Cheap Thrills
by Rob Hartman
Cheap Thrills is the podcast for people who love cars but don’t like spending money. From bargain performance cars and future classics to market place scams, bad-buys and brilliant sleepers. We hunt down the most fun you can have on four wheels for the least cash. If it’s a cheap, questionable, underrated or probably a bad idea.. it belongs here.
Episodes
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The Mazda MX-5: Hairdresser’s Car? Or the Best Cheap Car Ever Made?
Send us Fan Mail Everyone knows the Mazda MX-5. Small. Cute. “Hairdresser’s car.” But where did that reputation come from… and is it completely wrong? In this episode of Cheap Thrills, we dig into one of the most misunderstood cars ever made. From the Clarkson-era stigma to the reality of what…
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Ring Run #4: We Fixed The RCZ, Then It Broke.
Send us Fan Mail We thought we’d fixed it. After everything, the oil leak, the stress, the near disaster, the RCZ was finally right. So we took it to Dartmoor National Park to prove it. And for a while… it was perfect. Clean. Smooth. Effortless. The kind of drive that makes you believe you’ve...
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They Turned Up in a Van… and Tried to Rob Me: Buyer Beware
Send us Fan Mail BUYER BEWARE is the series where we expose the scams, tricks and tactics nobody tells you about when buying or selling cars. This episode? They don’t message. They don’t email. 👉 They turn up. In this episode of Cheap Thrills, I break down the in-person buyer scams that can cost...
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Porsche Boxster: The Porsche Everyone Got Wrong… Better Than a 911?
Send us Fan Mail Everyone says the Porsche Boxster is the poor man’s 911… but I think it might actually be better. In this episode of Car Park Confessions, we take a brutally honest (and slightly unhinged) look at one of the most underrated sports cars ever made. How you can buy a Porsche for the...
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Ring Run #3: My £1,600 Nürburgring Car Is Already Leaking Oil
Send us Fan Mail The £1,600 Peugeot RCZ Nürburgring project hits its first real crisis. What starts as a simple warning light quickly turns into a dashboard Christmas tree with faults ranging from turbo pressure issues and camshaft timing errors to a completely unrelated driver’s door control…
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Buyer Beware - The 10 Biggest Car Scams in Britain Right Now
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Cheap Thrills, Rob breaks down the 10 biggest car scams happening in Britain right now- from Facebook Marketplace deposit traps to cloned cars and ghost traders. If you’ve ever seen a car that looks too cheap to be true… this episode might save you thousands of...
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Carpark Confessions - The Polite and the Furious
Send us Fan Mail The Polite and the Furious We don’t shout. We don’t beep. We don’t confront. We just sit there… politely furious. This week on Carpark Confessions, we’re heading to the most emotionally unstable square of tarmac in Britain - the petrol station forecourt. Six pumps. One queue.…
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Buyer Beware - I Clicked The DVLA Refund Email.
Send us Fan Mail You get an email from the DVLA saying you’re owed £47.81. It looks official. It feels boring. And that’s exactly why it works. In this Buyer Beware episode, we break down how the DVLA tax phishing scam works, who it really targets, and how to protect yourself in five simple…
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The Ring Run #2: 4 Warning Lights and a Bulldog Sticker
Send us Fan Mail It had zero miles of fuel. Four warning lights. A parking sensor that wouldn’t shut up. A clutch with anger issues. And, for reasons still unclear, a bulldog sticker on the back window. This episode is the real first test — not the Nürburgring… just getting it home. No cinematic...
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Carpark Confessions - Everyone At a Car Meet Is Like This.
Send us Fan Mail Every car meet has that guy. The one whose car is “nearly finished.” The wheels are temporary. The bumper’s coming off again. The map is booked. Always next week. In this episode of Cheap Thrills, we break down the unspoken rules of car meets, from anoraks who know more about…
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The Ring Run #1: Croissants Meet Clipboards
Send us Fan Mail I bought a £1,600 Peugeot RCZ with the aim of driving it to the Nürburgring. In Episode 1 of our Cheap Thrills road trip to Germany , I explain why the RCZ beat the sensible option — a Mondeo ST220 — and why this felt like the right kind of bad idea. This isn’t about lap times or...
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The Ring Run - Season 1 Trailer: Cheap Cars. Bad Ideas. Proper Fun.
Send us Fan Mail This is a podcast about cars that are fun, affordable, and usually a bad idea in the best possible way. Not supercars, not finance deals but real cars, real money, and real decisions. In this short, I explain what Cheap Thrills is really about: Why cheap cars can still deliver…
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Buyer Beware - Facebook Marketplace's Favourite Car Scam
Send us Fan Mail Facebook Marketplace is full of bargains, and full of scams. In this episode of Cheap Thrills, we expose one of the most common car scams online: private sellers asking for deposits on cheap cars, then disappearing. Learn how the scam works, why people fall for it, and the simple...
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The Ring Run - £1600 of Love or Hate? Come along for our first real drive.
Send us Fan Mail Join me as I take our chosen Nurburgring steed, the Peugeot RCZ 200 THP out for its first run. It kicked out a whole host of fault codes in the cold weather and has some suspect tyres, so we reset the codes, cleaned it up and tested that rubber. I don't really review cars, but…
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Buyer Beware - Good paperwork and high mileage.
Send us Fan Mail “Good paperwork doesn’t impress you — it tells the truth.” In this episode of Cheap Thrills: Buyer Beware, we break down what good car paperwork actually looks like and why thick folders, confident sellers, and vague service stamps don’t always mean a well-looked-after car. We...
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Buyer Beware - If They Ask This… It’s a Facebook Marketplace Scam
Send us Fan Mail Selling a car on Facebook Marketplace? This episode could save you money. In this episode of Cheap Thrills, we expose one of the most common car-selling scams online — the Facebook Marketplace vehicle history check scam. You know the one: a “buyer” asks you to pay for a cheap...
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The Ford Mondeo, a distinctly average car?
Send us Fan Mail Is the Ford Mondeo actually a bargain hero, or just… boring? In this episode of Cheap Thrills, we take a no-nonsense look at the Ford Mondeo and work out if it's good for a lap of the ring. If you're an owner get in touch and help is answer the big question: is the Mondeo an...
About this show
Cheap Thrills is the podcast for people who love cars but don’t like spending money.
From bargain performance cars and future classics to market place scams, bad-buys and brilliant sleepers. We hunt down the most fun you can have on four wheels for the least cash.
If it’s a cheap, questionable, underrated or probably a bad idea.. it belongs here.
Hosted by
Rob Hartman
Categories