used cars

New Life for Cars of the Past

Last updated: Nov 25, 2019 at 4:18PM
Published on: Jul 3, 2013 by tgriffith

If you watch Breaking Bad, you know that Walter White drives an old Pontiac Aztec everywhere he goes. The car gets driven hard, has been through countless ordeals, and yet it soldiers on.

Of course, none of it is real on the show, but it’s still interesting that producers chose a car that is universally hated and chided as one of the world’s ugliest vehicles of all time.

Maybe, though, the show has given a second life to Aztecs everywhere. No longer are they weird afterthoughts from a forgettable era, they are now, somehow… cool. Especially ones with a perpetually broken windshield and one steel wheel.

What’s the Perfect Used Summer Roadster?

Last updated: Nov 25, 2019 at 4:17PM
Published on: Jul 1, 2013 by tgriffith

I have a new mission in life:

Find a roadster.

Summer’s here, and fun, fast open-top driving should arrive with it. I have some summer road trips coming up, and they would be infinitely more enjoyable behind the wheel of a rear-wheel-drive thrill machine.

I’m thinking something small, light and quick, but still masculine and powerful. So the Miata is out.

Something new is out, too, as finances currently dictate that I fill the garage with a pre-loved used model. Well, truthfully, finances also dictate that I wait until I have a garage, but that’s just a matter of logistics.

When Used Cars Were Owned by Rock Stars

Last updated: Nov 25, 2019 at 4:16PM
Published on: Jun 27, 2013 by tgriffith

As a teenager in Washington State in the 1990s, it was required that I be a huge fan of Seattle grunge music. Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, The Melvins, Pearl Jam… they were all required listening. More so, perhaps, than actual school work. (Do my required reading of The Great Gatsby, or listen to Nevermind again? Not a difficult choice.)

As we all know, the thrill of the music was overshadowed by tragedy, as both Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and Layne Staley of Alice in Chains died young.

We’ve covered on this blog the van that once belonged to The Melvins. Cobain drove the band around in it before his own band hit it big. The Melvan, as that 1972 Dodge Sportsman is known, was for sale for $100,000 not long ago. It didn’t sell, was relisted at $50,000 and still hasn’t found a home.

Apparently the market for old beater vans isn’t very hot, even with a connection to a rock legend.

When a Lexus Turns into a Lemon

Last updated: Nov 25, 2019 at 11:27AM
Published on: Jun 17, 2013 by tgriffith

A 2004 Lexus RX 330 should run forever. Especially one that’s well taken care of, undergoes regular oil changes using synthetic oil, gets its scheduled maintenance done, has just 77,000 miles on the clock and was purchased in 2008 as a certified used car with just over 30,000 miles.

The car has performed well, gone on many road trips across most of the Western United States and carried many loads of Costco groceries, football gear and horseback riding equipment. It has never let its owner down. Even amidst all the positives, the car has had certain issues and, now, they’ve reached a point where the owner wonders if she should keep the car or sell it and move on to something newer.

The car still has about $12,000 owed on the bank loan. Based on similar vehicles posted on the CarGurus used listings, this RX 330 is still worth somewhere between $14,000 and $18,000.

Here are the issues facing this RX:

used cars

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