I’m firmly of the opinion that every gearhead’s first car should be a complete piece of crap. Suffering builds character, it’ll make you appreciate nice cars more, all that good stuff, sure – but also, my first car was a complete piece of crap, and I loved it anyway. So today’s scenario involves two pieces of crap, and a young budding auto enthusiast.
Yesterday we were looking for a way to bring home some big pieces of furniture, and after some good arguments on both sides, the slightly more versatile combination of a Ford Ranger with a cap on the bed won out over the Chrysler minivan with disappearing seats. There were concerns about rust on both of them, but you don’t buy a vehicle that cheap expecting it to last forever. It’s there to do a job.
The funny thing is, the van probably has more room inside than the covered bed of the Ranger, but if you need to bring home a dresser or a bookcase, the van’s roof is going to be in your way. But a lot of antique furniture places will deliver really big stuff for a fee, and the carpeted floor and watertight accommodations of the van will be kinder to the things that will fit inside it. I think I’d go for the van in this case, assuming the rust underneath isn’t too bad.
All right, here’s today’s scenario: The quiet of your Saturday afternoon is broken by the sound of a car-hauler unloading something across the street. You hear the truck stop, followed by the rumble of a serious V8, and look out the window to see an electric-blue mid-1970s Firebird Formula easing its way down off the carrier and into your neighbor’s driveway. Naturally, you can’t help going over to check it out, and to find out the story.
As it turns out, the neighbor’s uncle recently passed away, and in his will left the Firebird to his grand-nephew, the pimply-faced fifteen-year-old who has been mowing your lawn for years. The kid has his learner’s permit, and will get his license in a couple months when he turns sixteen. The family is reluctant to turn him loose with the Firebird right away, so they have been looking for a more suitable first car for him to drive for a while – and more importantly, learn to drive a manual on; the Firebird is a four-speed.
They’ve asked you for your help in choosing a car for him, and also request that you be the one to teach him how to drive a stick. In return, they’ve agreed to let you take a spin in the Firebird, if you want. A quick search has yielded these two likely candidates, so now we’re going to take a closer look at them.
1998 Ford Escort – $1,600
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Clackamas, OR
Odometer reading: 325,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
After years of dicking around and selling a whole lot of really mediocre small cars in the United States, Ford finally did the honorable thing and went to its partner Mazda for help. Starting in 1991, the US-market Ford Escort was based on Mazda’s BG platform, and the difference between it and the previous generation’s half-assed “world car” platform was night-and-day. It drove well, it was a lot more reliable, and even the basic models could almost be considered fun, as long as you chose a manual transmission.
This Escort is from after a restyle, in which the hatchback bodystyles disappeared, including the celebrated Escort GT. Only four-door sedans and station wagons remained. The standard engine was an improved version of Ford’s overhead-cam CVH four-cylinder, and the manual transmission came from Mazda. It’s a combination known for racking up trouble-free miles, and this one has done just that – 325,000 of them, to be precise. It was well-maintained by its first owner, who recently passed away, and it still runs and drives great.
My experience with these Escorts has been that they don’t have the fanciest or most comfortable interiors, but they wear like iron, and that seems to be the case here. The upholstery and carpet still look fine; Grandpa really was careful with this car. The only problem I see is that passenger’s side seat belt; it’s cut more than halfway through, which doesn’t inspire confidence, especially if you’re going to be sitting in that passenger’s seat tutoring a new driver. Might want to replace that.
Outside, it’s the perfect beater – not trashed, but not something you have to worry about either. The hubcaps are long gone, and the red paint is unevenly faded. The ad mentions that one side mirror was recently replaced; my guess is that it got wiped out on a garage door sill. But the fact that they actually replaced it before listing the car for sale shows that someone cared for it.
2007 Chevrolet Aveo – $1,800
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Milwaukie, OR
Odometer reading: 227,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Chevy’s captive-import game was strong for years before the Aveo came along. This Korean-built subcompact was basically the replacement for everyone’s favorite tiny car, the Suzuki-built Metro. The little Metro left some big shoes to fill, and it can’t be said that the Aveo really rose to the occasion. But it’s not a bad little car, if you consider it on its own merits. This is a one-owner example, well north of 200,000 miles, and it’s holding up just fine.
