...

00:00 - OPEN - A Tree Falls and Smashes Our Cars, Which Leads To This 2nd Generation Nissan Xterra Review First, an apology... sorry for the very late delivery on this episode! It's been a heck of a week here at Casa de Crenshaw as my podcast prep time was suddenly taken up with debris removal and car insurance hassles. That's because at the beginning of the week, an 80' tree snapped off in high w...

00:00 - OPEN: Used Car Price Predictions and Automotive Bucket List Items for 2023 Today we are going to cover three main items on the podcast: Where used car prices are going to go in 2023. How to maximize what you might pay for your next used car Items you should cross off your automotive bucket list in 2023. 00:45 - USED CAR PRICES AND WHERE THEY ARE GOING Inflation and high prices for new and...

00:00 - OPEN - Our New Year's Used Car Preview A look forward to 2023 to give you a hint of some of the interesting cars, trucks and SUVs we plan to talk about in the coming year.  01:20 - INTRO - Examples of Cars, Trucks and SUVs We Will Cover in 2023 Over the last few weeks I have been working on a potential list of used cars to feature in Better Than New weekly podcast episodes in 2023 and...

00:00 - SHOW OPEN - The Better Than New Podcast - 2022 Top Ten Used Vehicle Countdown We rank the top-10 used cars, trucks and SUVs featured on the Better Than New Podcast in 2022 00:50 - INTRO - Top Ten Vehicle Selection Criteria Vehicle We Recommended in 2022 Fun to drive Offers Good Value Something You Would Be Proud to Own Potentially a Future Classic 03:35 - #10 - Mitsubishi Galant VR4 (1991...

00:00 - SHOW OPEN Today's Better Than New used vehicle is an SUV that is truly fun to drive... on the road.  This is not another car-based SUV trying to pose as a rugged, trail-busting 4x4. Instead it’s an SUV built from car DNA that pretty much sticks to the car thing and ends up doing a solid imitation of a 4-door sports sedan - just one with a little more ground clearance, a rear hatch and...

00:00 - INTRO Today's feature vehicle is a sports sedan with a jewel-like, high revving engine, a slick-shifting 6-speed transmission, agile, planted handling and a comfortable, stylish interior that provides just enough refinement to a feel special. It’s a car that I highly recommend if you’re looking for a fun, engaging driver-oriented vehicle to haul up to 4-people on your daily adventures. 00:...

00:00 - THE LONG DISTANCE USED CAR PURCHASE If you are really serious about buying a specific used vehicle and you don’t want to wait, you may have to look in markets that are much further away.  Maybe 500 miles or 1000 miles away.  Maybe even on the other side of the country.  How do I know? After searching locally for a very specific car that I really wanted back in late 2010, I f...

00:00 - SHOW OPEN The first Jeep vehicles were made more than 80 years ago, but they're still being sold today, and if you have ever considered buying one, the Jeep Wrangler TJ series from 1997-2006 should be at the top of your bucket list. 03:55 - THE WRANGLER TJ: A BIG LEAP FORWARD IN RIDE QUALITY A return to round headlights (no more rectangular lights) Old-style leaf springs were eliminated Co...

00:00 - SHOW OPEN Insight gained from making a series of upgrades to a 1999 NB Miata 01:10 - INTRODUCE CHRIS FISH - An NB Miata Owner Who Loves To Modify His Car Chris began his search for a Miata a few years ago and describes how he found his 1999 Emerald Green NB Miata and why he fell for this small, lightweight roadster. 06:45 - WHAT CHRIS DECIDED TO MODIFY ON HIS MIATA Chris started his resear...

00:00 Show Open If you want to spend less, and still have something cool that’s fun to drive… I’ve got good news because today’s Better Than New focus vehicle is a sport sedan that comes in multiple configurations to fit your lifestyle.  You can get it in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.  You can get it with an automatic or a manual transmission.  And on top of that, it handles...