Tipper Rock On sent in this next car with the note; There is always a lot of talk on DT of high mileage Mercedes-Benz diesels. Check out this Maverick’s mileage! Yes indeed, 469k miles is a boat load for any car, particularly one as basic and underappreciated as the Maverick. Anyway, I’d buy this car just to make it hit that 500k mile mark if I had a commute these days. Find this 1973 Ford Maverick offered for $5000 in Yorba Linda, CA via craigslist.
It is funny that you can’t buy a convertible pickup from a new car dealer today (at least since the SSR went out of production in 2006) because the convertible pickup has been a common form of transportation for the better part of human obsession with the wheel. Remember Ben-Hur? Charlton Heston’s chariot (technically a quadriga), was basically a Roman equivalent of this next car. What? Yes, it had wheels, a spot for the driver, and place for junk. Because to do work with a vehicle (regardless if that work is to transport someone places, or move stuff, or wreck someone else with spinning wheel spikes) what you really need is a propulsion system, a spot for the driver, and a work bed. Everything else — flappy paddle gearboxes, touchscreens, massaging chairs, rear seats, electric windows, opera lights, landau roof, any roof, 4-wheel-drive, airbags, cigarette lighter, ashtray, warranty, navigation, bluetooth, 8-track, et al — are simply luxury items. Get back to basics with this 1926 Ford Model T Pickup offered for $5,200 in Opelousas, LA via craigslist. Tip from Ramjet.
The second generation Ford Thunderbird (1958-1960) is a cool car. It was the first Thunderbird to get a rear seat — because Ford execs (a young Robert McNamara among them) felt it needed the extra passenger space and that it could still compete with Chevy’s Corvette. Welp…history has decided that they were wrong, because the Thunderbird was slowly boated into oblivion while the Corvette is a desirable classic and a new car showroom stunner to this day…but Ford sold 9 T-Birds for every 1 Corvette sold in the 1960 model year alone. With 200k T-Birds sold from 1958-1960 (versus 30k Vettes) you can figure the supply/demand thing out and you’ll find that the T-Bird is way cheaper on the open market today. Find this 1960 Ford Thunderbird offered for $7000 in Silsbee, TX via craigslist. Tip from Ramjet.
DT’s resident Godfather Kaibeezy was onto something (not on something, pay attention!) when he commented on that low mile Taurus from the other day; Drive 50,000 miles, wash occasionally, sell it along… basically a free car. This, this is what you can and should do to separate yourself from the “new car” buying masses, the drones, the sheeple that are always clogging up the fast lane with newfangled cars. There is nothing inherently wrong with buying a new car (I’ve done it myself a few times) but there is something gloriously liberating about driving a car for a few years and recouping your entire purchase price. Yeah…I’ve done that myself a few times too. The trick is; low miles, clean condition, and make money when you buy it. Find this 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix offered for $4,500 in Zeeland, MI via craigslist. Tip from Jeff.
Nissan never exported their retro-styled ’80s/’90s Pike Series cars (Pao, S-Cargo, Figaro, Be-1, K10-Micra) into the USA, but you wouldn’t know that based on the number littering craiglist and eBay. Or maybe I’m just always on the lookout for offbeat cars that put a smile on your face while not running roughshod through your bank accounts. Today’s example is a Figaro that is a little rough around the edges, but maybe cute enough to pickup as a rescue. Find this 1991 Nissan Figaro offered for $6,500 in Port Charlotte, FL via craigslist. Tip from Dascpcu
This next car is described as one owner until 2015, but I don’t think it matters if it had 52 owners in the last 42 years, because it looks in amazing shape for what it is. There is a psychosis among certain car guys that a little old lady owned car is the best…but those owners are almost all middle aged guys who take nice care of their classics, so I don’t know why they obsess over grandma’s wagon. I’m not a therapist, but here we are again. Find this 1978 Toyota Corolla Wagon offered for $7,500 buy-it-now in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho via eBay.
This next car comes as a tip from SecondMouse who writes: Did somebody say “Corvair“? Ask the internet, and you shall receive. Here is a low mileage (43,000 original miles) 1964 Chevy Corvair Monza Club Coupe in good survivor condition with the reasonable asking price of $5900. Find this 1964 Chevrolet Corvair in Magnolia, TX, […]
I’m conflicted about this next car. First it is an awesomely sick shade of teal (or is that sickly awesome…I dunno) in original paint (wow!) covering a survivor manual trans 360V8 survivor…just so many stories in that steel. But then I think it is a lot of money to pay for a car with manual drum brakes (aka thighmaster brakes) and a seriously scuzzy engine bay. But wow..this is the kind of patina I can appreciate. Find this 1969 Ford F-250 Custom Cab offered for $8,500 buy-it-now in Vancouver, WA via ebay.
At first I was afraid, I was econofied, Kept thinking I could never live with my engine turned to its side But my front wheels plowed so many miles thinking how you did me wrong And I grew strong And I learned how to live with bronze And my plastics black My seats are tan […]
If there is one thing that young car buyers must understand, it is this; they are only original once. If this next car is purchased by a well meaning 21 year old version of myself…it could well end up with a decent new paint job and a fire breathing 350 v8 build connected to a […]