For almost all of us out there, affording a new car means selling the old one. As we get older and more settled in life, sometimes the idea of a project car or buying a replacement for that vehicle you wish you still had becomes more obtainable. Which vehicle would you repurchase and why? Which project car is right around the corner for you? We also talk about the rise of the Chinese automakers that we can't get in the States, but Chinese motorcycles have already snuck in and they're actually good! Will the Chinese motorcycle market direction be an indicator of the upcoming automotive market? 

The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle!

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We talk about cars all the time, but we’re not out there test driving them very often so we don’t really consider ourselves “car reviewers”. Reporting in general has changed significantly over the years, and the latest “review” on the F250 by Dan Neil in the WSJ shows how even car reviews aren’t safe from bad taste and political soap boxes. In better car review news, the real car reviews on the new Rivian R2 have started to drop and we all seem to think it’s a great step in the right direction EVs as a whole, but we would love to hear your thoughts on it. Dan is more excited for the Scout and Rivian R3, and we both think the new Slate is unfortunately doomed due to increasing costs. Who do you think was the biggest brand loser of 2025? We give our vote to Ford for having more recalls than we didn’t think possible and the huge failure of the Lightning, which should have been an easy win. In really good consumer news, the Michelin and BF Goodrich discount is renewed for 2026 and you can save more than ever by buying from our partners at Discount Tire! Considering how warm it has been in the PNW, it’s getting close to time to get those new summer tires anyway!

The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle!

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On this episode we respond to a helpful listener voicemail, a great suggestion from Juan on the one car that just needs one change, and Brian Dallas swings by to talk about the Ford seat issues that plague their vehicles equipped with Recaros.  

The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle!

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Bring back stereo dolphins! We think there's a market for simplified vehicles that will outlast you with proper maintenance, and we think diesel, non-hybrid, trucks with no built-in infotainment, and manual options would be just the thing. Doug DeMuro disagrees, but do you? It turns out about 1/2 a million Washington drivers have expired tabs. In a surprise to no one living in the area of constantly increasing taxes and costs, more drivers than ever are skipping tab renewals. We often forget the tabs on our motorcycles and trailers, but what about you? Did you hear this episode then suddenly realize your tabs are still from 2021? Living in that RTA zone and it just doesn't make sense to renew them for you? Tesla pulls the plug on the Model S and Model X; is it a sign of decreasing demand for EVs? 

Questions for the audience this week! 

The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle!

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We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

"Good as new!" "...Yeah... good as new..." This week we talk about rebuilt and salvaged titled cars. There are good deals to be had buying rebuilt titled cars and rebuilding salvaged title cars, but you really need to know what you're looking and when to know you're getting scammed. Episode spoiler alert, you're almost always getting scammed. Also, we're mourning the loss of the local white 250 GTO that sold at auction for a $38.5 million; we will miss seeing it's surprise appearances at Exotics and other local events. Do you think it sold for the right price? Is any car worth that much to YOU? We go back and forth on it. Dan doesn't think any cars is, but Nick wishes it was in his garage. 

The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle!

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We love it when our audience gives us feedback about a topic, so we want to hear how you have used your car for maybe more than its originally intended purpose. The big stories are always fun, but we would love to see and share some of your moments of your car being used to it's fullest. Camping out of your supercar? Towing your track bike with your track car? Converted your Smart car into a tank? Used your Hilux to help overthrow annoying government regime? Let us know in the comments, or send us a voicemail or text message! 

The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle!

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Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts! 

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We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

We here at the Avants Podcast welcomes Kevin Nielsen and Daniel Piker to the crew! Kevin has just started the new San Diego chapter of Avants and is a car person through and through. Daniel joined us back in October and you have probably noticed all the upgrades on the Avants social media. Honda's new Prelude has bombed in the US market, selling just 126 units in the last 2 months. Probably because it's a rebodied Civic with better suspension and brakes and they're asking an insane $40+ thousand dollars for it. Want to see something cool though? Check out this story from VinWiki on the Ganassi racing "secret" tunnel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJR8Ke6Tw6A

The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle!

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Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts! 

Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873!

We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

Are you giving your insurance and law enforcement everything they need to ruin your fun drive? If you've opted in to driving monitoring apps, or even just your cars infotainment system user agreement you just might be. We talk a little about the inevitable use of your data against you, yet another Corvette variant coming around the corner, and more on this weeks show!

The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle!

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The ZR1 and Mustang GTD finally have gone head to head and the ZR1 proves it's almost impossible to beat, not just by the GTD, but by basically anything on the market. We can't wait to see the ZR1X and what numbers it's going to put down. If you're willing to wear the jorts, the Corvette is likely going to be king for a long time. In other good news, Porsche has finally back peddled on the full EV Cayman/Boxster that no one wanted. 

The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle!

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We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

Carvana came to the used car market with big promises and a unique buying experience, but loose spending habits took them to the brink of bankruptcy. Now seemingly out of nowhere Carvana is back and has a market value exceeding Ford and even GM! Will this change the way dealers sell used cars so they can compete? Have you bought or sold a car from Carvana? Let us know! 

The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle!

Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans

Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts! 

Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873!

We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!