Don't Let The Good Ones Get Away

Better Than New

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