Power – such as it is – for the Aveo comes from a 1.6-liter twin-cam four, putting out 103 horsepower. It’s probably enough for this little lightweight car, at least with a manual like this car has. The seller says it has “ZERO mechanical issues,” and that it comes with a stack of service records. That’s not something you often get with a sub-$2,000 car.
This one is holding up remarkably well inside, too; it’s hard to believe, looking at this photo, that this car has 227,000 miles on it. There’s some wear, sure, but no damage. It’s a really basic little car, with crank windows and nothing more than an AM/FM radio. I do see a button for air conditioning, but there’s no word on whether or not it still works.
It’s in good condition outside, a little faded, but straight and rust-free. The silver paint is completely gone from the plastic hubcaps, which is weird; I wonder if some chemical from a car wash ate away at it over the years? Personally, I’d ditch them and just hit the steel wheels with some silver Rust-Oleum. It would probably look a lot better.
Really, on paper, there’s not a lot of difference between these two. They’re both high-mileage but well-maintained economy cars, easy to drive and cheap to insure – in other words, perfect for a high-school kid to learn stickshift on. I guess you could turn to brand preference to choose between them. Or you could ask the kid which one he prefers, but honestly, with that Firebird sitting there, he’d probably turn his nose up at both of them. So it’s up to you: which one are you going to use to teach the neighbor’s kid how to drive?
I am amazed that Escort made it 300K+ without inhaling one of its own valve seats. Proves my theory that engine is pretty much bulletproof unless or until it does the valve thing.
I’m just going on the thought that even though smaller, the Aveo probably has a better suite of safety gear.
And FWIW, I have zero interest in driving that kid’s future Firebird.
How to choose? I’ve driven a manual Aveo – it was my kid’s first car. He swapped an engine and drove it a couple years before wrecking it. The car was…fine, but nothing special. It had weirdly heavy steering feel, so felt more like a much larger GM boat in some ways. Power was adequate. Gas mileage wasn’t great. A Mazda 3 would have been a better car in about every way. But it was cheap and otherwise in good shape.
I’ve never driven the escort, although currently daily driving a manual Fusion, which also handles like a grandpa car. It’s…fine.
Both are a HELL of a lot better with the stick, and I think for the purpose, a stick is a perfect first car. Learn to actually drive, can’t text when using both hands.
Also, both are in real colors.
As the parent of teen and adult kids, though, I can say, as cool as the Firebird is, being able to drive a stick is instant street cred. Even for Gen Z. It’s like being a wizard. I predict our hypothetical kid ends up embracing either of these cars.
Normally I would pick the Escort, since I used to have one and it would be more fun to drive than the Aveo. I’ve rented an automatic Aveo before and it was truly lame. However, the question is what is the best tool for the job here, which is to teach a kid to drive a stick. The Escort is a *slightly* better car, but the Aveo has 100k fewer miles and is a decade newer, with the design and safety improvements that brings to the table. Both will get good fuel economy, with the Aveo perhaps edging out the Escort. (the kid may actually keep the “training wheels” as his DD once he sees how much gas that V8 devours) I have to give the edge to the Aveo in this contest.
Both of these cars look pretty impressive given what they are and the miles on them. Ideally, I’d check to see which has had the more recent clutch replacement, as Mr. Future Firebird Driver will likely put on about 20,000 miles of clutch wear over the first 2000 miles he drives the thing. Absent that info, I’m going with the Escort. That’s $300 to put into future repairs.
In 2009, My Dad called me and told me he bought a new 2010 Chevy Aveo.
I said, “Dad, you bought the worst car on sale in the US. Why?”
He sad that he wanted a small car but, didn’t want to buy foreign.
I explained that it was made by Daewoo in Korea. He was surprised but, not about to return it. Funny, the salesman didn’t tel him.
He loved that car. He liked it way better than the 2004 Dodge Neon that he traded in.
