It seems like only yesterday when Volkswagen Cabrios seemed to clog SoCal freeways with their tops down and in the sun. A few decades later, and I have to wonder where they went? Probably to the crusher by the thousands, but the few that remain are pretty beaten up, so it is nice to find […]
The E36 generation 318ti was an odd little hatchback from BMW that combined the E30 generation rear semi-trailing arm suspension with a 1.8 liter non-turbo 4-banger. It was fun to drive and economical — like a sport compact car should be, but today’s version has taken an interesting turn. It has a twin turbo N55 inline-6 from an E90 BMW 335i, which is unfortunately mated to an automatic transmission, but otherwise this looks like the correct way to double (or triple with a chip and some tuning) the horsepower of the original vehicle. Find this 1995 BMW 318ti offered for $6,500 in Phoenix, AZ via craigslist.
This next car comes a tip from Safety Fast who writes; Oh what a feeling… blue… on blue. I don’t know why I’m sending this in to DT instead of just going out right now to buy it. I’ll be surprised if it lasts through the weekend. When I first saw this car I had competing feelings of respect and disgust. Respect because this blue-beige machine is so clean and I have to give props to the owners who kept it from the sun, shopping carts, kids, and the crusher — disgust because out of all the cars to save from 1991, why would someone choose something from the underwhelming buffet of beige like a Camry to save from the elements and shopping carts. I guess it doesn’t matter, because if you want to drive something from 1991 that makes it feel like 1992…this is it. Oh…what a feeling. Find this 1991 Toyota Camry offered for $5500 in Sacramento, CA via craigslist.
I saw the photos for this next car and was enchanted by the deep red paint. And I was truly hoping from the deepest pit in my heart that the interior pics would reveal a stick shift…but alas…this second generation Taurus SHO was one of the few that left the factory without a pedal for your left foot…and I don’t see why you’d want to drive this thing. It is slower and less reliable than something like a late model Acura TSX sedan or any number of other front-drive sedans with slushboxes and basic accommodations…but the manual transmission version brings with it all the charisma, joie de vivre and analog goodness that comes with life with a manual. Why do all the clean ones have to be slushbox? Find this 1993 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $5500 in Phoenix, AZ via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
There are few things that get a used car bottom feeder more excited than a one-owner classic…but this next advertisement includes at least a few of them, so let’s start with the basics. Garage kept, rust free (or at least it looks like it in the photos), some small broken stuff that would scare away “normal” people, and finally…yes…a dirt cheap asking price. Feed away my fellow DT flatfish!! Find this 1984 Volvo 244 GL offered for $950 in St James City, FL via craigslist. Tip from Dascpcu.
This next car might look like something designed in England just after WWII, but it is actually a kit body and frame built in Blakely Auto Works Princeton, WI in the 1980s. The Blakely Beranardi was expensive when new — a fully assembled version sold for almost $22k, or about the same as a new Corvette. But if you wanted a neo-classic designed kit car vaguely reminiscent of an MG TD that uses a Ford Pinto, Mercury Bobcat or Mustang II donor car…you could do worse. Somehow the seller of this next managed to get a pre-smog 1971 title and is offering this car for a decent price. Find this 1971 Blakely Bernardi offered for $11,000 in Carson, CA via craigslist.
It feels strange to recommend a model year 2000 Honda Accord with a slushbox auto to anyone who enjoys driving…but what if you don’t enjoy driving that much and you really just need something to get you from point A to point B and back to point A and then maybe a point C and do all of that without needing to press out differential bushings in your own garage..then…wow that is a run-on sentence. Yes, a used Honda Accord with 58k miles is still just a Honda Accord…but it is offered at one fifth the price of a new Accord and has at least half the value left in it. Find this 2000 Honda Accord offered for $5000 in Portland, OR via craigslist. Tip from Kendall.
This next car comes from DT tipper BP; Only because I got my low-mileage ex-wife on craigslist am I a little leary about the site, hence my admiration for these folks. They even have a lazy-tab to select vehicles under $5000 thereby saving you the arduous task, let alone extreme caloric consumption, of keying in $5000 in the MAX field. Today, take the pleasure of finding this gem all on your own via scrolling: And here I thought people got ex-wives from an unhappy marriage — you can just get them on craigslist! Find this 1994 Ford Taurus Wagon offered for $2,500 in Paris, KY.
I’m not featuring this next car for any of the right reasons. You really shouldn’t buy it–there are about a million cars that offer a better value for $6k that aren’t slow and boring Fords from the early 90s with an automatic transmission made from dry straw and pelican guano. Many of you are old enough to remember that this was the car that drove buyers to Japanese OEMs — while you suffered through headgasket failures, oil leaks, rough idle, and tie-rod-end issues your neighbor had a Honda Accord that lasted for 200k miles with mostly oil changes. Now this is a special example of the 2nd generation Taurus, because it has only 10k miles on the odo, which means its only on its third transmission. Find this 1993 Ford Taurus offered for $6000 in Naugatuck, CT via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
This next yellow thing comes from tipper JB1025 who writes; Toyota Corolla super low miles Cleaner then Skeeter’s Peter. Is it worth this money ? Hard to find this clean! I’ve answered this question before, but I’ll ask again; Why is it that the nicest preserved classics are always equipped with automatic transmissions? Because the […]