Those of you who have always lived in mild climates have no idea how good you have it, car-wise. Cheap, plentiful, rust-free cars are a luxury not afforded to those who live in harsher environments. If you’re looking for a used car in, say, the upper Midwest, rust is going to inform your every automotive decision.
Yesterday we looked at two good-running beaters from here in Maryland, and to my great surprise, the PT Cruiser seems to be winning. I thought for sure that the Nissan Sentra’s better condition and more thorough description would give it the win, but apparently most of you have zero faith in the Jatco transmission’s ability to keep transmitting power.
That’s definitely a consideration, but I think I’d give the PT Cruiser the edge for two other reasons: cargo capacity, and parts and service availability. Mechanically, it’s pretty much the same as zillions of Stratuses (Strata?) and Neons, so you can be confident that any decent mechanic anywhere can keep it on the road. I wouldn’t have the same certainty about the Sentra and its CVT.
Today’s choices are both known to be durable and reliable cars, but both also have a tendency to rust in some bad places. This wouldn’t be a problem – except that they’re both in the Minneapolis/St. Paul suburbs, where road crews use salt as freely as Rachael Ray uses extra-virgin olive oil. Neither one looks too bad yet, but looks can be deceiving when it comes to rust. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which one looks more trustworthy.
1992 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Royale – $2,450
Engine/drivetrain: 3.8-liter OHV V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Little Falls, MN
Odometer reading: 138,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
In 1985, General Motors began replacing its long-serving B-body sedans with something entirely new: the front-wheel-drive H platform. You could hear the howls of dissent from miles away when long-time GM buyers found out, but the H-body cars spoke for themselves. They were more efficient, better built, and at least as comfortable as their predecessors, and as a bonus, turned out to be rock-solid reliable. This is Oldsmobile’s version, the Eighty-Eight Royale.
Much of the H-body’s reputation for reliability and durability comes from its engine, the 3800 V6, a Buick design that dates back to 1962. GM sold the tooling for the engine to Kaiser in 1967, bought it back in 1974, and refined it into a legend. It produces 170 horsepower in this form, and with the exception of fragile intake manifold gaskets, will spin happily under the Eighty Eight’s hood until the end of time. It drives the front wheels through a 4T60-E automatic transmission, which, as long as its fluid is kept clean, is just about as durable. This one had one owner, from the sound of it, who put only 138,000 miles on it and maintained it carefully.
This car’s mechanical specification and exterior styling were modernized during the redesign, but the interior remained a throwback to earlier days. The bordello-red color, the split bench seat, and the column-mounted gearshift aren’t all that different from an Oldsmobile sedan from the 1970s. Despite the grand-sounding name, the “Royale” is actually the base model of this car, and this one doesn’t look like it has anything beyond the basic standard equipment. It’s in acceptable shape, but it’s a little threadbare in places. I bet it’s still mighty comfortable, though.
It has one original hubcap and three Wal-Mart specials. The paint looks pretty good, but it’s so dusty that it’s hard to tell. It doesn’t appear to have any rust, but these cars usually don’t, at least on the outside. The front subframe, on the other hand, tends to collect water and slush and rust from the inside out. There’s no way to know how rusty it is without getting underneath and poking around. Check the rocker panels while you’re under there, too; the plastic cladding can hide rust.
1998 Honda Accord LX – $2,495
Engine/drivetrain: 2.3-liter OHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Lino Lakes, MN
Odometer reading: 238,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
This Honda Accord is for sale at a dealership called Bob’s Auto Ranch, a place where I have actually bought a car before – an Accord, in fact, back in 1995. It served me well for about a year, until the rear brakes failed and I discovered it was too rusty to jack up and repair. But that was a 1984 model, back when a good stiff damp breeze was enough to cause a Honda to rust. This 1998 model seems to be quite a bit more robust.
This sixth-generation Accord is more refined and powerful than my old one, with a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine producing 135 horsepower. It has an automatic transmission, which is probably a disappointment to some of you, but remember, we’re looking for a good, inexpensive car for non-gearheads here, and most folks would rather not bother with a manual. It runs and drives well, but as is typical of cheap cars from dealerships, there’s no maintenance history to be had. Plan to take it to a good mechanic and have it checked over to make sure it’s ready to go.
It’s an LX model, so it has power windows and locks, as well as air conditioning, which works fine. Someone has added a modern touchscreen stereo to it, but very few cars reach this age with their factory stereos intact. It’s in good condition overall, but the steering wheel and center armrest are pretty grubby. Steering wheel covers are easy enough to find, or you can make your own. And I bet, if you’re handy with a needle and thread, you could make a new cover for the armrest, too. Little things like that can really spruce up an old car like this, and make it your own in the process.
It does have some rust, most notably in the rear wheel arches, which is typical of Accords of pretty much any generation. You’d have to see it in person to see how bad it really is. But the one I had looked a whole lot worse than this when I bought it, and it lasted a year, so this one probably has some life in it yet.
Finding a decent cheap car in places with harsh winters can be a real challenge. The best way to handle it is to keep your expectations manageable and not worry about rust unless it’s structural. There’s no vehicle inspection in Minnesota – though maybe there should be – so you’re kind of on your own. Bring a screwdriver to poke with, a fridge magnet to check for Bondo, and a flashlight. Which one of these do you feel more optimistic about?
Looks like the Olds had that TruCoat installed at the factory because the rust doesn’t look too bad. Maybe Jerry Lundegaard wasn’t completely full of it.
I want to feel royal driving around that Olds with that gaudy but awesome red interior.
I’ll take the big cushy Olds, please. A nicer car than the Accord to begin with and lower miles. This generation of sedans is the one that brought into being the saying “A GM car will run bad longer than most cars will run at all.”
I had a ’92 88 for many years. The seat broke at about 145,000, and my father in law found me a great used car – a ’93 88 owned by a little old man who smoked a cigar. I know this because there was a soot stain on the ceiling.
I drove the car for a few more years, until I was just tired of it.
Meanwhile, there was a woman in my office (about 70 years old, whose husband was about 10 years older than her) whose adult daughter totally abused her car, and ultimately crashed it leaving the dealership after it was repaired because she never changed the oil. She wanted her folks to buy her a Miata. She said to me “I will help her out, but I will not buy her a Miata!”
I said “I have the perfect car for her. It’s big, safe, reliable, and she’ll HATE it.”
I sold her my 88. A few weeks later, I asked about the car, and she said “My husband liked it so much he’s keeping it for himself…”
I had a 98 Accord as a winter beater for a couple of years. Started and ran, the heater worked well. No complaints except the EGR passages were clogged up causing surging once it was warm on occasion. The 99+ had a plate you could remove to clean out the passages, mine didn’t so I lived with it. Voted for it.