I drove it a few times and had to admit that it wasn’t really bad at all.
My parents both loved that little thing until my Mother totaled it, saying, “It just literally fell apart.”
I took their $5,000 insurance check, added $15,000 and bought them a 2015 Honda Civic EX, a real car. They only had 1 Fit in stock at the time but, had hordes of Civics.
Escort. It has a CD player.
Escort for me as I know that it’s a basically a decently reliable design with relatively cheap parts.
I also know that these Chevy-Daewoo Aveos were CRAP.
So the Escort was my pick.
Going with newer/safer Aveo. Doesn’t bother me that it’s a crappier drive. Never liked little Timmy all that much.
I love me an escort, just not the Ford kind ha ha…but have to pick it anyway. Wow, a Fix Or Repair Daily piece of junk vs an…AVEO? Aveos are one of the worst piece of shit penalty boxes ever made. I guess I gotta go Found On Road Dead for a 2nd day in a row. I’ll show that kid how to hoon the hell out that car, then eventually help him take it to a junkyard or drive it off a cliff after lighting it on fire (jumping out at the last second of course)
Easily the Escort, despite the age and mileage.
Aveos are detestable things, and I say that as a fan of the bare-bones commuter car, especially hatchbacks. Other than being a bit more modern, fewer miles, a hatchback body, larger mirrors, and the paint color, it has no particular benefits over the Escort.
Seriously, there’s many reasons you don’t see many Aveos still on the road, and very few of those are in good condition. They’re disposable entry-level appliances that the original buyers got because they likely couldn’t justify anything else, and/or were rental cars.
The Escort, all day every day. Got stuck with a couple of Aveos as rentals back in the day – they are the very definition of hairshirt shitbox, and the only car I would choose one over is a Mirage. I would rather drive a Trabant than an Aveo – at least a Trabant is kind of fun. And I would know:
https://flic.kr/p/5XyiG5
I never learned a stick, so my choice is by color, and the yellow Aveo wins that by miles.
Love me a little beater 5 speed. Had a 93 Escort wagon with that set up so this time I’m picking the Chevy
If there was still a Sparta they would make the young men drive Aveos.
Hop in; it’ll make you tough.
At least the Aveo isn’t a 2009-2011 with the Gen III Ecotec engine; there were cooling system components and emissions components that were stupidly expensive ($250 oxygen sensors, $360 thermostat assemblies, and the cats were expensive enough to mechanically total the entire car!)
The Aveo wins for not being a Ford. Sure,I guess it is really a Mazda but still.
The Escort wins for not being a GM. Sure, the Aveo is really a Daewoo, but still.
…Do you see how shallow and useless that is?
Yes, I do. Much like your comment.
Nine years newer / safer for only $200 more and with just about 100K fewer miles kinda made up my mind for me. I like yellow better too.
The Aveo wins for the bright yellow color which will hopefully alert other drivers to the presence of the learner.
Or will make it more visible when sitting on the side of the road waiting for the inevitable tow truck.
Safety is the most important thing for a young driver. I think the newer Chevy penalty box wins on that point, so that is why I chose it.
I had a 1999 Escort with the 5-speed, and that thing was unkillable.
Got it with 155K miles for $2K.
Added another 100K+ to it.
Only issue I ever had other than general maintenance and wear and tear, was it spit out a spark plug one day. A helicoil later, and it was back running great. That Zetec was damn-near bulletproof.
Sold it after 5 years for $800 to a family, looking for a cheap beater for their 16 year old.
Zetec means it was a ZX2. The Zetec never came in the sedans. This thing had a SOHC motor that loved to drop its valve seats into the engine.
I had the unpleasant experience of a few loaner and rental Aveos years back and they are awful cars. But for this purpose either of these are fine and can be dropped at your local Pick n Pull as soon as they break or are no longer needed.
No wrong answer today–these’ll do the job and maybe, just maybe, they’ll prove hateful enough to turn the kid off of driving a stick forever so you can snap up the Firebird for a song. My old ’81 Dodge Aries 4-speed with rusted-out shift linkage would be an even better choice if it still existed above the molecular level.